Dad gets back on track to become a world-beater
ADAD is proving age is not a barrier to achieving your dreams after ‘falling back in love’ with athletics.
Tony O’Brien became the fastest man in his age group (50-55) in the 3,000m indoor run at the World Masters Athletics Championships.
Tony won gold in the 3,000m race in Torun, Poland, on March 26, completing the run in eight minutes and 52 seconds. He also won bronze in the 1,500m race on April 1.
The 52-year-old, originally from Vauxhall Road and living in Formby, had previously competed as a senior athlete up until 2002 when he decided to leave the sport due to illness and in order to focus on his job working for United Utilities.
It wasn’t until 2018 that the dad-of-three decided to start running again and he has gone on to break British and European records for his age group.
Tony said: “I was trying to get to the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and I kept getting sick from over-training. I was getting glandular fever, basically I burnt myself out.
“I called it a day and decided I did enough and it was time to move on with my career.”
Speaking of his return to the sport more than a decade later, Tony said: “I initially went back to running to get sustenance and relaxation, and soothe my mental health. I fell back in love with it.
“The reason why I do it is because I love running, I love the aspect of being out in nature.”
Tony said he now lives by the values of doing “the best I can for as long as I can”, adding: “I’m not going to let age be a barrier to me because when you start thinking in that mind set you’re actually half way broken basically
The dad-of-three also wants to carry on the legacy of people who have helped him during his career through his role as a coach for TRS Coaching and for Liverpool Pembroke Sefton.
Tony said: “Grassroots athletics is really important.
“I got access to a sport that was so fulfilling.
“I suppose we’ve got a pandemic of unhealthiness at the moment. In our society unhealthiness comes from not moving enough.
“[Running] is the most healthy pursuit you can do as far as I’m concerned to help your health and wellbeing, not just the physical aspect but also the mental aspect.
“I want to make sure the athletes I support now don’t have to go through over reach and overtraining and doing things that you end up getting illnesses and injuries from.”