Jodie McCann: A Year of Growth on the Road to Paris

Jodie McCann will represent Ireland over 5,000m in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her first Olympic appearance comes off the back of an excellent 2024 season in which she lowered her personal best for the distance a number of times and won the 5,000m  national senior title in Santry for the first time. She runs for Dublin City Harriers, along with her brother Luke, who will also represent Ireland on the track in Paris. 

Early Athletics Beginnings

Hailing from South Dublin, Jodie took up athletics at nine years old. She initially competed in both track and cross country at junior level, but particularly excelled in the latter. One of her early successes was winning the girls' junior race at the 2013 Blackrock College Schools XC meet. Her brother Luke won the intermediate boys' race later that afternoon, completing a memorable family double for the McCanns that day. Their achievements caught the attention of veteran athletics journalist Lindie Naughton.

Jodie's early promise led to her being selected to represent Ireland at the European Under-20 Cross Country Championships every year from 2016 to 2019.

Navigating University and Athletic Challenges

Despite receiving offers from US colleges due to her early successes, Jodie chose to remain in Ireland to pursue primary teaching at DCU. However, balancing the demands of a Bachelor of Education and a grueling commute with her athletic ambitions proved daunting, leading to periods of fatigue and frustration.

Reflecting on those years, Jodie remarked in a June interview with the Irish Independent: “They didn’t want you having anything outside of teaching. I was burnt out all the time from stress. I kept running for myself, but I was not able to achieve anything during that time.”

Nonetheless, amidst the challenges McCann did enjoy a reasonable degree of success during this time. In November 2019 she impressively won the Under-20 Women's National Cross Country and on the track that year she won the Irish University Championships 3,000m in Athlone.

Relocation to Australia: A Pivotal Move

In 2023, Jodie decided to shift her focus exclusively to track events, marking a transition away from cross-country. Competing in the 5,000m at the Irish nationals that year signaled her dedication to mastering the longer distance.

The turning point came when Jodie relocated to Australia, joining the Athletics Club Oceania under the guidance of three-time Australian Olympian Craig Mottram. Jodie already had an established connection to Australia through her mother, who was born in Perth. This move allowed her to concentrate fully on her athletic development for the first time in years. 

McCann immediately benefited from the specialised nutrition and training regimen offered by the club. This led to her clocking up more mileage than at any other point in her athletics career.

Breakout Year: Personal Bests, National Success & Paris Qualification

By early 2024, Jodie's tenure with Athletics Club Oceania had already started yielding impressive results, leading to a breakout season for her. At her first outing in February at Adelaide, she shattered her 1,500m personal best by nearly 17 seconds. She subsequently lowered her 5,000m personal best at meets in Melbourne and Japan.

A professional contract soon followed, joining her brother Luke in the ranks of On Running, an impressive milestone to reach in her athletics career. 

Her debut on the international stage at the European Athletics Championships in Rome further signaled her rising status. Reflecting on her rapid progress from her time Australia just before the Euros, Jodie expressed surprise: “I just wanted to run as fast as I could. I gave myself the year to see what I could achieve without college or work. I never really expected to do what I’ve done. It’s all been quite overwhelming.”

Shortly thereafter, Jodie achieved another personal best in the 5,000m event in Rome. Just 11 days later, she substantially improved her personal best to 15:20.93 at the Boysen Memorial in Norway.

At the end of June, representing Dublin City Harriers, McCann secured her first national senior 5,000m title at Morton Stadium, just a year after finishing 11th in the same event.

After a nervous wait of about a week, Jodie moved up to 46th place out of 48 in the Olympic quota on July 7th, confirming her qualification for Paris this year. Qualifying for the Olympics capped a transformative year for McCann, who earlier in the year had indicated it might just be a bonus: “If it happens, that’s amazing, but I always had LA in my head. I never even thought about Paris. I’m just going to enjoy it and keep racing.”

Conclusion

From early promise at cross country to a challenging university period with an uncertain future as an elite athlete, Jodie McCann has shown remarkable resilience in turning her form around, adjusting to the 5,000m discipline and qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Her decision to relocate to Australia marked a pivotal turning point, propelling her towards achieving her Olympic dream.

As she prepares for Paris, Jodie will undoubtedly aim to build on her achievements, inspired by a year of unprecedented performances.

We wish her every success. 

Image: Perri Williams