David Slupko is both affable and tough-as-teak! Known as “Slupko” in his social circle, he mixes the high hurdles with rugby and judo. Since joining Donore Harriers in 2018 he has become one of the country’s most exciting prospects over the 110m Hurdles event. He won the All-Ireland Schools (14.49) and AAI Games in 2019 (14.94) and was pivotal to Donore Harriers progress in the National Track & Field League.
Slupko is not the first budding high hurdler to join Donore Harriers from the sport of rugby. Brendan Mullin, capped 56 times for Ireland between 1984 and 1995 and a British & Irish Lion on the 1989 Australia tour was recruited to the club during a time when he won 110m Hurdles titles in the All-Ireland Schools in 1981 (14.5) and 1982 (14.6) and the National Junior in 1981 (14.5) and 1982 (15.15) in the colours of Blackrock College.
Here’s hoping that talented Mr. Slupko, the former Castleknock College student, will stick around in athletics!
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Born in Dublin, 18/11/00
WHAT IS YOUR PLANNED CAREER PATH? My mindset changes often but I’m building on some ideas at the moment. I hope to be an entrepreneur
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2018 I believe
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? Maurice (Ahern) got Aoife Lynch to contact me after my race in the Leinster Schools, whilst I was in 4th Year
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? Yes, Judo, Rugby and Sambo
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? 110m Hurdles
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Athlete
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? I don’t have anyone who I have looked up to in sport. However, I would say my father was a very big figure for me when I was young. Who I am today and what I have achieved is very much because of him
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Electric Picnic
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. Ready Player One
2. Avatar
3. Scarface
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? I have travelled a lot and every country has its beauties. Difficult to say, but I’m caught between America (Florida) and Turkey
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Spending time with my girlfriend
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
1. Walk Em Down – NLE Choppa
2. What’s Popping – Jack Harlow
3. Run Through Jungle – Creedence Clearwater Revival
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO ARE YOUR ATHLETICS COACHES? John Geoghegan, Paul Clarkin and Emily Geoghegan (Donore Harriers sprints coaches)
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? Winning the All-Ireland Schools Championships. I knocked over 9 of the hurdles and yet I still won achieving a time of 14.49. It was a funny yet memorable day
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES/MARKS (PBs)?
Schools Seniors 110mH -14.49 in All-Ireland Schools at Tullamore June 2019
Senior 110mH – 14.90 (3’6”) in National League at Belfast May 2019
60mH – 8.81 indoors January 2019
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? I remember that we did one very serious session when warm-weather training in Portugal. We finished off with tanning and dipping our feet at the cold steeplechase water-barrier at the stadium
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? I believe I haven’t come across a session where I was lightheaded or had an urge to throw up at the Donore Harriers training, I think that the fitness sessions for rugby with Trinity is where I feel it. I can feel my brain pulsating sometimes!
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN (pre-covid)?
Monday – No sessions
Tuesday – Gym session in town (rugby) 9:00 – 10:20am – and evening athletics 7:15pm
Wednesday – Gym session in town (rugby) 8:00 – 9:20am – and evening rugby 6:00 – 8:30pm
Thursday – Evening either athletics 7.15pm or judo 7.00 – 9.15pm
Friday- Gym session in town (rugby) 9:00 – 10:20am – and evening rugby 6.00 – 8.30pm
Saturday – Athletics in the morning 10:30 – 1:00pm and judo 5.15 – 7.35pm
Sunday – Rugby match with a kick-off around 1.30 pm lasting till 3.00pm
DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? Unfortunately, I don’t really have anything funny jumping out of my mind that ties in with the athletics at this moment. However, I usually have good crack with training partners Alex Clarkin and Zak Higgins
WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? Encourage more people to compete in the National Track and Field Leagues
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME (all sports)?
1. Conor McGregor
2. Katie Taylor
3. Brian O Driscoll
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
HAVE YOU FOUND IT PROBLEMATIC TO JUGGLE YOUR RUGBY UNION COMMITMENTS WITH YOUR ATHLETICS? I have not found it problematic. In fact, I believe I balance it well between the two sports. Athletics has helped me become a little more flexible and agile which has helped me in my rugby. My body has found a midpoint between the two sports and I find no real challenges in mixing the two sports. Just pure work ethic from my end at this point
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR FUTURE IN SPORT? Having been brought up in the sports environment, I had many elders tell me I have a huge potential in rugby. I have picked up multiple awards in rugby, such as Player of the Year Awards. But the problem is that I started to get injuries that took me out of the game for approximately two months at a time. And by each injury, my mental state got rattled so much that at this point I am considering on dropping the sport and concentrating more with athletics. I believe that I have the potential to excel in the hurdles
HAVE YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH INJURIES, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE INJURY AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS? I have been mocked a lot for the amount of breakages I’ve had to this day. But it has never prevented me from stopping my participation in sport
In my childhood
Broke my left arm, I think playing football with older men.
In 1st Year
Two nose breakages within 3 months, playing rugby and then the fixation operation
3rd Year
Broke my right ankle quite bad (displacement, ligaments and tendons remained intact). It side-lined me for almost a full season. I was told that I needed screws and bolts. But I refused and told the doctors to place it back into place – and I prayed and hoped for the operation to be successful. The operation was, indeed, a success. Gladly, I have had no problem with the leg since.
5-6th Year (Rugby Senior Cup campaign)
I had right lower-back muscle tightness. This had a severe impact on my upper body movement. So, professional needling and heat therapies were carried out. The issue was fixed, and I have no problem with it now.
Then, my left-knee-slight hit to the patella causing severe swelling and lockup. I wasn’t able to hinge my knee fully for about 4 months. So, I had more professional heat therapies done. The energy flow up and back to the left leg was an awesome experience
2020 Trinity Rugby
In November I picked up a shoulder Injury. Thus, I had a numb shoulder for over a month. Thankfully, its fully recovered now
On the 24th of February I got a serious break in my left wrist. I had to have 7 screws and a metal plate. Ireland’s best hand consultant surgeon operated on my arm. I’m recovering at a fast pace. Something like 75% healed at this stage
I SAW IN A RACE WHERE YOU KNOCKED OVER 9 OF THE 10 HURDLES – AND STILL WON! HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING TO IMPROVE YOUR TECHNIQUE? AND DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR BACKGROUND IN RUGBY HELPS YOU TO STAY BALANCED AND COMPOSED AS YOU CLATTER THOSE BARRIERS?The reason why I tend to hit the hurdles is because when I see someone bypassing me, even just a little, I get this urge of doing ‘the catch-up game’. I don’t really care about technique at that point and my objective is just to win.
I am trying to polish up my technique, but to perfect it will take months. Furthermore, I must say that rugby does give me that ability to keep going as rugby is composed off trying to stay on your feet as long as you can and clattering fences that have little weight is not much of a challenge or obstacle for me. Also, when it comes to competitions, I am the heaviest runner in the race, but I still have the power and flexibility to compete well. I believe that the technique will soon be sharper. I just need to slim down, and keep working hard at the drills
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE RACE? AND WHY? It was the 19th of May 2019, I think, in the National League at Belfast. This was the day where I knew the race will not be a stroll in the park. I have a good memory of people’s faces and recognised the athlete who competed against Alex Clarkin in All-Irelands Schools competition. That had been a tight race between them both. And then there was Rolus Olusu, an older athlete who coached me hurdles back in 4th year. I intuitively knew that they would be starting out of the blocks against me in the hurdles race. It was a heart-stopping, hair-raising close race and I managed to hold-off the two athletes that I considered my biggest challengers. But that wasn’t the best part! The moment that truly captured my memory was of my supporters, my club colleagues, in the Stand screaming out my name as I passed the finish line. When I stopped and turned towards them all I saw was everyone jumping of joy and congratulating me. I teared up a little bit – not gonna lie!
I think the reason why everyone was delighted is because the odds of me winning were low and many, but not everyone, doubted me coming first that day. BUT I BELIEVED IN MYSELF! And coach Paul Clarkin boosted my confidence prior to the race. He told: “Don’t mind them. This is your race and they are nothing compared to you”
GIVEN YOUR DETERMINATION, COURAGE, POWER, STRENGTH AND NEVER SAY DIE ATTITUDE, HAVE YOU EVER CONTEMPLATED DOING MULTI-EVENTS/THE DECATHLON? I have had thoughts on doing multi-events. I believe I have the power, strength and height and can do well in several events. However, I believe it’s a bit too late to be starting now. Even if I have a few training sessions and head into a competition, I’d be up against athletes who have been training from a very young age. Beating them would be tough as they’ll have years in their pocket whilst I’d be a novice in many of the events.
Everything is possible! But at this moment in time, I want to concentrate on other things, and I don’t have much time to take on more challenges
WHAT IS YOUR BIG TARGET IN ATHLETICS? Top 3 in the national seniors at 110m Hurdles. I’d also like to get that Irish singlet, sooner or later!
IS IT TRUE THAT YOUR NICKNAME IS THE SAME AS YOUR FAMILY NAME? Yes, that’s correct. My nickname is my family name. I am well known in the sports environment in Ireland with the surname” SLUPKO”. I prefer being called Slupko more than David as there are many Davids but only one SLUPKO!!
FAVOURITE MOMENT(S) THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN ANY OF THE SPORTS? A moment that will stay with me forever. Semi-Final against Cill Dara in Rugby.
It was a home game, last play of the game, 16-12 to Cill Dara, scrum on our 22 and their ball.
As scrum was being formed, I was already on my knees (Position Flanker). I had my eyes closed and was visualising myself intercepting the ball and running the whole pitch. What I visualised turned into reality. It became a race to the try line against the wingers that were catching up to me from the sides. When I placed the ball beneath the two sticks and jolted back up onto my feet, all I saw was my whole team running towards me screaming in joy. Everyone was smiling and their happiness really did strike a soft spot in me. I got a little bit emotional as I felt this appreciation from everyone including the coaches. My interception got the team into the final against a tough side in the Donnybrook Stadium. Until this day, whenever we get together as a team, that exact moment always gets brought up in conversation
