Teacher Fiona Kehoe after winning her medal in Sweden.
An Enniscorthy-based PE teacher has spoken about emulating her hero Sonia O’Sullivan when she recently achieved the amazing feat of winning a 1500m race at a world championships event in Sweden.
Fiona Kehoe, a teacher in Enniscorthy’s Community College, emerged victorious in her W40 1500m race at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden in late August.
And while she is now back at school in Enniscorthy, the Kilmore athlete has been reflecting on her incredible achievement – while balancing a hectic schedule of training and teaching.
Ms Kehoe admitted that when she crossed the finish line in first place after a rigorous run, she was more so relieved than happy.
“It was a relief to cross the finish line. I just thought ‘it is over and it worked out the way I wanted it to.’ I knew I had the world lead time going in so I felt I had a good shot of a medal, but sometimes things go the opposite of what you think,” she said.
“The two Swedish competitors were the ones to beat and they tracked me all the way throughout the race until maybe the last 100m when I broke free from them. I was so terrified someone would pass by me – I just closed my eyes and ran,” she added.
It was an incredible World Masters in Sweden for Wexford athletics. Fiona’s success on the track was complemented by Bridgetown woman Anne Gilshenan – the Slaney Olympic athlete won the W60 1500m in a world record time.
Following a celebratory meet up with the rest of Team Ireland, Fiona found herself back in bed by 11 p.m. for a restful nights sleep before she leaped back into the new school term in her role as a PE teacher. Due to her busy routine during the school year, where she juggles work, coaching, training and personal time, she confessed that people very rarely get to see her.
“It is very hectic, I can be very busy, Some days I start at 6 a.m. and then I might not make it home until around 8.30 p.m. I think I just don’t know how to sit still anymore,” she said.
Physical exercise and sport was destined to be a large part of both Fiona’s personal and professional life, having grown up attending the races and training of her mother who was also an athlete.
“We never knew anything different. I always wanted to run like Sonia O’Sullivan, so yes, I knew very early on what I wanted to do,” she said.
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Besides her mother, a dedicated PE teacher who taught her in school was a source of inspiration and she described her as an early “mentor.” Paired with her additional experience in coaching the younger members of her local sporting clubs, she knew what she wanted to put down as first choice on her CAO form when the time came.
“I just loved coaching, it came so naturally to me. I understand the mechanics of creating routines and training – it just makes sense to me,” she added.
Fiona then travelled to study in Arkansas Tech University on a scholarship, something she would 100 per cent do again.
A core belief of Ms Kehoe’s is that physical exercise needs more attention as it is massively important for the younger people of today, not just for their physical health but their mental health as well.
“It is a fantastic stress reliever. I think during Covid young people did not have that as an outlet and then fell into the bad habit of scrolling on their phones all day. They need to know that there is a whole life outside that small screen. Our school offers a lot of extra-curricular activities, but it is just getting harder and harder to pull them in,” she said.
She finds that girls rather than boys are on their phones more often and she could not imagine living as a young person today, surrounded by the pressure of online social media.
“I would hate to be a teenager today, they are constantly comparing themselves to things they see online. We need to go back and figure out a way to get our kids outside,” she implored.
Following her roaring international success and a busy school year, Fiona is taking some much-deserved time to relax, before designing and jumping back into her next training schedule.
“I am just trying to get back into the routine of things. I will see what is coming up and then I will take it day by day,” she concluded.
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