Before you ask, this isn’t TV commentary from an international race. It’s not coming to you from Rome. Or Tokyo. Or Paris. Or even Morton Stadium. It’s not a quote describing the final bend of a 400m. Or a 200m. Or indeed any sprint.
This is a scene from a new phase of Phil Healy’s life as she crosses the line at the end of a 10km fun run in West Cork. A very different distance to the short dashes that she is used to.
But the track days are over. We’re not in Kansas any more.
Much training done for this, Phil?
“No! I hate jogging. Ask the relay girls, I don’t even jog the warm-up lap.”
Any experience with long-distance running?
“I ran a 9km with some of my old housemates at seven-minute km pace. And I don’t think I have run a 5km without stopping.”
Ready for road, so.
But there’s no sense of dread in her voice as she lays it all out. There’s just the relief of having the permission to say yes to such things. She can do anything she wants now. This is the time for new adventures.
This is the time to head out for food with friends without the obligation of checking the clock to see if the meet-up falls within her strict bedtime routine. She doesn’t need to look through menus for appropriate options. Order it all if you want.
This is the time to greet wedding invitations with the joy of confirming her attendance instead of offering her apologies.
She’s always had an interest in Rugby Sevens. Maybe it’s time to look into that? She loves being in the gym too and could see herself joining the Hyrox trend.
Run a 10km race without any proper training? Sure! Why not?
“For 14 years, every single decision that I made revolved around athletics. I’ve missed so many big events for family and friends, and now it’s just that freedom.”
Phil Healy at the 2019 University Games. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
****
It’s the morning before that 10km race in Skibbereen, and Phil Healy has just arrived at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery. The hot July sun beats through the window beside us. We’re cooked before the first sip of coffee.
Home for Healy is in Ballineen, just over a 20-minute drive from here.
A few weeks have passed since she announced her retirement from athletics, and the messages are still pouring in. Comments, emails, cards – they’re stacking up into the hundreds. Expressions of gratitude for everything she has achieved.
For her still scarcely believable ‘Depths of Hell’ victory; for the records broken; for the will to battle back from chronic health struggles; and the importance of adding hair bows to your race day gear.
They were something of a statement piece in her 4x400m relay team with Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley. And now, they’re a staple for young runners all over the country.
Healy kept the trend going again recently when she made sure that a daughter of her coach Shane McCormack was fully dressed for an All-Ireland race.
“I was like, ‘Sadie Grace, you have to have the bow.’ You can’t be the odd one out. So, I got her the bows.”
Efforts to reply to all the messages are ongoing for Healy. She was reminded of just how many thoughtful people have been in touch when she appeared as a guest of honour at the recent Cork City Sports.
She was touched to be back among her own.
“I’ve travelled all over the world to all these different standard meets – silver, gold, bronze, and nothing beats coming back to Cork. It’s just the atmosphere. Everybody’s there to support you, and it’s in front of your home crowd as well.
“I’ve had very special memories there. I broke the national record over 200m in 2018 there.”
Healy receiving an award as a guest at Cork City Sports. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
She has known the end was coming since around May, but the realisation had been building from long before that. The first time she considered retirement was in 2024 after winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome, and that incredible Olympic final with the 4x400m relay team in Paris.
“18 hundredths of a second from a medal,” she says, thinking back on that performance where her team set a new Irish record of 3:19.90.
Ireland really were that close to a medal.
LA 2028 wasn’t a target for her, so Healy started having a rethink about what her goals should be. If an Olympics is beyond reach, what else is there to aim for? She had an important conversation with her physio during that period, and the advice put her at ease.
“Just forget about it for now,” Healy was told. “You’ll know when you know.”
And so she delayed making any decisions about the future. The performances she wanted didn’t come in 2025, and shoulder surgery last October gave her more time again to think about what the 2026 season would look like for her.
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Rehab would take at least four months, meaning she would have to miss the indoor season. And, just as her physio predicted, the moment of acceptance arrived when she tried to resume training for the outdoor season.
“You definitely will get that feeling that enough is enough,” Healy says.
“I went back to see if I did have the desire to continue and I didn’t. And I was very much at peace with that because I wanted to go to the track and see, do I have that feeling? Instead of stopping a season at the very end and the what-ifs are always going to play around in your head.”
Healy with her 4x400m relay teammates Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley at the 2024 Olympics. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Healy is blessed to come away from high-performance sport with a short list of injuries. Just a brief Achilles niggle in all her years.
She encountered bigger problems away from the track. In 2019, she broke her leg while wobbling awkwardly off a step during a training camp. A freak occurrence with a big consequence.
“The doctor said it was because the muscle on the side of my calf was so strong that it literally pulled the bone to the side,” she adds.
Today, her right shoulder feels good after that procedure in October. She can count about four times that it became dislocated in the last four years. The first one happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Healy moved to Wexford where her coach McCormack was based, and was working out in his wife’s Montessori school which they converted into a gym.
Healy heard the pop while performing a snatch lift and McCormack just happened to be present to help push the joint back into place. On another occasion, her shoulder came out while putting on a t-shirt.
“I suppose fluke injuries,” Healy continues, “But with them, I suppose you have a road to recovery.
“Yes, they were frustrating, but I could train in so many other different ways. Whereas with the health stuff that I’ve battled, you’ve no set road to recovery. You never know what way the body is going to respond.”
****
Healy and her siblings were always aware that thyroid issues were in their family. Their mother, a nurse, had been living with symptoms for many years and ensured that her children had regular blood checks to flag any problems.
That awareness eventually grew into suspicion after Healy contracted Covid-19 in 2022. It was believed to be long Covid at the start, but after further investigations, she was eventually diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition which causes debilitating fatigue.
Healy took a careful approach to revealing the extent of her condition to the public. She used the term ‘health issues’ in those initial updates.
But of course, the public is always expecting. They get used to a certain level of performance, and there’s a natural curiosity for answers if results start to waver.
“Sometimes there’s no winning with the public,” Healy continues. “You can hide away and not say anything, and you’ll be questioned. And then if you give too much information, they’re like, ‘Ah here, what is she looking for?’
Phil Healy salutes the crowd at the Team Ireland homecoming after the Paris Olympics. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“You have to be open, and you have to show the good days as much as you showed the bad days. And that is very important because that is the reality of sport.
“I think I’m always cagey when it does come to health things, because you don’t want to be preaching when people can interpret things the wrong way. And then somebody takes that as gospel.
“Even so many people have reached out recently like, ‘Would you do some talks for suffering with an autoimmune condition? My daughter has Hashimoto’s, and she’s struggling. Would you create more awareness?’ And to be honest, I haven’t managed it the greatest. So, sometimes it’s hard to know what’s the right thing to say. But I definitely have been more open in recent years.”
Healy has discovered community in that decision to be more open. Athletes from all over the world have contacted her to share their stories of living with Hashimoto’s disease. There’s a sense of relief in talking to people who can relate to how you feel.
But in those early days, managing the symptoms was challenging for Healy. She was forced to take training breaks for up to eight weeks while her body was adjusting to the medication. That obviously meant she was trailing her competitors, and the season was getting away from her.
The medication increases since then have compounded her struggle all the more.
“My mom has been on thyroid medication for, I’d say 30 years, but we’re now on the same dose, and I’m only on medication three years. I get a test every six to eight weeks, (and) I’d say three or four times it has been normal. So, I’ve had a medication increase every single time and that is tough.”
Healy received a separate diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) earlier this year. The readings of her thyroid were normal, but she was still suffering from exhaustion. Getting 12 hours of sleep at night would still lead to a nap the next day. Her doctor finally found the answer after carrying out some hormonal tests.
Fatigue is a mutual symptom of PCOS and Hashimoto’s disease, meaning Healy can’t always be sure where her lack of energy is coming from. One simply feeds into the other to leave her feeling wiped out.
But with PCOS, irregular periods are one of the most common symptoms. This was something Healy could identify with long before the diagnosis. Her periods would arrive between six and eight weeks apart, which she knew did not quite tally with a typical four-week cycle. But every time she raised her concerns with a medical professional, the response was always the same.
“That’s because of training demands,” she was told.
“‘It’s because you’re pushing your body day in, day out to the highest level. It’s just another impact.
“And I did take the pill around competition because you don’t want (your period) to happen on the day of a race. And the pill does mask so many symptoms. I did have to go off it pre-surgery and I stayed off it for a while. So, I suppose that was why my symptoms were heightened in January.”
****
John Caulfield celebrates after winning the 2018 FAI Cup with Cork City. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The Healys have a League of Ireland legend to thank for introducing athletics into their home. Galway United boss John Caulfield is a native of Ballineen and a Cork City great who delivered FAI Cup and Premier Division titles during his time as manager at Turners Cross.
It was while he was the head of Community Games that he passed on some advice to Phil’s older sister, Joan: “You should join the local athletics club.”
And so she did, with her younger sibling coming along for company. While she was doing that, Phil also played soccer, camogie, football and basketball, and swam during those years. She spent some time in Irish dancing too. But athletics was Joan’s domain and Phil was becoming known locally for it too.
Sometimes, they would mistake one sister for the other.
“Any time we’d meet people, they’d be like, ‘Are you the runner?’”
No, that’s the other sister.
Phil wasn’t winning many races, but she also wasn’t in athletics to be competitive. She enjoyed the social aspect of being part of a club and threw herself into the different events within the sport. By her own recollection, she was “a bit of a messer”.
“People think I’m really serious but I’m definitely an absolute messer. There’s four of us at home. I’ve two younger brothers [Diarmuid and Pádraig] and Pádraig is the youngest. He’s 24 now, and we would be the messers. When the two of us are together, we drive our mam up the walls.”
It wasn’t until Phil was 17 that she started becoming more serious about athletics, eventually finding her feet as a 100m, 200m and 400m runner. Joan was more suited to the 60m and 100m races, and was representing Ireland as a teenager at European and World level.
The Healy sisters alongside Gina Akpe-Moses and Ciara Neville after setting a new national record in the 4x400m relay in 2018. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
They did cross over at times, and even ran together on the 4x100m relay team at the 2018 European Championships. Joan ran the first leg, passing the baton to her younger sister for the second leg on the way to setting a national record of 43.80 along with Ciara Neville and Gina Akpe-Moses.
Something changed as the years progressed. Phil was becoming known as the runner while Joan’s career was hampered by injury.
There was a competitive edge between them, but rivalry never gave way to resentment. Joan had the maturity to draw inspiration from her younger sister’s achievements and was never too proud to seek advice.
“Joan is the reason I joined the sport, and I’m the reason she stayed in the sport. We’ve had special memories along the way. She led the way for so long, and then I was starting to beat her. That is tough. And she had so many injuries and challenges along the way. It’s hard when you’re chasing the Olympic goal and then I go on to do it. That is hard when you’re under the one house.”
****
Healy couldn’t understand why she was feeling like this. She had just finished fourth in an Olympic final with another Irish record under her belt. Her 4x400m relay team returned to a hero’s welcome in Ireland after that valiant effort in the final. This was the time to savour what they had achieved.
But she couldn’t get out of bed. She didn’t want to eat or even see her friends. It didn’t make sense. The post-Olympic blues didn’t catch her after the Tokyo Games, but she was feeling it all after coming home from Paris.
The good news, though, was that she wasn’t alone.
“All the other girls on the [relay] team were feeling the exact same. And even other members across the team as well. You just feel so low. I suppose when you’ve literally worked so hard for this goal and then the goal is gone, and your motivation just completely switches.
“From the outside, you’d be like, ‘You’ve just come fourth in the Olympics. You should be on cloud nine.’ But there just comes that rollercoaster of emotion as well.”
A similar void can follow after retirement from sport, but Healy has come prepared for the transition that awaits her. After reading David Gillick’s book ‘The Race,’ she took note of the chapters where he addressed the difficulties he faced at the end of his running career.
Starting with her job as a software engineer, she took on a new project manager role to give herself a new challenge. That 10km race in Skibbereen was part of her plan too, while playing Rugby Sevens for Ireland also briefly entered her mind.
“My ball skills would need a bit of work but the speed element… it caught my eye, and it caught the eye of people who knew I had the interest.
“It would be a massive challenge to get into that squad, but I don’t think I could go back into full-time professional sport again. I don’t know. I was talking to (former Ireland rugby player) Alison Miller who would have trained with us a lot, and she was like, ‘You’d be lethal.’ It would be something different, but I don’t know if I could go back to normal team sport.
“I always loved the gym, probably more than training. So, a Hyrox is probably where you’ll see me in down the line.”
****
The last few weeks have given Healy a chance to ponder the highlights from her running career. Setting new individual Irish records over 100m and 200m is something she will always cherish, even if Rhasidat Adeleke has broken them since.
The 2023 National Athletics Championships is a standout memory for her too. She was struggling with her thyroid at the time and wasn’t performing. But it was after that event that she decided to withdraw from the World Championships and look towards regaining her fitness in time for the Paris Olympics. A crucial call in hindsight.
Celebrating a silver medal at the 2024 European Championships in Rome. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s not a high point, but it was a point that made 2024. If I didn’t give myself that time off back then, I wouldn’t have made the Olympics in 2024.”
But amidst all the reminiscing since making her announcement, there is just no escaping that ‘Depths of Hell’ race from 2016. It was her first race at 400m, and the intention was to ease into the event by running the final leg for UCC at the Irish Universities Track and Field Championships.
But instead, she became a viral sensation after taking the baton in fifth place and falling over the line to victory after an extraordinary run. It was, as Cathal Dennehy breathlessly described on the footage, from the depths of hell.
“Poor Michelle Finn hates me to this day for it,” Healy laughs, recalling the moment she overtook the Irish Olympian who was representing UL that day.
“Even when the retirement was announced, that video went viral again. When people are messaging me, they were like, ‘My favourite race is the Depths of Hell.’ It’s even in the fourth-class Drumcondra English comprehension test that they do in primary school.”
****
In case you were still wondering, Healy managed that 10km race just fine. It took her just over an hour to complete despite the lack of preparation. She was happily knocking back a protein yogurt when The 42 happened to pass by after she came in with the many other competitors at the Run Skibb festival.
That sun we were struggling with during our conversation a day earlier was back in the sky. But even with the obvious exhaustion, she was still able to give some insight on her first taste of long distance running.
“I never knew Skibbereen was so hilly,” she laughs before heading back to her friends and the many new adventures that are finally open to her after a life well lived on the track.
“I’ve done everything that I wanted to achieve in the sport. Now, I’m saying yes to things that I shouldn’t say yes to.”
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Post-Olympic struggles, a new health diagnosis, and reliving a viral moment as a new life awaits
AND HERE COMES Phil Healy, our Olympian.
Before you ask, this isn’t TV commentary from an international race. It’s not coming to you from Rome. Or Tokyo. Or Paris. Or even Morton Stadium. It’s not a quote describing the final bend of a 400m. Or a 200m. Or indeed any sprint.
This is a scene from a new phase of Phil Healy’s life as she crosses the line at the end of a 10km fun run in West Cork. A very different distance to the short dashes that she is used to.
But the track days are over. We’re not in Kansas any more.
Much training done for this, Phil?
“No! I hate jogging. Ask the relay girls, I don’t even jog the warm-up lap.”
Any experience with long-distance running?
“I ran a 9km with some of my old housemates at seven-minute km pace. And I don’t think I have run a 5km without stopping.”
Ready for road, so.
But there’s no sense of dread in her voice as she lays it all out. There’s just the relief of having the permission to say yes to such things. She can do anything she wants now. This is the time for new adventures.
This is the time to head out for food with friends without the obligation of checking the clock to see if the meet-up falls within her strict bedtime routine. She doesn’t need to look through menus for appropriate options. Order it all if you want.
This is the time to greet wedding invitations with the joy of confirming her attendance instead of offering her apologies.
She’s always had an interest in Rugby Sevens. Maybe it’s time to look into that? She loves being in the gym too and could see herself joining the Hyrox trend.
Run a 10km race without any proper training? Sure! Why not?
“For 14 years, every single decision that I made revolved around athletics. I’ve missed so many big events for family and friends, and now it’s just that freedom.”
****
It’s the morning before that 10km race in Skibbereen, and Phil Healy has just arrived at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery. The hot July sun beats through the window beside us. We’re cooked before the first sip of coffee.
Home for Healy is in Ballineen, just over a 20-minute drive from here.
A few weeks have passed since she announced her retirement from athletics, and the messages are still pouring in. Comments, emails, cards – they’re stacking up into the hundreds. Expressions of gratitude for everything she has achieved.
For her still scarcely believable ‘Depths of Hell’ victory; for the records broken; for the will to battle back from chronic health struggles; and the importance of adding hair bows to your race day gear.
They were something of a statement piece in her 4x400m relay team with Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley. And now, they’re a staple for young runners all over the country.
Healy kept the trend going again recently when she made sure that a daughter of her coach Shane McCormack was fully dressed for an All-Ireland race.
“I was like, ‘Sadie Grace, you have to have the bow.’ You can’t be the odd one out. So, I got her the bows.”
Efforts to reply to all the messages are ongoing for Healy. She was reminded of just how many thoughtful people have been in touch when she appeared as a guest of honour at the recent Cork City Sports.
She was touched to be back among her own.
“I’ve travelled all over the world to all these different standard meets – silver, gold, bronze, and nothing beats coming back to Cork. It’s just the atmosphere. Everybody’s there to support you, and it’s in front of your home crowd as well.
“I’ve had very special memories there. I broke the national record over 200m in 2018 there.”
She has known the end was coming since around May, but the realisation had been building from long before that. The first time she considered retirement was in 2024 after winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome, and that incredible Olympic final with the 4x400m relay team in Paris.
“18 hundredths of a second from a medal,” she says, thinking back on that performance where her team set a new Irish record of 3:19.90.
Ireland really were that close to a medal.
LA 2028 wasn’t a target for her, so Healy started having a rethink about what her goals should be. If an Olympics is beyond reach, what else is there to aim for? She had an important conversation with her physio during that period, and the advice put her at ease.
“Just forget about it for now,” Healy was told. “You’ll know when you know.”
And so she delayed making any decisions about the future. The performances she wanted didn’t come in 2025, and shoulder surgery last October gave her more time again to think about what the 2026 season would look like for her.
Rehab would take at least four months, meaning she would have to miss the indoor season. And, just as her physio predicted, the moment of acceptance arrived when she tried to resume training for the outdoor season.
“You definitely will get that feeling that enough is enough,” Healy says.
“I went back to see if I did have the desire to continue and I didn’t. And I was very much at peace with that because I wanted to go to the track and see, do I have that feeling? Instead of stopping a season at the very end and the what-ifs are always going to play around in your head.”
Healy is blessed to come away from high-performance sport with a short list of injuries. Just a brief Achilles niggle in all her years.
She encountered bigger problems away from the track. In 2019, she broke her leg while wobbling awkwardly off a step during a training camp. A freak occurrence with a big consequence.
“The doctor said it was because the muscle on the side of my calf was so strong that it literally pulled the bone to the side,” she adds.
Today, her right shoulder feels good after that procedure in October. She can count about four times that it became dislocated in the last four years. The first one happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Healy moved to Wexford where her coach McCormack was based, and was working out in his wife’s Montessori school which they converted into a gym.
Healy heard the pop while performing a snatch lift and McCormack just happened to be present to help push the joint back into place. On another occasion, her shoulder came out while putting on a t-shirt.
“I suppose fluke injuries,” Healy continues, “But with them, I suppose you have a road to recovery.
“Yes, they were frustrating, but I could train in so many other different ways. Whereas with the health stuff that I’ve battled, you’ve no set road to recovery. You never know what way the body is going to respond.”
****
Healy and her siblings were always aware that thyroid issues were in their family. Their mother, a nurse, had been living with symptoms for many years and ensured that her children had regular blood checks to flag any problems.
That awareness eventually grew into suspicion after Healy contracted Covid-19 in 2022. It was believed to be long Covid at the start, but after further investigations, she was eventually diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition which causes debilitating fatigue.
Healy took a careful approach to revealing the extent of her condition to the public. She used the term ‘health issues’ in those initial updates.
But of course, the public is always expecting. They get used to a certain level of performance, and there’s a natural curiosity for answers if results start to waver.
“Sometimes there’s no winning with the public,” Healy continues. “You can hide away and not say anything, and you’ll be questioned. And then if you give too much information, they’re like, ‘Ah here, what is she looking for?’
“You have to be open, and you have to show the good days as much as you showed the bad days. And that is very important because that is the reality of sport.
“I think I’m always cagey when it does come to health things, because you don’t want to be preaching when people can interpret things the wrong way. And then somebody takes that as gospel.
“Even so many people have reached out recently like, ‘Would you do some talks for suffering with an autoimmune condition? My daughter has Hashimoto’s, and she’s struggling. Would you create more awareness?’ And to be honest, I haven’t managed it the greatest. So, sometimes it’s hard to know what’s the right thing to say. But I definitely have been more open in recent years.”
Healy has discovered community in that decision to be more open. Athletes from all over the world have contacted her to share their stories of living with Hashimoto’s disease. There’s a sense of relief in talking to people who can relate to how you feel.
But in those early days, managing the symptoms was challenging for Healy. She was forced to take training breaks for up to eight weeks while her body was adjusting to the medication. That obviously meant she was trailing her competitors, and the season was getting away from her.
The medication increases since then have compounded her struggle all the more.
“My mom has been on thyroid medication for, I’d say 30 years, but we’re now on the same dose, and I’m only on medication three years. I get a test every six to eight weeks, (and) I’d say three or four times it has been normal. So, I’ve had a medication increase every single time and that is tough.”
Healy received a separate diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) earlier this year. The readings of her thyroid were normal, but she was still suffering from exhaustion. Getting 12 hours of sleep at night would still lead to a nap the next day. Her doctor finally found the answer after carrying out some hormonal tests.
Fatigue is a mutual symptom of PCOS and Hashimoto’s disease, meaning Healy can’t always be sure where her lack of energy is coming from. One simply feeds into the other to leave her feeling wiped out.
But with PCOS, irregular periods are one of the most common symptoms. This was something Healy could identify with long before the diagnosis. Her periods would arrive between six and eight weeks apart, which she knew did not quite tally with a typical four-week cycle. But every time she raised her concerns with a medical professional, the response was always the same.
“That’s because of training demands,” she was told.
“‘It’s because you’re pushing your body day in, day out to the highest level. It’s just another impact.
“And I did take the pill around competition because you don’t want (your period) to happen on the day of a race. And the pill does mask so many symptoms. I did have to go off it pre-surgery and I stayed off it for a while. So, I suppose that was why my symptoms were heightened in January.”
****
The Healys have a League of Ireland legend to thank for introducing athletics into their home. Galway United boss John Caulfield is a native of Ballineen and a Cork City great who delivered FAI Cup and Premier Division titles during his time as manager at Turners Cross.
It was while he was the head of Community Games that he passed on some advice to Phil’s older sister, Joan: “You should join the local athletics club.”
And so she did, with her younger sibling coming along for company. While she was doing that, Phil also played soccer, camogie, football and basketball, and swam during those years. She spent some time in Irish dancing too. But athletics was Joan’s domain and Phil was becoming known locally for it too.
Sometimes, they would mistake one sister for the other.
“Any time we’d meet people, they’d be like, ‘Are you the runner?’”
No, that’s the other sister.
Phil wasn’t winning many races, but she also wasn’t in athletics to be competitive. She enjoyed the social aspect of being part of a club and threw herself into the different events within the sport. By her own recollection, she was “a bit of a messer”.
“People think I’m really serious but I’m definitely an absolute messer. There’s four of us at home. I’ve two younger brothers [Diarmuid and Pádraig] and Pádraig is the youngest. He’s 24 now, and we would be the messers. When the two of us are together, we drive our mam up the walls.”
It wasn’t until Phil was 17 that she started becoming more serious about athletics, eventually finding her feet as a 100m, 200m and 400m runner. Joan was more suited to the 60m and 100m races, and was representing Ireland as a teenager at European and World level.
They did cross over at times, and even ran together on the 4x100m relay team at the 2018 European Championships. Joan ran the first leg, passing the baton to her younger sister for the second leg on the way to setting a national record of 43.80 along with Ciara Neville and Gina Akpe-Moses.
Something changed as the years progressed. Phil was becoming known as the runner while Joan’s career was hampered by injury.
There was a competitive edge between them, but rivalry never gave way to resentment. Joan had the maturity to draw inspiration from her younger sister’s achievements and was never too proud to seek advice.
“Joan is the reason I joined the sport, and I’m the reason she stayed in the sport. We’ve had special memories along the way. She led the way for so long, and then I was starting to beat her. That is tough. And she had so many injuries and challenges along the way. It’s hard when you’re chasing the Olympic goal and then I go on to do it. That is hard when you’re under the one house.”
****
Healy couldn’t understand why she was feeling like this. She had just finished fourth in an Olympic final with another Irish record under her belt. Her 4x400m relay team returned to a hero’s welcome in Ireland after that valiant effort in the final. This was the time to savour what they had achieved.
But she couldn’t get out of bed. She didn’t want to eat or even see her friends. It didn’t make sense. The post-Olympic blues didn’t catch her after the Tokyo Games, but she was feeling it all after coming home from Paris.
The good news, though, was that she wasn’t alone.
“All the other girls on the [relay] team were feeling the exact same. And even other members across the team as well. You just feel so low. I suppose when you’ve literally worked so hard for this goal and then the goal is gone, and your motivation just completely switches.
“From the outside, you’d be like, ‘You’ve just come fourth in the Olympics. You should be on cloud nine.’ But there just comes that rollercoaster of emotion as well.”
A similar void can follow after retirement from sport, but Healy has come prepared for the transition that awaits her. After reading David Gillick’s book ‘The Race,’ she took note of the chapters where he addressed the difficulties he faced at the end of his running career.
Starting with her job as a software engineer, she took on a new project manager role to give herself a new challenge. That 10km race in Skibbereen was part of her plan too, while playing Rugby Sevens for Ireland also briefly entered her mind.
“My ball skills would need a bit of work but the speed element… it caught my eye, and it caught the eye of people who knew I had the interest.
“It would be a massive challenge to get into that squad, but I don’t think I could go back into full-time professional sport again. I don’t know. I was talking to (former Ireland rugby player) Alison Miller who would have trained with us a lot, and she was like, ‘You’d be lethal.’ It would be something different, but I don’t know if I could go back to normal team sport.
“I always loved the gym, probably more than training. So, a Hyrox is probably where you’ll see me in down the line.”
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The last few weeks have given Healy a chance to ponder the highlights from her running career. Setting new individual Irish records over 100m and 200m is something she will always cherish, even if Rhasidat Adeleke has broken them since.
The 2023 National Athletics Championships is a standout memory for her too. She was struggling with her thyroid at the time and wasn’t performing. But it was after that event that she decided to withdraw from the World Championships and look towards regaining her fitness in time for the Paris Olympics. A crucial call in hindsight.
“It’s not a high point, but it was a point that made 2024. If I didn’t give myself that time off back then, I wouldn’t have made the Olympics in 2024.”
But amidst all the reminiscing since making her announcement, there is just no escaping that ‘Depths of Hell’ race from 2016. It was her first race at 400m, and the intention was to ease into the event by running the final leg for UCC at the Irish Universities Track and Field Championships.
But instead, she became a viral sensation after taking the baton in fifth place and falling over the line to victory after an extraordinary run. It was, as Cathal Dennehy breathlessly described on the footage, from the depths of hell.
“Poor Michelle Finn hates me to this day for it,” Healy laughs, recalling the moment she overtook the Irish Olympian who was representing UL that day.
“Even when the retirement was announced, that video went viral again. When people are messaging me, they were like, ‘My favourite race is the Depths of Hell.’ It’s even in the fourth-class Drumcondra English comprehension test that they do in primary school.”
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In case you were still wondering, Healy managed that 10km race just fine. It took her just over an hour to complete despite the lack of preparation. She was happily knocking back a protein yogurt when The 42 happened to pass by after she came in with the many other competitors at the Run Skibb festival.
That sun we were struggling with during our conversation a day earlier was back in the sky. But even with the obvious exhaustion, she was still able to give some insight on her first taste of long distance running.
“I never knew Skibbereen was so hilly,” she laughs before heading back to her friends and the many new adventures that are finally open to her after a life well lived on the track.
“I’ve done everything that I wanted to achieve in the sport. Now, I’m saying yes to things that I shouldn’t say yes to.”
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Athletics Born to Run Olympics Phil Healy Sprinting Track and Field