David O’Loughlin represented Ireland in the men’s 4 kilometre individual pursuit at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, finishing 11th in his heat with a time of 4:26.102. He also competed in the men’s team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

From Co. Mayo, O’Loughlin was Ireland’s leading track pursuit specialist of his era. He qualified for Beijing in June 2008 and, despite the disappointment of his Olympic result, went on to produce the finest performances of his career in the season immediately afterwards – winning Ireland’s first ever UCI Track World Cup medal with bronze in the 4km individual pursuit at the Beijing World Cup in January 2009, then following it with silver at the Copenhagen World Cup, losing out to American Taylor Phinney in the final.

These results brought him to a UCI world ranking of 8th in the event for the 2008-09 season. He also helped set Irish national records as part of the team pursuit squad at both the Beijing and Ballerup World Cup events. He signed with the An Post Sean Kelly professional road team in 2009.

At London 2012 he was part of the team pursuit squad alongside Stephen Barrett, Matthew Brammeier and Martyn Irvine, though the team did not qualify for the medal rounds. He retired from track racing in October 2010, before returning briefly to competition in 2011.