On episode 216 I am delighted to joined by Ireland’s fastest man Israel Olatunde.

Growing up in dundalk he competed multiple sports before focusing on sprinting. He attended UCD on scholarship and went all in on reaching his athletic potential.

Israel was catapulted into the headlines in 2021 with his first national title a month after his 19th birthday.  The following summer aged 20 he made it all the way to the European 100m outdoor final. He finished 6th, only 0.04 seconds outside a medal, and ran the fastest race of his life in the biggest race of his life. His time of 10.17 seconds set a new Irish record previously held by Paul Hession at 10.18 seconds which was set 15 years previous.

Following Olatunde's performances and obvious potential he decided to move to the United States to join the Adidas training group training alongside olympic champion Noah Lyles in Florida. 

Last summer he set a new PB and record with 10.8 seconds 🤯 officially pushing Irish sprinting into new territory!

We recorded this episode in January as we discussed his career path, goals, becoming Irelands fastest man, following your own dream and path, his focus on life outside the track, life & training in the US and more. 

Tune in to hear from one of Ireland’s rising stars who is set for a big 2026 with his eyes on a medal and becoming the first Irish man to run sub 10 seconds over 100m. 

Not only is he focused and driven on the track he is aiming for success and a career post athletics, where he's not afraid of giving it his all and having fun along the way! We had a great laugh recording this episode and look forward to watching Israel as he continues to inspire a nation.

Follow Israel here

https://www.instagram.com/israel.olatunde/

Follow The Sideline Live Social Media channels and the host Orla here: 

https://linktr.ee/TheSidelineLive

Recorded using Samson Q2 microphone, Edited using GarageBand

Intro music, Watered Eyes by a talented Irish artist, Dillon Ward check him out ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ . 

If you are looking to set up your own podcast get in touch with the Prymal Productions team ⁠⁠⁠www.prymal.ie⁠⁠⁠