Israel will keep getting butter
Fastest man loves treats from home
I don’t go anywhere without my music, not even down to the shops
EXCLUSIVE IRELAND’S fastest man has revealed the secret to his success – Irish butter and Tayto crisps.
At 21, Israel Olatunde is our greatest ever sprinter and probably won’t reach his peak for several years.
But where fellow athletes are usually seen snacking on protein bars and energy drinks, the Co Louth man loves nothing more than his comfort food from home.
He said: “Food-wise there is nothing quite so appetising as food from home.
“Wherever I am in the world I am thinking about the stuff we do really well, you can’t beat Irish bread, food, milk, eggs, the basics.
“I am over here in Florida for a few weeks training with my coach Daniel [Kilgallon] and whenever I go shopping, I look for things that are more ‘Irish’.
“Even the most mundane things that are familiar. I have Irish butter in my fridge at the moment here. You just can’t beat the basics that you get in Ireland.”
Otalunde’s image, along with fellow Irish-born world class sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke, will be almost everywhere as 2024 progresses, most notably with the forthcoming European Championships in Rome this June and in late July/early August at the Olympics in Paris.
Places where he will have his Irish ‘treats’ including the packet of Tayto for ‘afterwards’, butter for the fridge, his Adidas track shoes and his selection of songs by hip-hop star Drake. Otalunde said: “I am a professional HUGELY POPULAR Israel Olatunde athlete now, signed with Adidas which I love because I consider Adidas to be the biggest brand in track and field so I am really pleased to be there with them. “And I don’t go anywhere, not even down to the local shop, without my music, I love Drake. “I bring my headphones out on the track for all my big races and always the last song is Drake.” Meanwhile, for all the talk of Florida, Rome, Paris and so on, it seems you can take the world-class sprinter out of Dundalk but you can’t take the boy out of the town – and his old school St Mary’s College. He added: “St Mary’s College was where I really got into athletics, they were very supportive of me, they got me to this stage today. “Gerry Mcardle, who was St Mary’s athletic coach back then, is still one of my best friends, I meet up with him every so often.” Once Olatunde is back from Florida, he will use Ireland as his training base for what is going to be a big few months, specifically the indoor track at the Sport Ireland Campus in west Dublin – it is a good place to be, home. He said: “If I am training in Blanchardstown at the indoor arena I get so many young athletes coming up and saying ‘Hi’ and asking for pictures and stuff like that and that means a lot. “It is important that young people are encouraged in all sports, not just my sport, important we understand how good, healthy, positive this is and seeing stuff like that, young athletes support me and look up to me is inspirational for me too.”