Niall O'Shaughnessy (November 23, 1955 – September 16, 2015

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Ch ...

) was an Irish

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, specializing in middle distances.

Career

He represented Ireland in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the 1976 Olympics. In the 1500, he finished less than .2 behind former

880 __NOTOC__ Year 880 ( DCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Cephalonia: A Byzantine fleet, under Admiral Nasar, is sent ...

world record holder

Rick Wohlhuter Rick Wohlhuter (born December 23, 1948) is a retired American middle-distance runner. Wohlhuter won the national indoor championship in the 600 yards in 1970. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971, and later qualified for the 19 ...

who took the last qualifying spot in his heat behind eventual double silver medalist Ivo Van Damme and bronze medalist

Paul-Heinz Wellmann Paul-Heinz Wellmann (born 31 March 1952, in Haiger) is a former West German middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. As a teenager he won the silver medal at the 1970 European Junior Championships. He then finished seventh ...

. Earlier in the 800, Van Damme had also defeated O'Shaughnessy in the heats, en route to his other silver medal. O'Shaughnessy came from Kilknockan, County Limerick and attended

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a second-level education college located in Corbally, Limerick, Ireland. The school was founded in 1796. It is a Diocesan CollegeDiocese of Limerick > Education > Post Primary or minor seminary. College Crest The colle ...

but was recruited by Irishman John McDonnell to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in the United States where he eventually settled. He was the 1974

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

champion in the indoor 880. He was All American in cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track. He was inducted into the University of Arkansas Athletic Hall of Honor in 1994. He later gained

American citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

and became an engineer in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Death and Induction

O'Shaughnessy died at 59 as a consequence of brain cancer. After his death he was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OShaughnessy, Niall 1955 births 2015 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ireland Irish male middle-distance runners People educated at St Munchin's College Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Irish emigrants to the United States Arkansas Razorbacks men's cross country runners