Michael ‘Sonny’ Murphy competed in the men’s 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games in only the third steeplechase of his career, having announced himself on the international stage with a surprise victory at the Olympic trials that earned his place on the team.

From Kilnaboy, County Clare, Murphy was introduced to the steeplechase by a trial victory at the Phoenix Park on 3 June 1932, where he beat the 1931 international cross-country champion Tim Smythe by over 150 yards. At the Ballybunion training camp and in the national championships that followed, he improved by over fifteen seconds on his Olympic trials performance.

In his heat in Los Angeles, drawn on a day when the sun was at its most intense, Murphy held the lead for much of the opening three laps before the demands of the race led to his collapse near the water jump, suffering from serious dehydration. He was hospitalised for two days before Dr Pat O’Callaghan cared for him in the Olympic Village.

Sonny Murphy died on St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1936, aged just 29.