Rising star of British athletics has strong Sligo connections

Martyn Rooney in action at a recent athletics meeting

MARTYN Rooney’s first name gives a broad hint as to his strong Sligo connections. One of the most promising young athletes in Britain, his mother Marie Martyn is a native of 2 Knappagh Road. His father, Liam Rooney, is originally from Castlepollard, County Westmeath.

By Michael Moran sligo Champion 01703/2006

Martyn Rooney in action at a recent athletics meeting

By Michael Moran

MARTYN Rooney’s first name gives a broad hint as to his strong Sligo connections. One of the most promising young athletes in Britain, his mother Marie Martyn is a native of 2 Knappagh Road. His father, Liam Rooney, is originally from Castlepollard, County Westmeath.

Rooney was born in Croydon, but holds an Irish passport.

He is now being talked about as one of the great young prospects in the British athletics team-a 400m runner, who also is equally gifted at the double distance of 800m.

The South Londoner was a member of Britain’s 4x400m relay team which finished fourth at the World Championship in Helsinki.

He was eighteen at the time and a superb split in the heats saw him run 44.9. In the final, he was in the same team as Tim Benjamin, the British number one, Robert Tobin and Malachi Davis, and ran even quicker, clocking a time of 44.8.

Ability

“Martyn Rooney is a good example of the kind of young athletes who are developing. He ran wonderfully well. Rooney has the ability to run 44.80 and says the 800m is his preferred event and that time over that distance is world class,” former mile world record holder, Steve Cram, was to state the day Helsinki ended.

Rooney was using every opportunity to plan for the future and he watched Olympic and world 400m champion, Jerimy Warriner, prepare for his events.

“I had been watching him before his race,” Rooney said in an interview with Athletics Weekly, the world’s leading athletics magazine.

“He had a brilliant way of relaxing, just waiting for his race and not letting anything get to him, which for someone with that pressure was fantastic. You can learn by just watching how other athletes run and prepare for things and then try to bring some of that into your racing,” Martyn added.

There are exciting times ahead for the student at Loughborough University in the next eight to nine months.

Target

He has made the English 4x400m replay team for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March, but he has set the World Junior Championships in Beijing as his main target.

He will go there in the knowledge that his course work from Loughborough will be emailed through to him as he combines study with the quest for medals.

Last July in Kaunas, Lithuania, Rooney had finished second in the final of the 400m in 46.56 before running a brilliant anchor leg of the 4x400m to lead Britain to gold. His split time was 45.27, but on reflection, he felt he could go much faster.

He had his sights on an individual gold medal and had a long talk with Rodger Harkins, the coach of the 4x400m team.

“We were chatting about tactics and how I would have to change mine. I have learned about 400m tactics now. In the past, I would go off really slow and relaxed and kick at 200m. Now, I have learned that you have to go off pretty hard for 100m, relax down the back straight and kick with 150m to go,” he explained.

Surprise

“When I was selected for the world’s squad it was a big surprise. But I thought ‘Okay, I’ve got to do well for myself now and have a good run out there’

“I was nervous meeting a lot of athletes that I had seen running on television, like Jeremy Wariner and Paula Radcliffe, but they all made me feel welcome. But then it was another shock when I was picked for the final of the 4x400m.

“I was anxious in the call-up room, but when I got out on the track and started running I felt at home and relaxed,” Martyn went on.

The team finished fourth and ran 2:58:82, but were young and had a lot to build on.

Rooney’s trip to Kaunas came twelve months before an ‘interesting’ World Junior championship in Grosseto, Italy.

Before he went, he was informed that there did not seem to be any problem with the 16 year old’s Irish passport, until the IAAF looked at the situation.

‘Gutted’

“When I got there, I was told that I would not be allowed to run for Britain because I did not have a British passport.

“I was gutted. There was nothing I could do in such a quick time,” he acknowledged.

Martyn had been selected to run in the 400m relay, but was annoyed and did not train for two days following the IAAF’s intervention.

Team officials thought it would make more sense to allow him stay at the championships to gain some experience-and have an unexpected summer warm-weather training trip to Italy.

“It was a good experience and it did help me a great deal along the way when it came to last year’s championships,” he told Athletics Weekly.

With a British passport long since secured, Rooney has two main targets for 2006. His is aiming for gold in the 400m in Beijing and will then dream of returning to the same stadium two years later to bid for the Olympics.

While coached by Nick Dakin at Loughborough-where he is studying sports science management-his first ‘guru’’ from when he first began, Mike Fleet, remains a big influence.

Specialist

Martyn had been a cross country runner as a youngster and having started at eleven won a race at primary school and was subsequently invited to join the Croydon Athletic Club.

The track took over, however, when he was thirteen and now he could be set to embark as an 800m specialist. At the end of last summer, he impressed at the Watford Open Floodlit meeting, where he finished third in a personal best time of 1:50:55.

“The 800m seems a natural way forward for me. I’ll focus on the 400m for now, but I have always seen the 800m as my event and perhaps I have a bigger future in that, but I am in no rush,” he told Athletics Weekly.

Whatever direction his career does take, Sligo will be watching with great interest. Martyn’s mother is a niece of Joe Martyn, Knappagh Road and his grandfather was the late John Martyn, also of Knappagh Road.

Martyn is a first cousin of Derry City midfielder, Ciaran Martyn.