Thomas Chamney
Encyclopedia
Thomas Chamney is an Irish runner who was born in Clonmel
and brought up in Dublin. He specializes in the 800 metres
event. Chamney runs for the Crusaders AC club whilst in Dublin and has been on an athletics scholarship at the University of Notre Dame
, South Bend, Indiana
where he studied English from 2002–2007. He is a four-time Irish Senior 800m champion and competed at the Beijing Olympics in that event in 2008.
In international competition, Chamney has represented Ireland in the 800 metres at the European Athletics Championship in 2006 and at the European Indoor Championship in 2007. Chamney is a former Irish U23 800m champion and was 5th in the 2005 European U23 Championship when he recorded a personal best time of 1:46.82. If he remains injury free it is likely that he will break the Irish Indoor record for 800m in the next year or two.
on the internet amongst both track fans and non-fans when he began posting training journals on the popular college track and field site, TrackShark.com.
An English major at the University of Notre Dame, Chamney was able to use his literary talents and his unique charismatic personality to build a loyal fanbase of American readers who embraced the aggressively cocky yet often self-depricating sense of humor which "the Chamdawg" possessed. Chamney's entries were generally quite lengthy and were written in an Irish vernacular
. Chamney wrote his journal entries from the point of view of what seems to be a fictional self-caricature
: an over-competitive, swaggering, womanizing booze
hound, all traits he picked up whilst completing his Life Skills apprenticeship with Eoin "Sully" Sullivan aka Chull-Dawg, who goes to great lengths to intimidate his opponents and antagonize a French Canadian
teammate whom Chamney refers to as "Guy Fromage".
Chamney's last journal entry was written on February 23, 2006. In a 2007 interview with TrackShark.com, Chamney stated that he enjoyed writing because of the positive feedback and widespread praise that it drew from his fans. However, he discontinued the journals because he felt slighted by some of his Irish countrymen who accused him of exploiting the literary styles of some notable Irish columnists.
After the Beijing Olympics Chamney moved to live and train in Limerick, Ireland where he currently resides. He has competed, since those Beijing Games, at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin over the 800m and the 1500m as well as the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona over 1500m. At both those competitions he failed to qualify for the final. He has lowered his personal bests to 1:45.41 (Bislett Games, Oslo, 2009) and 3:36.83 (Meeting Ciutat de Barcelona, 2010).
Clonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
and brought up in Dublin. He specializes in the 800 metres
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
event. Chamney runs for the Crusaders AC club whilst in Dublin and has been on an athletics scholarship at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, South Bend, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
where he studied English from 2002–2007. He is a four-time Irish Senior 800m champion and competed at the Beijing Olympics in that event in 2008.
On the field accolades
In 2006, Chamney earned All-America honours at the NCAA Indoor Championships, picking up his first career citation with a sixth-place finish in the 800-metre run at the Randall Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Chamney repeated his performance that spring at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, California, again finishing sixth and picking up All-America honours. This winter, Chamney became a three-time All-American with his performance in the NCAA Indoor Championships.In international competition, Chamney has represented Ireland in the 800 metres at the European Athletics Championship in 2006 and at the European Indoor Championship in 2007. Chamney is a former Irish U23 800m champion and was 5th in the 2005 European U23 Championship when he recorded a personal best time of 1:46.82. If he remains injury free it is likely that he will break the Irish Indoor record for 800m in the next year or two.
Off the field notoriety
Chamney developed a cult followingCult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
on the internet amongst both track fans and non-fans when he began posting training journals on the popular college track and field site, TrackShark.com.
An English major at the University of Notre Dame, Chamney was able to use his literary talents and his unique charismatic personality to build a loyal fanbase of American readers who embraced the aggressively cocky yet often self-depricating sense of humor which "the Chamdawg" possessed. Chamney's entries were generally quite lengthy and were written in an Irish vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
. Chamney wrote his journal entries from the point of view of what seems to be a fictional self-caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
: an over-competitive, swaggering, womanizing booze
Booze
Booze is an informal term for an alcoholic beverage. It can also refer to:Places*Booze, North Yorkshire, an English hamletPeople*Bea Booze , American jazz singer*Tyrone Booze , American boxer...
hound, all traits he picked up whilst completing his Life Skills apprenticeship with Eoin "Sully" Sullivan aka Chull-Dawg, who goes to great lengths to intimidate his opponents and antagonize a French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
teammate whom Chamney refers to as "Guy Fromage".
Chamney's last journal entry was written on February 23, 2006. In a 2007 interview with TrackShark.com, Chamney stated that he enjoyed writing because of the positive feedback and widespread praise that it drew from his fans. However, he discontinued the journals because he felt slighted by some of his Irish countrymen who accused him of exploiting the literary styles of some notable Irish columnists.
Post Collegiate Career
Having graduated the University of Notre Dame in May 2007, Chamney trained briefly in Soria, Spain with renowned coach Enrique Pascual before moving to Tallahassee, Florida to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His Olympic year was documented in his online blog, web.mac.com/madra08. In somewhat controversial circumstances Chamney was selected for those Olympics Games having only attained the B standard for the 800m when he ran 1:46.66 at a meeting in Lignano, Italy. At those Olympics Games, he placed 5th in his heat in a time of 1:47.66 and failed to progress to the semi-finals.After the Beijing Olympics Chamney moved to live and train in Limerick, Ireland where he currently resides. He has competed, since those Beijing Games, at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin over the 800m and the 1500m as well as the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona over 1500m. At both those competitions he failed to qualify for the final. He has lowered his personal bests to 1:45.41 (Bislett Games, Oslo, 2009) and 3:36.83 (Meeting Ciutat de Barcelona, 2010).