up to the minute news

Positive start to racing comeback

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:56:52 +0200

After nearly 2 years away from competition, Tom Chamney restarted his sporting ambitions with a positive result at the AAI Senior Road Relay Championships held in Raheny, Dublin this past weekend. Leading the first 2 mile leg for his Crusaders AC team, he handed off in first place, managing to best several of nationally ranked athletes in the process.

The pace was very slow for the first lap of the course (5:02), with the field tightly bunched together heading out onto the second circuit. Tom moved to the front with just before the halfway mark of the last lap, winding up the pace steadily before pulling away over the last 400m to come in some 3 seconds clear of Conor Healy of Clonliffe Harriers. His time was registered as 9:41.

‘It’s good to get back out there and race. The pace was no more than a jog on the first lap which was probably a good thing for me because I’m still some time away from being in prime shape. I’m just happy to be out there after such a long way away from racing. It’s all positive as I go away and get back into training for the coming summer.’

Thomas’ next race is yet to be determined. Please visit www.runmadra.com for further information.

Tom to return to competition

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:38:17 +0200

Clonmel’s Thomas Chamney will return to competition this coming weekend at the National Road Relay Championships which take place in Raheny, Dublin on Sunday. This will be his first race since August 2010, having struggled with a long list of injuries since that time.

‘Needless to say I’m nervous and excited to get back out there and race. I’m not quite where I would like to be fitness wise as I’m still only coming back from a stomach flu that affected my training the last 2 weeks. I’m certainly some months away from being in the kind of shape I’d normally be in for this time of the year, but that’s to be expected. I just want to go through the process of racing again, have some fun with my Crusaders teammates and try my best for the team. Anything above that would be a welcome bonus.’

Thomas will run a 2 mile leg on a Crusaders team that has won bronze and silver medals from 2009 and 2010 respectively. It will be a vastly different lineup to the one that Thomas was last a part of with Alan O’Brien missing through injury while Ronan Kearns and Garrett Coughlan are no longer part of the squad.

For more information please visit www.runmadra.com.

Tom announces a new sponsor

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:46:07 +0100

Irish nutritional company ROS Nutrition has announced their decision to sponsor Crusaders AC athlete Tom Chamney for the coming season.

ROS Nutrition provides an expansive range of high-value sports and health nutrition products. All products are developed based on a critical analysis of the most relevant and up-to-date nutritional research.

ROS Nutrition have their head offices located in Dublin.

Thomas is obviously thrilled with their decision, ‘I met with Daniel Davey at the ROS Nutrition Headquarters and was very impressed with the range of products the team at ROS have produced. They are using cutting edge sports nutrition to help bring out the best in the athletes who work with them. I think that this new deal with only help to further my performance as I prepare for London. Also, and perhaps most importantly, they are an Irish company and this is something I value extremely highly, working with Irish based companies who are at the top of their game.’

Please visit www.rosnutrition.com for more information.

London now the focus as curtain closed on 2011

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:25:13 +0200

Thomas Chamney has announced that he has been forced to abandon any hopes of racing during the 2011 season. The 27 year old Clonmel native has had an injury ravaged 2011 campaign. This included severe tendon damage to both his groins that led to his withdrawal from the indoor season. He was then forced to undergo surgery in April for bilateral sports hernia.

Thomas’ progress since his surgery has been much slower than anticipated by his doctors and surgeon. As such, a return to race fitness has not been possible.

Hopes had remained that he could return to race at the Woodies DIY Senior National Championships on August 6th/7th in Santry where he was aiming on equaling the great Noel Carroll’s record of 5 national titles for the 800m. This goal is no longer feasible due to his lack of cohesive preparation

Thomas’ focus will now be on returning for the 2012 season. As Ireland’s third fastest 800m runner in history, Thomas has high expectations of qualifying for his second Olympic Games in both the 800m and 1500m.

‘It’s been an extremely challenging year for me, one that has seen me go from injury to illness to injury and back again. It’s very unfortunate that the pre-Olympic year has been a wipe-out but this is the nature of sport and when tough questions are asked, like the ones I’ve faced this year, it’s about coming up with the answers. This experience has motivated me to come back stronger and faster then before, and for that I can only be grateful.’

Tom to feature on setanta programme

Thu, 5 May 2011 12:34:31 +0200

This coming month Thomas will feature on a new sports show, Talking Sport, on the Setanta Ireland channel. The show will be broadcast on Monday, May 23rd at 7:30pm and again on May 27th ay 9:30pm.

The programme consists of 30min interview in which Thomas discusses his career to date, his goals for the future as well as a whole host of other athletics related topics, including AAI’s controversial selection policy for the upcoming London Olympics. It’s sure to prove an interesting way to spend 30 minutes. Tune in!

Tom issues sincere thanks to Peak Motion

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:48:01 +0100

Thomas would like to send a special thanks to Phil Baca and his team at Peak Motion Physical Therapy who worked closely with Tom during his recent 4 week training camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Phil and everyone at Peak Motion really made me feel welcome and, being honest, kept me in one piece during my camp. Phil took the time to treat me whenever I needed it and thanks to him I was able to get just about everything I wanted out of my camp. It’s rare you’ll find someone who is as willing to give a great degree of their time to treating just one patient as Phil was in my case and I sincerely thank him for his help.”

Philip's positive attitude resonates in his practice and throughout his staff. Putting patients first and working to make his time available to everyone, Peak Motion is a premiere physical therapy facility. For more information on Peak Motion please visit www.peakmotionpt.com

Pinewood Healthcare to Sponsor Tom

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:43:23 +0100

It has recently been announced that Ballymacarbry based pharmaceutical company, Pinewood Healthcare have decided to sponsor Tom for the coming 2011 season.

Pinewood is the leading and fastest growing branded generic pharmaceutical company in Ireland. The Company manufactures liquids, creams/ointments and powders under its own licenses in Ireland, which are distributed to its international markets directly from its facility located in Ballymacarbry.

Given the current financial difficulties facing our country this news can only serve as a major fillip for Tom as he continues his preparations for the coming outdoor season, the aim of which will be the World Championships in Daegu, Korea.

Thomas was understandably delighted with this announcement,

‘Obviously we are all facing tough times and the fact that a company with the prestige of Pinewood has thought it a good idea to back me on the road to the Olympics in London only bolsters my confidence going forward. I cannot overstate how important this sponsorship will be in facilitating my training and preparation for the coming outdoor season. I aim to use the sponsorship for a series of training camps in the lead up to my outdoor campaign and, of course, Daegu.’

tom’s altitude camp featured in blog article

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 09:57:49 +0100

With the launch of Limerick athlete Niall Tuohy’s new online website, suitably called www.niallytuohy.com a worthwhile article appears featuring Thomas and his summer camp for altitude training in France. The text is below or click here to visit the original article itself.

An Attitude for Altitude – Training in Font Romeu with Ireland’s 800m/1500m athlete Tom Chamney.
Dry summer sunshine. Breathtaking scenery. Relentless training. I spent the last two weeks of May in France for a training camp with my housemate, Olympian, and Irish 800m champion, Thomas Chamney (aka “the madra”).
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The Centre Nationale d’Entrainement en Altitude (CNEA) in Font Romeu is at an altitude of 6,000 feet, high in the Pyrenees with snow capped mountains and miles of forest trails. It is Tom’s fourth consecutive year coming to Font Romeu for his late spring training camp and it is now an integral part of his preparation for the summer track season.
Many of Ireland’s (and indeed the world’s) top athletes now base themselves at altitude for large amounts of the year. This is not only to avail of the many physiological benefits of training high above sea level but also altitude training centres tend to be in remote places and so encourage an athlete to develop the "run, eat, sleep and run again" mentality and lifestyle.
I have witnessed Tom’s taxing training regime from living with him in Limerick this past year but I was nonetheless impressed by his ability to crank it up a notch for the camp. Training runs were twice a day, every day with no excuses. Each run was followed by either core work, speed and form drills, general strength, flexibility exercises or his weights program prescribed by his strength and conditioning coach. Regular medical screening and restorative massage ideally supplement this intense training and Tom was able to avail of comprehensive blood testing at the centre. He rated highly the speed and efficiency of the medical services, as he was able to get bloods taken in the morning at the centre and have his results available that same afternoon. This quick response meant he could analyse his readings (with the help of Athletic Ireland doctor Joseph Conway) and adjust his training where required. He also got massage on his legs three times per week to aid his recovery.

It was my first visit to Font Romeu and I arrived in a not-so-fit condition after a tough couple of years struggling with injury and surgeries. This made the trip to altitude all the more challenging and I immediately noticed the difference. We got a tough chewy steak for dinner on my second night at the centre and I couldn’t help noticing how I was puffing and panting trying to cut it! Alas everything at altitude is that bit harder - climbing stairs, getting up in the morning and just the general breathe-in-and-breathe-out sequence – it is all a battle!! The theory behind an athlete living and training at a high altitude is that by putting your body in this hypoxic state it must work harder to achieve the same outcome. This forces the body to create more of the natural hormone EPO and thus increases the body’s red blood cell count. From an athlete’s perspective he/she can then return to sea level and benefit from having more oxygen rich blood and increased likelihood of successful performance.

My running was limited on the trip but I bought a cheap mountain bike in Perpignan and cycled with Tom on his hilly training runs and paced him on the bike for his track intervals. The centre is not only for runners but is visited every year by international level cyclists, swimmers and triathletes coming from as far as Russia and Eastern Europe. There are two swimming pools (50m and 25m), 2 gyms (one with machines and one for free weights) and hills to tackle left, right and centre. From a cross training perspective, athletes are spoiled for choice!

The strict training regime means that you come away from the training camp focused, inspired and rejuvenated. Whilst there I was reading the book “Born to Run” (Christopher McDougall) and a quote from it comes to mind:

“Poetry, music, forests, oceans, solitude – they were what developed enormous spiritual strength. I came to realize that spirit, as much or more than physical conditioning, had to be stored up before a race.”
- Herb Elliot, Olympic champion and world-record holder in the mile who retired undefeated.

On the final day of camp after checking out and enjoying our last cup of café au lait in our favourite café in Font Romeu, we hopped in the rental car and tackled the torturous roads back down to sea level and to nearby Girona, in Spain. It was on this scenic drive that I thought about the previous two weeks and acknowledged the mental strength it had given both of us. For Tom, it helped fuel what I would consider the two most essential contributors to being a winner – his passion for his profession and his hunger to be the very best he can be. For me, although running isn’t my profession at the moment, it reminded me that being an athlete is exactly what I want. So when my body allows me to resume a tough training regime, I can’t wait to chase down the Madra!

Chamney to skip indoors

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:51:50 +0100

Clonmel’s Beijing Olympian and Ireland’s top middle-distance athlete Thomas Chamney has announced that he is to skip the upcoming indoor season due to an injury. Whilst his preparations had been on track for a strong peak at the European Indoor Championships in Paris, France, he recently suffered an injury to his hip which will mean he will miss vital preparation time. Rather than rush back to full fitness, he, along with his medical team of Dr. Garrett Coughlan and Dr. Joe Conway, made the decision to focus on solving the root cause of this problem, one that has been ongoing since 2008.

‘Needless to say it’s frustrating as the European Indoor Championships would’ve been the perfect opportunity to make up for the disappointment of Barcelona last summer,’ he said from Dublin where he is currently in the midst of an extensive rehabilitation program.

‘I feel very confident that this time away from training and racing will allow me to put some biomechanical issues to bed once and for all. I’m lucky I have a great support staff around me, with Garrett Coughlan orchestrating my rehab for the coming weeks and Eoin Everard keeping on eye on me when I am down in Limerick. I aim to be back in training by late January. I had planned on a full indoor schedule with hopes of competing really well at Euro Indoors. But to look on the brightside of this small setback, I will be extremely fresh heading into outdoors, something that was maybe missing from last year’s preparations. I was injured in 2009 before running massive PBs at every distance so this should be a blessing in disguise for 2011. I’m convinced I can run PBs in both 800m and 1500m this summer.’

He will return to competition at the National Road Relays in April where he aims to help Crusaders AC in their pursuit of an elusive first national road relays title. His return to international track competition will begin in May as he aims towards representing Ireland at the World Athletics Championships in Korea in August.

Thomas Reacts to new standards

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:08:26 +0100

From the Irish Daily Mail Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010.

by Jonathan Coates

Thomas Chamney blasted international athletics chiefs last night for all but destroying his dream of running the 1,500metres at the London Olympics.
The charismatic Clonmel native has been refining his approach to the distance favoured by Ronnie Delany and Eamonn Coghlan for two years but yesterday’s news of a dramatic hike in qualifying demands left him stunned.
The IAAF have set the qualifying mark benchmark for next year’s World Championships at 3:35.00 which means Chamney (3:36.83) needs to shave almost 2 seconds off his best to get to Korea and in turn stay on path for London 2012.
The Limerick-based Crusaders runners reacted aggressively to the news, saying it made him feel ‘fired up’ to prove a point but it has also forced him into a sober review of his career plan.
Chamney, 26, who ran at the 2009 world summit in Berlin and at this year’s European Championships in Barcelona said ‘I expected it to be a bit tougher but I didn’t expect them to take 1.2secs off the time.
‘It’s another case of the IAAF screwing the little man. Only five Europeans ran under 3:35 last year and the guy who won the bronze medal at the European Championships (Manuel Olmedo) has never run that time. I’ve never even been in a race that was won in under 3:35.
‘I just think the IAAF are trying to streamline the 1500 for television. Based on last year, only 22 athletes would have got that time and you can have up to 16 in a 1500m race so they’re looking at having barely 2 rounds in Daegu.
‘It’s good that they are setting the bar high but it’s bad news for me and it’s bad news for European distance-running.’
Chamney’s quandary now is whether to keep hammering at the door or go back to the 800m where the IAAF have left the bar untouched.
And his livelihood, regardless of how the Sports Council fares in next month’s budget, hinges on his decision.
‘Two years out from London I would have bet my house, if I could afford one, on me reaching the A standard for the 1500m in 2011.
‘But that was based on it going up by a second or maybe .8 of a second,’ he told Sportsmail yesterday.
‘Now if I don’t run 3:34 next year it means I’ll be on the circuit chasing the time in the summer of 2012, and will be knackered by the time the Games come around.
‘I know I can run the world qualifying time in the 800m because it’s only 0.01 off my PB,’ added Chamney.
‘And if I do that I will be able to keep my funding and keep my head above water.
‘But realistically that would get me on the place to London and that’s it. I have much more of a chance of success in the 1500m which is more about tactics and where guys with good closing speed like me have a chance.’