Self-belief to transcend all limitations

ATHLETICS: What struck me most about the programme wasn't so much the extraordinary range of Eamonn Coghlan's achievements but rather his attitude - he feared nothing

NO ONE is sure of the exact date, but Bob Dylan first arrived in New York sometime in late January 1961 – possibly even this very hour 50 years ago. The details remain sketchy. What is certain is that the 19-year-old Dylan had just dropped out of the University of Minnesota, and as he later recalled in his brilliant memoir Chronicles, "didn't know a single soul in this dark freezing metropolis, but that was all about to change – and quick".

Much has been written about New York’s impact on Dylan – or rather Dylan’s impact on New York. Visit one of the old coffeehouses or folk clubs in Greenwich Village and they’re still talking about “the next Dylan”, or else someone sounding “too much like Dylan”. He had a date with destiny, was going to leave his mark, no matter what anyone else said or did. But don’t take my word for it.

New York was enduring its coldest January in 28 years, and Dylan didn’t arrive by bus or train as most people did but in a 1957 Chevy Impala, having hitched a ride from Wisconsin. Among the few people he did know was Kevin Krown, just in from Colorado, and his friend, Mark Eastman. “He looked like a lost soul carrying a guitar,” Eastman said, “very shy, very frail, like he couldn’t cook a cup of soup.”

They'd already agreed their first port of call would be Greystone Hospital, so the very next day, believed to be January 29th, 1961, they took the hour-and-a-half bus ride into New Jersey, where, after waiting at least another hour, they got to meet Woody Guthrie – who singed Dylan's tattered copy of Bound for Glorywith the words "I ain't dead yet".

What happened next changed the course of musical and cultural history – but what if the 19-year-old Dylan had arrived in New York in late January 2011?

In many ways the city has changed irrevocably over the last 50 years; in other ways it has stayed the same. New York is still a vibrant and vital breeding ground for musicians. It's possible, and maybe even likely, a young Dylan arriving in 2011 would be directed towards something like American Idol, or The X-Factor, or else have to post some of his songs on YouTube. Anyone who has heard Dylan's earliest recordings will know that would spell certain death.

So would he have left the same mark? It’s tempting to say the answer is blowing in the wind, although the reasons Dylan succeeded in 1961 are the same reasons he would likely succeed 50 years on. He feared nothing. Music was the only thing he knew. And while he didn’t believe he was better than everyone else, he believed he was just as good. With that sort of attitude anything is possible, even now.

The same question is often posed in athletics: would the great athletes of the past be as great today? Having watched the latest This Sporting Lifeon RTÉ on Thursday evening, featuring Eamonn Coghlan, I've little doubt they would. It's a fascinating series, but Coghlan's sporting life remains truly exceptional. Unquestionably one of the greatest milers of his era, Thursday's programme was another reminder of just how unlucky Coghlan was to finish fourth in the Olympics – twice – when with any bit of luck at all he could easily have won two gold medals.

What struck me most about the programme wasn’t so much the extraordinary range of Coghlan’s achievements (which most of us know about already), but rather his attitude. He feared nothing. Running was the only thing he knew. And while he didn’t believe he was better than everyone else, he believed he was just as good.

“There was no stopping me,” he recalled, when describing his world indoor mile record of 3:49.78, in 1983. “I felt like I was running on a cushion of air.”

Coghlan had developed a powerful self-belief to go with his exceptional running talent, thanks in no small part to the three special mentors of his career; his father, Bill, and his coaches, Gerry Farnan and Jumbo Elliott. I wonder sometimes have our athletes of today lost that self-belief. Sonia O’Sullivan had it, so did John Treacy, but these days it seems Derval O’Rourke is the exception rather than the rule. If you don’t believe from an early age that you’re going to be a great athlete than chances are you won’t.

In New York last night they staged the 104th edition of the Millrose Games, although I’m sorry to report there was zero Irish interest (beyond Karen Shinkins’ pace-making duties in the women’s 1,500 metres). The famous Wanamaker Mile, which Coghlan won seven times, remains the headline event and the former-Kenyan-now-American Bernard Lagat was chasing a record ninth title. He probably won, but I guarantee you Lagat didn’t come near Coghlan’s 3:49.78, or even the 3:53 flat Coghlan ran in 1981 – a full 30 years ago. The point is, if Coghlan was even close to the athlete now that he was 30 years ago he’d still be Chairman of the Boards.

Talent shouldn’t be limited by time or space. Talent should transcend all limitations. Ciara Mageean made her professional running debut in New York last weekend, and didn’t fare badly at all – improving the Irish junior indoor mile record to 4:38.81. But it suggested, too, there is still a considerable gap before she’s truly mixing it at senior level, and that’s always been the challenge for outstanding juniors. “I needed to get off my ass,” Coghlan said about his transition from outstanding junior to potential senior champion, “and really start thinking like an athlete.”

I was talking with another former great during the week, and he reckoned many of our juniors simply aren’t training hard enough. For all the advances in sports science and all the increases in funding and support, it’s a little bewildering that our distance running standards continue to decline, particularly on the track. Maybe it is more mental now than physical. That’s probably a story for another day.

“I could transcend the limitations,” Dylan also wrote of his arrival in New York. “It wasn’t money or love that I was looking for. I had a heightened sense of awareness, was set in my ways, impractical and a visionary to boot. My mind was strong like a trap and I didn’t need any guarantee of validity.”

Indeed, and as valid today as in 1961.