Donie Walsh competed in the men’s marathon at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, finishing 47th in 2:31:12, and went on to become one of Ireland’s most celebrated athletics coaches, guiding Marcus O’Sullivan to three World Indoor 1,500 metres titles and Frank O’Mara to the World Indoor 3,000 metres title.

A Villanova University athlete, Walsh implemented a pragmatic Plan B when he missed the Olympic qualifying time in the 10,000m at the NCAA championships – returning to Ireland and winning the national marathon at Athlone in his debut over the distance in a quality time of 2:15:21.

His twenty-mile long runs at Villanova had laid the foundation for the switch to the marathon. He ran aggressively in the early stages of the Munich race, and in one of the more memorable moments of Irish Olympic marathon history, stepped into a stationary ambulance at the side of the road, ate a feed of bananas, and emerged to battle on to the finish. A heavy cold contracted in the Olympic Village complicated his preparation in the final days before the race.