Irish celebrate Nigerian- born sprinter after success at Euro Athletics Championships

Eight days after his glorious evening in the famous old Olympic Stadium in Munich, Nigerian- born Israel Olatunde is back to the more humdrum matters of his KPMG internship, of which he is in the closing days before heading on to UCD.

Over the course of a few hours last Tuesday, Olatunde went from being a promising young sprinter, known primarily to athletics anoraks, to an Irish sensation, the darling of national and social media.

And as Ireland's new fastest man reflected on his sudden viral fame, one message of adulation, in particular, stood out - that from his predecessor.

"I didn't expect people to react this way," Olatunde told reporters on Wednesday.

"It was just all positive, it was great to see. I went a little bit viral. I was pretty happy with that, honestly. Our sport might go a bit under the radar a bit. I think we do deserve this type of attention. There's so many great athletes doing great things, competing against the best in the world.

"They all meant a lot to me but the one that meant the most was definitely Paul Hession, who sent me a message right after, congratulating me. And I saw a video of an interview of him congratulating me too. To have a legend like him acknowledging my achievement, that really means a lot to me for sure.

"It's been an interesting experience, to say the least. It's been cool to see how people have reacted and responded to my performance and my achievement.

"Me and my coach are really grateful for the outpouring of support and love that people have shown us. It's been really great to see people get behind athletics."

Olatunde hasn't ventured out too much to see if this adoration has travelled far beyond cyberspace.

"I haven't really gone out that much. I've just been at home chilling with my family. They really ground me and it's been great seeing all their faces again. This is like my first time leaving the house since then!"

The night after his 100m performance, his great friend Rhasidat Adeleke muscled in on some of his viral fame, with her fifth place finish in the 400m.

"I was there trackside, watching her, screaming her on," says Olatunde. It's always great to watch her compete. The last time I watched her was at the national seniors. I was getting a little bit too excited. I kind of lost my voice after her race. I love watching her race."

Crucially, he did, however, get a 24-hour jump on Adeleke on the Twitter adoration stakes.

"I had to get mine in before her!"

Olatunde made history twice in the course of one evening. Finishing second behind Olympic gold medalist Marcell Jacobs in a superb semi-final run, the Dundalk sprinter had become the first Irish athlete to reach the final of the 100m at a major championship.

Later on, he put the seal on things, out-performing his ranking by placing sixth in the final, and clocking a time of 10.17, shaving one-hundredth of a second off Hession's Irish record, which had stood for 15 years.

While the wider public - mostly oblivious to athletics outside championship time - were caught unawares, Olatunde says neither he nor his coach Daniel Kilgallon were surprised at the Munich performance.

"It's not just a moment in time, it's a journey. A lot has led to this point. Of course, we're overjoyed with the outcome but we're not really surprised.

"I remember in an interview before the championship and someone asked me if I wanted to make a semi-final or a final. And I said, nah, that's not my goal. My goal is just to compete to the best of my ability. I knew if I did that, anything could be possible.

"I knew that if I was in good shape and everything went right, I could definitely make the final. I guess it wasn't a surprise but it was obviously a proud moment for me. I was overjoyed for sure."

Key to that journey were the work of his coaches, first Gerry McArdle in Dun Dealgan AC, and then Kilgallon, who in particular zoned in on his sprinter's endurance deficiencies.

It was in this area that Olatunde had to humble himself, as he initially lagged behind the likes of Rhasidat Adeleke and Patience Jumba-Gula in 300-metre races.

In interviews, his coach Kilgallon is wont to rib Olatunde about his endurance issues, indicating that his protege is lucky there's no 110-metre races.

But the sprinter is satisfied that he's improving in this area, borne out by his staying power in the latter half of both semi-final and final in Munich.

"Before I was with Daniel, I was with Gerry McArdle in Dún Dealgan. I was still fresh, I was still growing. We did everything we could. Gerry felt it was time to move on to a new coach, a new group.

"It was a bit of a shock, just doing a different type of training that I was never exposed to before. Training with faster guys for the first time in a while and the endurance stuff. It caught me by surprise. I was getting beaten by Patience and Rhasidat in training. The stories are true, yes everyone.

"But over time, I got more adapted to it. I still have work to do and things to improve on. I'm not that bad anymore. There are things to work on. But I have been getting better."

In the brief interregnum between the semi-final and final, Olatunde credited his family, his mother in particular, for bolstering his confidence before, what was, the biggest race of his life thus far.

"I wouldn't say I was nervous but I knew what I was going into, against the best in Europe has to offer. But I was kind of just aware the competition was going to be stiff. My Mum, she instilled loads of confidence in me. Just believing in me.

"Not just her, my Dad as well, my brother, my sister, they were all there to support me. They helped me forget about all the thoughts and fears I had before the race and just go out and compete really."

Olatunde will be consulting family and coaches as he takes his next steps. His definite intention is to finish his final year in UCD - he moves into campus soon - but there are likely going to be offers flooding in from the US collegiate scene.

"I'm definitely going to finish my final year in UCD but after that, I'll keep my options open and see what's the best fit for me. Whether that's here or abroad. I'm going to have these conversations with people around me, Daniel and my family."

And while his breakout European Championships performance of 2022 will forever be etched in the memory, for Olatunde it has whetted the appetite for more.

"You can't beat competing at a championship with the best guys in Europe. This was a great championship but I want more. I want medals, I want championships, I want to bring that record down as far as I can. And just becoming one of the greats of the sport."