Paul Donovan (athlete) (born 11 July 1963) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He was the silver medallist in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He was the number one ranked indoor runner that year. He represented Ireland at the Olympics twice: in 1984 and again in 1992. Donovan was a three-time NCAA champion with the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. He also competed for Ireland at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

in 1986 and at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He twice ran as a junior at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

Career

Donovan grew up in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

and took part in sports at high school, mainly being involved in

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. However, while training for Gaelic football he found a gift for

long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

.Paul Donovan
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-11-08. He made his international debut at the

1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Limerick, Ireland, at the Greenpark Racecourse on 25 March 1979. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Complete results for men, junior men, women, medallists, ...

staged on home soil in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, running in the junior race and placing 54th. He won the intermediate section of the British Schools Cross Country International that year, as well as running in the

heats at the

1979 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships was the fifth edition of the biennial athletics competition for European athletes aged under twenty. It was held in Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, ...

. His last major junior appearance was a run at the 1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he improved to 18th place and led the Irish junior team to eighth in the rankings. He enrolled at 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 ...

on an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

and began competing for Irish coach

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

team – among the country's best college track teams at that time. He placed tenth at the 1983 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Donovan made his Olympic debut at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, but failed to make it through past the first round of the

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 ...

. His greatest success came at the NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. He won his first title there over 1500 m in 1985, then scored a 3000 m and

distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. U ...

double at the 1986 championships. Both seasons the Razorbacks won the team title. Among his teammates was Mike Conley, who had won the Olympic triple jump silver in 1984. He completed college in 1986 and began focusing in international competitions. He represented Ireland at the

1986 European Athletics Championships The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion, now known as Mercedes-Benz Arena, in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. ...

, but did not progress beyond the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

heats. His career peak came during the 1987 indoor season. A lifetime best run of 7:47.95 minutes was the best by any 3000 m athlete in the world that year. This set him up as a strong contender for the 3000 m title at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships. A tactically run final saw a close finish and he took the silver medal narrowly behind fellow Irishman

Frank O'Mara Frank O’Mara (born 1960 in Limerick) is a former Irish runner. A three-time Olympian, he was twice World Indoor Champion in the 3000m. O’Mara has post-graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas and had a successful career in the wirele ...

, and just three hundredths ahead of bronze medallist

Terry Brahm Terrence Paul Brahm (born November 21, 1962) is an American former long-distance runner. He was the bronze medalist in the 3000 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1987 and represented the United States in the 5000 meters at the 1988 ...

. However, a knee injury interrupted his career at this point and he did not reach such peaks again. After returning from injury in 1990, he made the grade for Ireland at the 1992 Summer Olympics and in the Olympic 5000 metres he competed in the heats only. He was the Irish champion in that distance in both 1990 and 1993. He was also the 1992 runner-up in the 1500 m at the AAA Indoor Championships. His final major international outings came in 1993. He returned to the venue of his sole medal at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but failed to make the final. He qualified for the 1993 IAAF Grand Prix Final, but did not manage to finish the race.Paul Donovan

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2015-11-08. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Arkansas Razorbacks Hall of Fame in 1998.

Personal bests

– 3:38.31 min (1984) *1500 metres indoor – 3:41.39 min (1985) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

– 3:55.82 min (1984) *Mile run indoor – 3:56.39 min (1986) *

– 7:59.16 min (1993) *3000 metres indoor – 7:47.95 min (1987) *

– 13:23.16 min (1992) Information on personal bests from IAAF profile and Tilastopaja.Paul Donovan
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2015-11-08.

National titles

* Irish Athletics Championships **

: 1990, 1993Irish Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-11-08. * NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsNCAA Indoor Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-11-08. **

: 1985 **

: 1986 **

Distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. U ...

: 1986 **Team title: 1985, 1986Razorbacks Win Track, Field title
''Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal'', p. 4C (1986-03-17). Retrieved on 2015-11-08.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Paul Living people 1963 births Athletes from Galway (city) Irish male middle-distance runners Irish male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Arkansas Razorbacks men's cross country runners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists