Thomas Chamney 2006-07 Cross Country Roster

• Chamney’s Olympics Bio

SUMMER 2006: Returned to his native Ireland and made his second appearance for the Irish Senior National Team at the Europa Cup in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, finishing second in the 800 meters in a time of 1:50.95 … set new school record over 800 meters at the Leon Buyle Memorial in Oordegem, Belgium, on July 1, running 1:46.82 to become the sixth-fastest Irish native in history and besting the 37-year-old Notre Dame record of 1:47.5, set by Joe Quigley during an 880-yard race in 1969 … won his first Irish Senior National 800-meter title with a winning time of 1:48.71 … competed at European Senior Championships (his first major international track & field meet) in Gothenburg, Sweden, finishing 25th in the 800 meters (1:50.14).

AS A JUNIOR: Had one of the finest and most consistent seasons in Notre Dame middle distance history … demolished his previous career bests in both the indoors and outdoors, running a stunning series of personal bests to conclude the outdoor season … enters 2006-07 season holding three of top four outdoor 800-meter times in school history (not to mention three of top eight indoor 800-meter marks) … made his indoor debut at the Notre Dame Invitational, winning the 800 meters in 1:50.52 … was the runner-up in the distance at the Meyo Invitational, establishing a new a new personal best (indoor or outdoor) with a time of 1:48.62; qualified him provisionally for the NCAA Championships and was the fourth-fastest performance in school history … earned his first two BIG EAST titles at the indoor league meet … won the 800 meters ahead of teammate John Cavanaugh by running 1:49.88 in the final heat … also took first in the 4×800-meter relay with teammates Cavanaugh, Adam Currie and Brett Adams, running the anchor leg to bring home the victory in 7:28.84, the sixth-fastest mark in Notre Dame history … along with teammates Currie, Ryan Postel and Kurt Benninger, set the school record in the distance medley relay at the Alex Wilson Invitational, qualifying the squad for the NCAA Championship … ran 1:49.94 in the NCAA 800-meter preliminaries before setting another personal best in the final, earning All-America honors with a sixth-place finish with a time of 1:48.50 (third-fastest in school history) … after delaying the start to his outdoor season, debuted at the Drake Relays with the 4×800-meter relay team of himself, Adam Currie, Brett Adams, and John Cavanaugh … ran 7:31.96 for the fifth-fastest mark in school record books … came up just short of winning his second BIG EAST 800-meter title of the season, finishing second in the outdoor league meet with times of 1:50.33 and 1:50.43 in the prelims and final, respectively … helped the 4×800-meter relay team finish second in the BIG EAST with the third-fastest mark in school history (7:26.04) … his two events contributed greatly to the Irish men’s outdoor BIG EAST title … after posting the third-fastest qualifying time in the preliminaries (1:49.60), won the NCAA Mideast Regional 800-meter title with a career-best time of 1:48.86 … in the first round of the 800-meter competition at the NCAA Championships, established a personal best with a time of 1:48.45 … came back with an outstanding semifinal, breaking the 1:48 barrier for the first time ever and earning a spot in the NCAA final with a time of 1:47.70 … with his third personal best in less than one week, earned his second All-America honors of the season by finishing sixth in the final heat at 1:47.64 … his three times at the NCAAs rank as the third, fourth and 11th-fastest outdoor 800-meter performances in school history … capped off year by earning third-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, becoming one of only 10 Notre Dame men’s track/cross country athletes to earn All-America and Academic All-America status in the same season.

2004-05 SEASON: Took a year off from his studies to train full time for the European Under-23 Championships in Erfurt, Germany … took a very strong fifth in the 800 meters at the meet, representing his native Ireland … made his Irish Senior National Team debut at the European Cup in Leiria, Portugal, again posting a fifth-place finish with a time of 1:50.18 … won silver in the 800 meters at the Irish Senior National Track & Field Championships in Dublin, Ireland … ran unattached at Notre Dame’s Alex Wilson Invitational, establishing an 800-meter personal best of 1:48.73 in a fourth-place effort … opened the outdoor season at the Len Paddock Invitational with an outdoor personal-best 800-meter performance of 1:48.92 … further lowered that personal best at the IAAF Grand Prix meet in Seville, Spain, where he won the B 800-meter heat in 1:48.84 … took the 800-meter title at the Irish Under-23 Championship in a time of 1:52.23.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Reprised his role as the team’s top 800-meter runner … ran well at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener, clocking 1:52.71 … bettered that time and set a career best in the indoor 800 meters at the Meyo Invitational, running 1:51.53 for ninth place … qualified for the BIG EAST indoor meet in two events … ran the 800 at the championship, eventually finishing eighth … also scored BIG EAST team points with a fourth-place effort in the distance medley relay with teammates Kurt Benninger, Ryan Postel, and Eric Morrison … competed at the adidas Indoor Games with the same group and ran 9:45.33 as a team … steadily dropped his times in the outdoor season, culminating in his season-best run at the NCAA Mideast Regional … took 14th in 1:50.14 at the meet … other outdoor highlights came with a first place finish at the Tom Botts Invitational in 1:52.52 … competed at the prestigious Mount SAC Relays, finishing 17th in 1:51.44 … qualified for the BIG EAST outdoor meet in two events, taking seventh in the 800 meters with a 1:50.24 mark in the preliminaries and running in the 4×800-meter relay … earned all-BIG EAST honors by placing second in the relay in 7:28.48 with teammates Eric Morrison, Kevin Somok, and Kurt Benninger.

AS A FRESHMAN: Top 800-meter specialist on the team as a rookie in 2003 … won his first collegiate 800-meter race at the Central Michigan Opener, besting the field in 1:54.83 … best performance of the indoor season came at the Meyo Invitational, finishing third in 1:52.29 … qualified for the BIG EAST indoor meet, ending up 11th in the preliminaries … member of the 2003 men’s distance medley relay team … combined with teammates Kevin Somok, Ryan Postel, and Eric Morrison to qualify for the NCAA Championship … eventually finished 10th at the 2003 NCAA indoor meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas … started the outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational, placing 12th in the 800 meters (1:52.01) … broke the 1:50 mark in the 800 at the Tom Botts Invitational, coming through with an impressive 1:49.55 and nabbing his first collegiate outdoor victory (second overall) … made the trip to the famed Drake Relays and finished fifth overall (1:51.97) … qualified for the second conference meet of his rookie season, placing 15th in the 800 meters at the BIG EAST outdoor meet … continued to run well at the Georgia Tech Invitational, finishing eighth in 1:51.03 … qualified for the inaugural NCAA Mideast Regional, finishing fourth in his heat with a 1:51.19 effort … returned back to Ireland during the summer of 2003 and entered the European Junior Championships in the 800 meters … finished an impressive 13th in the elite field.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL: Ranked among the top prep middle-distance runners in Ireland … three-time all-Irish selection and three-time all-regional champion … ranked in the top five in Ireland at 800 meters all four years of high school … also served as team captain for cross country his final two years … was ranked in top 25 nationally in cross country as a junior and senior … represented Ireland in five different international meets, including the World Youth Games in Hungary … also played rugby and soccer at St. Columba’s College … father, John, played rugby for Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland … youngest of two children … born April 16, 1984 in Cork, Ireland … two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star selection … enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters with a major in English (3.563 cumulative grade-point average through spring 2006 semester) … in addition to ’06 third-team Academic All-America honors, also garnered Dean’s List citation in spring 2006 after compiling 3.833 semester GPA.

Honors & Awards
All-American
Indoor 800 Meters (2006)
Outdoor 800 Meters (2006)
ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American
Third Team (2006)
NCAA Mideast Regional Champion
800 Meters (2006)
BIG EAST Individual Champion
Indoor 800 Meters (2006)

(* – indicates school record)