Shane Healy (born 5 October 1968) is an Irish middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 1500 metres at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, where he reached the semi-finals.

Biography

Healy was born in Dublin, and spent his early years in Goldenbridge Orphanage, after his mother left the family when he was four years old, and his father moved to Manchester. In his late teens, Healy had moved to the United States, working as a waiter, before coming back to Ireland. In the late 1980s, he had travelled to Gibraltar, finding work on a yacht to get money to travel back to North America. Healy was 22 years old when he took up running, to win a bet for fifty Dollars. Healy eventually earned a place at Adams State University, in Alamosa, Colorado, where he began running. By the mid 1990s, he had managed to run within one second of the Olympic qualification standard for the

1500m 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 a qualification event in Madrid, Healy ran a personal best time to gain a place on the Irish team for the

in Atlanta. In 1999, Healy initially retired from the sport, but would later make a comeback. In March 2019, Healy set a new world record for the 1500m indoors in the over 50s category. The following month, he won a bronze medal at the Masters World Cross Country Championships in Poland. In 2020, a documentary about Healy, titled ''Documentary on One: Shane Healy Back on Track'', was aired on RTÉ Radio 1.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Shane 1968 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Irish male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Ireland Place of birth missing (living people) Athletes from County Dublin