Eamonn Coghlan

Eamonn Coghlan
Senator
In office May 2011 – April 2016
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-21) 21 November 1952 (age 64) Drimnagh, Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Fine Gael (formerly Independent)
Spouse(s)	Yvonne
Children	4
Alma mater	Villanova University

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Ireland
World Championships
	1983 Helsinki	5000 m
European Championships
	1978 Prague	1500 m
European Indoor Championships
	1979 Vienna	1500 m

Eamonn Christopher Coghlan (born 21 November 1952) is an Irish Senator and former track and field athlete who specialised in middle distance track events and the 5,000 metres. He is a 3-time Olympian and former world champion in the 5,000 m.

Born in Drimnagh, a successful amateur running career in Ireland led to a scholarship in the United States, where he won four NCAA titles in track running and ran a sub-four-minute mile to set an Irish record at 22 years of age. He soon set the European record over the distance. His speciality was the indoor mile run – he gained his nickname, "The Chairman of the Boards", as a result of his great success on the US indoor circuit. He broke the indoor mile world record on three occasions, and also set a world indoor record over 2,000 m.

He finished fourth in the 1500 Metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics, finished fourth again in the 5,000 m at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and made the 5,000 m semi-final in his last Olympic appearance at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He experienced greater success in the 1,500 m at the European Athletics Championships: he won the 1,500 m at the 1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and outdoors took silver in the event at the 1978 European Athletics Championships. He was also the 5,000 m champion at the IAAF World Cup in 1981 and he became the world 5,000 metres champion at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics.

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