Meet Olympic runner Patrick Tiernan

TOOWOOMBA IS KNOWN FOR MANY A POPULAR OR WELL-KNOWN PERSONALITY BUT, AT ONLY 23, THIS ATHLETE IS GETTING AHEAD OF THE REST

The Garden City has many a resident who is proud of the several “claims to fame” Toowoomba boasts.

Well-known film and television personalities Sonia Kruger, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Morris hail from our city, as well as singer Gina Jeffreys and other notable people.

However, overarching all other well-known people are the number of sports personalities and athletes to whom we lay claim.

One of these is 23-year-old runner Patrick Tiernan.

Tiernan won bronze at the NCAAS in the 5000m last year, and made the Olympic qualifier – earning him a spot in the Rio Olympics.

“It was unbelievable,” Tiernan says of competing at the 2016 Olympics.

“That was my first Australian team, so to be able to pull on the green and gold for the first time on the world’s biggest stage was a memory I will cherish forever.”

This year found the athlete competing at the IAAF World Championships in London, while Athletics Australia described his international 2017 season as “stunning”.

Tiernan made third-best in Australian history at 3000m and fourth at 5000m, while a 30-second improvement at the 10,000m made him number three all-time.

Not to mention the thrill of working with Nike.

“My agent Nic Bideau was able to line up a contract for me with Nike Australia back in January,” Tiernan says.

“It’s been an awesome year running under Nike.

“They take care of all their athletes and really put on a show when it comes to the big meets throughout the year.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling to be able to call myself a professional athlete now, and I have Nic and Nike to thank for that.”

Tiernan started distance running when he was young.

“My grade four teacher Tom Bradbury had me come to one of his squad’s training sessions back in 2003 after seeing me running around before school one day.

“That sparked a nine-year athlete/coach relationship, and we still keep in close contact today.”

Tiernan has always enjoyed running – partly for the competitive aspect – but made the jump from just another sport to a passion in 2012.

“Up until that point, I played cricket throughout the summers, and ran in the winter,” he says.

“I moved to Brisbane for university in 2012, and that’s when I started

To be able to pull on the green and gold for the first time on the world’s biggest stage (the 2016 Rio Olympics) was a memory I will cherish forever.”

taking my running much more seriously.”

Now Tiernan lives in Pennsylvania in the US.

“I was offered an athletic scholarship to Villanova University in 2013, so I took up that offer and saw out my four-year degree over there,” he says.

“My running was improving a lot as well, so I asked my college coach, Marcus O’sullivan, if he would be happy to continue coaching me professionally.”

However, Toowoomba will always hold a special place in Tiernan’s heart since moving from Longreach when he was only three or four – and he loved every second of growing up in the Garden City.

“I’d say a lot of my best memories would come out of high school,” Tiernan says.

“I had a really close group of mates during that time and most weekends we would get together and find something to do.

“A fond memory of mine is going out to Crows Nest Falls one weekend with that group.”

Tiernan describes his home town as one of the most close-knit communities in the world.

“I haven’t been to a place quite like it in my travels to date,” he says.

“I always look forward to running when I come home, because there’s a 99 per cent chance that I’ll bump into someone I know on my route, which is really quite a rare trait that the city has.”

Tiernan’s next goal is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Obviously I have other goals along the way, with the upcoming Commonwealth Games being the main focus, but at the end of the day, the Olympics is the big stage for us.

“You want to be able to compete with the best when the time comes.”