This week, I am joined by Irish 400m runner Chris O’Donnell, to examine the differences between football and athletics given his transition from one sport into the other. He tells me about his love of football, which started at a young age in a football-mad family and remains strong to this day. Chris describes the decision-making process at a point where he was encouraged to take up track and field due to his natural athletic abilities, and how dedicating himself to a breakthrough in athletics came at the expense of a similar path in football. Among other discussion points are the mentality needed to deal with pressure in elite sport, Chris’s biggest achievements and how he hopes to reach the peak of his career in the coming years (with the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo providing an end goal for his current training).

Follow me on Twitter: @georgemurray_ #TheNextStep