Ciaran O Lionaird 3:34.43 1500 meters

Typical retards on LetsRun. When a foreigner makes a big improvement he's on something, but when their idol Andrew Wheating jumps 7 seconds in a matter of weeks then 'NAH, HE'S CLEAN, I GOT A POSTER OF HIM ON MY WALL. HE'S AMERICAN SO HE DEFINATELY AIN'T DIRTY'. 3:48 indoors at 17, then 5 years later at 23 to run 3:34 isn't that astonishing especially if he did little mileage in high school but just because he's not on your wall or American he's dirty. 3:37 in May and then 3:30 in June at 23/24 yrs old, what Wheating did last year is absolutely ridiculous. Professional athletes don't improve that much over an entire pro career even dopers but oh yeah Wheating is clean because he's American

Please, neither Wheating or O Lionaird are on drugs. Both have lots of talent displayed in their late teens and both finally got in the right race when fit enough to show what they can do.

As for Chris compels you, give it up.

Christ compels you wrote:

Typical retards on LetsRun. When a foreigner makes a big improvement he's on something, but when their idol Andrew Wheating jumps 7 seconds in a matter of weeks then 'NAH, HE'S CLEAN, I GOT A POSTER OF HIM ON MY WALL. HE'S AMERICAN SO HE DEFINATELY AIN'T DIRTY'. 3:48 indoors at 17, then 5 years later at 23 to run 3:34 isn't that astonishing especially if he did little mileage in high school but just because he's not on your wall or American he's dirty. 3:37 in May and then 3:30 in June at 23/24 yrs old, what Wheating did last year is absolutely ridiculous. Professional athletes don't improve that much over an entire pro career even dopers but oh yeah Wheating is clean because he's American

Man, people doubting the legitimacy of O'Lionairds performance are more than likely likely Irish people just having a go at him

This Ciaran fella can't afford to cut his hair, let alone afford PEDs!

Sounds like the conditions were perfect. Theres a short blog about the race if you want to check it out for yourself:

http://www.runlincoln.com/

O'lionard is a true inspiration to Irish Athletics. O lionard has showed potential as a teenager but injury prevented him from showing it at collegiate level now that he has had a season injury free and showing his potential everyone thinks hes on drugs. I have doubts about some athletes but this guy is legit because when i seen him running 3.48 in the oddysey at national seniors against james nolan i knew this kid was good and hes finally showing. F**k the running man imposterer

What you have is a young man who has tremendous talent from a young age. He overextended himself at Michigan running with the big dogs there, came to FSU to train, and did so smartly to yield the results now seen. He has always been a 1500 meter guy in my opinion but trained for the 10k all year long. So for the skeptics accusing him of being on drugs: 3:40 on 10k training, then 3:34 on actual 1500 focus training. Does that really seem out of the realm of possibility?

This is a kid who strikes an even balance between running and enjoying life. He eats healthy, sleeps well, and knows when it's ok to kick back and drink a beer with the boys. He is also a man of integrity and in no way ever think of condemning his performances by touching PED's. First off, he can't afford them and second of all I don't understand why so many of his countrymen are on here condemning him. He is your legitimate shot at the Olympics. He is a great personality for the sport, highly articulate, and all around the poster child for his country and running.

Hate or no hate. Drugs and the notion of them should never be brought up when referring to Ciaran's performances. And how can you hate such a sick mullet?

2005

1500 m

3:50.41 5-19 DLV Mannheim 18 Jun

3:53.83 3-17 EYOF Lignano 7 Jul

3:54.14 3h3-17 WY Marrakech 15 Jul

3:59.00 10-17 WY Marrakech 17 Jul

2006

1500 m

3:48.72i 3 NC Belfast 19 Feb

3:57.04 12r2 MSR Walnut CA 14 Apr

One Mile

4:09.41i 2-HS BIG Boston MA 28 Jan

2007

1500 m

3:53.30 30r2 Stan Inv StanfordCA 31 Mar

One Mile

4:13.48i 3 Silverston Ann Arbor MI 17 Feb

2008

1500 m

3:53.49 10 GinaR Hillsdale MI 25 Apr

3:49.91 4 Paddock Ann Arbor MI 9 May

3:48.60 14rB BMC Watford 14 Jun

DNF rA Folksam Sollentuna 8 Jul

3:48.36 11 CityS Cork 12 Jul

One Mile

4:10.45i 3 Mich v OhSt Ann Arbor MI 19 Jan

4:06.59 OTi 5 Akron Open Akron OH 2 Feb

4:06.95i 6r4 Tyson Fayetteville AR 15 Feb

3000 m

8:04.05 OTi 6 Meyo Notre Dame IN 9 Feb

8:28.14i 12 Big 10 Madison WI 1 Mar

8:07.22 5rA Folksam Göteborg 24 Jun

5000 m

14:07.92 6rA BMC Manchester 31 May

14:24.35 2 ECp-2 Tallinn 21 Jun

2009

One Mile

4:11.46i 3 Mich vs OhSt Ann Arbor MI 17 Jan

4:06.90 OTi 6r2 IndianaR Bloomington IN 30 Jan

DNFi h1 Big 10 State College PA 28 Feb

2010

5000 m

14:10.99 OTi 15 Husky Seattle WA 12 Feb

2011

1500 m

3:41.02 1 Seminole Tallahassee FL 8 Apr

3:40.69 1 ACC Durham NC 23 Apr

3:44.4h 8 City Sports Cork 2 Jul

3:40.71 1 BMC Stretford 23 Jul

3:41.34 2 Gentse FeestenGent 30 Jul

3:34.46 2 Oordegem 2 Aug

One Mile

3:57.99 3 Clonliffe GP Dublin 8 Jul

3000 m

8:13.41 7 ETC-1 Izmir 19 Jun

7:50.71 3 Naimette-Xhovémont 13 Jul

5000 m

13:52.11 1 ACC Durham NC 23 Apr

14:06.26 h East Prelim Bloomington IN 28 May

DNF NCAA Des Moines IA 11 Jun

13:33.64 11 KBC-Nacht Heusden 16 Jul

10000 m

28:32.30 2 Stan Inv Stanford CA 25 Mar

29:09.75 3h1 East Prelim Bloomington IN 26 May

32:06.21 24 NCAA Des Moines IA 10 Jun

Lou Bega wrote:

He's not American and he shit the bed worse than anyone I've ever seen at NCAAs. I should care why?

Yes, because an American won NCAAs

So his PB coming into 2011 was 3:48??? WOW.

Track Progression wrote:

I could understand going from a 3.48 to 3.40 but now he has ran faster than eamon coghlan, mark Carroll and James nolan? I don't buy it....those guys won ncaas, euros, worlds and many national titles and worked very hard to chip away at their pbs by a second or two each year...yet a guy comes along who has never won any titles and in 1 season wipes the floor with their times? I'm sorry but he's not THAT good

Hey Cathal...

You know what they say about people who live in glass houses.

Devil's Advocate: or maybe Coghlan, Carroll, and Nolan were not that good!

Or maybe Coghlan and Carroll (the former particularly) raced mile races that were superior to their 1500m PBs? 3:49 and 3:50 are better than 3:34.

Since when is a 3:34 a big surprise. The Kenyans have ten guys who can faster right now.

Is there a video of this race?

Because of his injuries and the various distances he's clocked at it's difficult to chart his progression. Here's his estimated VDOT going on times for each distance over 5 years. It's clear he's made a few gains (to say the least) in the last year. In interview he says this is the product of stringing together a full year's injury free training. Good for him.

You can see why he's been tested twice in a week. They'd be mad not to. Fingers crossed he can stay injury free for Daegu and London, and his timing stays that good.

Perfect timing I'd say ;-) .

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_44IiDuhKl4MjdkMWJiNjctOGFlMy00YTQ3LWJlYWYtYzU4MTMwOWUwZDhk&hl=en_US