Chris O’Hare retires…

Chris O’Hare winning indoors, photo by British Athletics

Chris O’Hare, one of Scotland’s finest middle distance runners, has retired. I was fortunate enough to see him win the bronze medal at the European Outdoors in 2014, in the 1,500m, and the bronze medal at the European Indoors in 2015 at the 1,500m. Chris took silver in Glasgow in 2019 at the European Indoor Athletics Championships. Stuart Weir did the following piece on this fine athlete and human being. Always a great interview, we will miss Chris but happy to see him move on with his lovely family.

Chris O’Hare retires

Chris O’Hare has announced his retirement aged 31. He had not run competitively since February 2020.
The-Power-of-10 website records him running a 1500m in 5:05.3 in June 2002, aged 11! The career that followed took him to 13 championships including the Olympic Games, three World Championships, two European Championships, two Commonwealth Games, three World and two Indoor European Championships. He ran 25 sub 4 minute miles in his career – 8 more than any other Scottish athlete. I have been privileged to watch him over 60 times, including all those championships.

Making his announcement on social media, he said: “Retiring is never an easy decision for an athlete to make but I am relieved to say that although I will miss everything about training and racing. I am happy to be a retired athlete. Running has blessed me with so many opportunities and so many wonderful lifelong friendships.”

His career highlights included third in the 2014 European Championship, second 2019 and third in 2015 in the European Indoors. He also reached two World Championship finals and two Commonwealth Games finals. In 2017 he was second in the New York Fifth Avenue Mile.

2019 European Indoors, photo by European Athletics

His first championship medal was in the 2014 European Championships in Zurich, a bronze in the 1500m in 3.46.18, of which he said: “I’m for sure pleased with bronze. In the rush of it at the moment I’m a little bit disappointed that I ran a poor tactical race in the last 500m and Terrence won’t be happy. It felt horrible coming up the home straight and I wasn’t sure that I was going to get there. I didn’t want to get to 50m to go and hit the wall. Coming off the bend I was driving my knees as high as possible”.

He took another 1500m bronze medal the following year in Prague in the European Indoors, when he ran a painful race, having been spiked early in the ace, to finish in third place in 3:38.96. He commented: “I’m a bit of skin lighter. In the first 5 metres I got stood on. During the first couple of laps it felt like more than a scratch but it wasn’t going to stop me. I managed to keep my head down and keep my knees up and keep pushing. It was a good race and I’m happy with it!”

He gained a silver in a high quality 3000m in his native Scotland in the European Indoors in 2019 in 7:57.19, won by Jakob Ingebrigsten with Henrik third. “I’m happy I split up the Ingebrigtsens and just being back on the medal podium. It’s been 4 years since I’ve been on the podium and it’s been a hell 4 years but I wouldn’t change it. It’s made me the person I am today and hopefully this is another step forward. With 200m to go I thought I’ve got bronze and tried to give it everything I had to be on Henrik’s shoulder, and it took me a lot to get on his shoulder, but then round the bend the Scottish crowd just erupted and it does kind of pick you up and chuck you towards the line”.

In 2017 he was second in the New York Fifth Avenue mile on 3:52.00 behind Nick Willis, whom he had beaten in the Hoka One One Long Island Mile just four days earlier, commenting: “5th Avenue mile is always a fantastic event. The organizers are amazing and you can’t go wrong with a mile race down such a historic avenue. Obviously, I would have liked to take the win but Nick is always a fierce competitor and just timed his kick better than I did on the day so I cannot really complain. We both ran well and on the day he got the better of me”.

In 2017 I asked if he would do a telephone interview with me. He replied that the time difference and the demands of family life made it difficult but that he would be happy to reply to my questions by email. I was doubtful as my previous experience of an email interview was with an iconic American sprinter who replied with one-word or short-phrase answers. I sent Chris 5 questions and got 500 words back from him, real integrity. In that interview he said: “Fatherhood has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and my running. It gives me the motivation to get out of bed and run when I don’t want to because I want to be able to provide for my son now and make him proud when he is old enough to understand the sport”.

Josh Kerr embraces Chris O’Hare, photo by British Athletics

A disappointment in his career would be the number of finals he reached without then running to his potential. For example in 2017 when he was 12th in 3:38.28. His assessment a few months later was: “I was happy with the 2017 season as a whole. It was by far my best season yet. Unfortunately, my final at Worlds didn’t go to plan. It is frustrating to have such a successful season and be so far away from my potential when it mattered most but that is just the way the world works sometimes and I am at peace with it”.

A great athlete and great human being.