Olympic hero dies aged 38 as tributes pour in for star who skilled with Mo Farah
Mo Farah trained with the middle-distance runner, who was found dead on Tuesday morning, under coach Alberto Salazar before the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London
DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA – AUGUST 30: Ciaran O’Lionaird of Ireland competes in the men’s 1500 metres heats during day four of the 13th IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Daegu Stadium on August 30, 2011 in Daegu, South Korea. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Ciarán Ó Lionáird has been found dead at the age of 38 in Montreal, Canada.
The middle-distance runner trained alongside Mo Farah under coach Alberto Salazar before the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, where he represented Ireland in London. Ó Lionáird finished 13th in his 1500m heat after battling an Achilles injury during the build-up.
A year earlier he made his major championship debut at the World Championships in Athletics, held in Daegu, South Korea, and qualified for the 1500m final before finishing 10th. Then in 2013, he won a bronze medal in the 3000m at the European Athletics Indoor Championships
Ó Lionáird believed that running for gold cost him silver in Gothenburg, Sweden. He said: “If I ran for silver I wouldn’t have been able to get to sleep. I ran for gold and probably lost a silver in doing that.”
This is a breaking sports story and is being constantly updated with the latest news, pictures and videos. Please refresh the page regularly.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest sports stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our sports newsletter.
Get all the very best sports news, pictures, opinion and video by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star
Follow Daily Star on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
Follow Daily Star on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @DailyStar_Sport and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see sports stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at Daily Star Football | London
