Michell Finn and her father Toddy being presented with a hamper by Liam Sheehan and daughter Deirdre before joining up with the Ireland team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Ireland’s Olympic hopeful, Michelle Finn may hail from Castlemagner, but over the years she has been a familiar figure in Mallow, and last week she was in town to visit family and friends before heading to Dublin where she joined up with the Ireland team before flying to Rio for the 2016 Games. Speaking of her early introduction to running, Carol said, “Carol [Michelle’s sister] and I first got interested in running watching Dad [Toddy] create his own dirt track in Mallow Town Park. Mam [Mary] used to drop us to gymnastics and then on to swimming but Dad would still be lapping the park when we got back. We couldn’t understand his fascination with distance running, but now we do!” Michelle was speaking while visiting Sheehan’s Greengrocers in Carmichael Lane, where she met with Liam Sheehan and daughter Deirdre and was presented with a hamper of fruit and veg. Standing in the greengrocers, Michelle said, “We loved the smell of the shop when we were small (and still do!) and we used to hand-pick our own fruit and generally upset Liam’s trays! Sheehan’s Fruit and Veg produced two international runners (myself and Carol) and an international gymnast in my sister Gayle, all in the Finn family. I want to thank Liam and Deirdre for all their support and of course their lovely hamper. The Russians may have the best chemists but we have the humble Ballycotton spud to even the score!”
Michelle is in a rich vein of form at the moment. She ran a lifetime best of 9.43 to finish a magnificent seventh in the European Championships in Amsterdam in July and of course is current Irish champion. So, tune into your TVs at 2pm on Saturday, 13th August to watch our Cork flag bearer on the biggest stage of all. Good luck, Michelle!