Sensational Israel breaks another Irish record

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When asked what it meant to him to have broken Paul Hession’s national record Israel payed tribute to the now former record holder.

“It means the world, Paul is a class act, it’s just amazing to follow in his footsteps, and to push the boundaries even more means a lot to me. Hopefully that will continue for the next few years, and other guys will improve as well.

“We kind of just forget about times, just focused on getting through each round, then getting the win. I knew if I produced my best anything could happen. As I said, I love championships, so to go to Istanbul with a national record, we’ll see what happens.”

That run from Olatunde couldn’t have been better timed with the Indoor European Championships in Istanbul just around the corner. Confidence will be high for Israel who cemented his growing reputation last season by breaking the national

100m record as well as finishing sixth in the European 100m final in Munich in August.

A winter of hard work along with his training partners in Tallaght AC under the watchful eye of his coach Daniel Kilgallon is reaping dividends now for the Dundalk man and he will now look ahead to a big year with the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul and the World Outdoor Championships in Budapest his two big targets for this year.