A neck injury whilst playing rugby, aged 14, put John Menton on a different sporting journey that would eventually lead to his selection on the Irish team for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The Donore Harriers athlete carved out an athletics career that saw him ranked as one of Ireland finest ever throwers. He won a staggering 26 national senior titles in the Discus and 56lb Weight-For-Distance (WDF) – and 16 Intervarsities crowns in 4 different throwing events. Menton is the Irish record-holder in the 56lb WFD event with a 9.16m throw at Santry in July 1998. His personal best Discus throw of 63.70m at Oakhurst, New Jersey on the 5th of July 2000 that qualified him for the XXVII Olympiad, ranks Menton as 2nd on the all-time Irish list for the event.
John who was a member of London Irish AC and the New York Athletics Club represented Ireland on several occasions and won a silver medal at the World Masters Athletics Championships in 2007.
In this interview John mentions the New Year’s Shot Putt competition, aka a social gathering of the Irish Throwers Club, that had the objective to give Ireland an early lead in the World rankings!
Summary of main achievements (those I could find):
National Junior Discus gold in 1989 (41.26m).
National Senior Discus gold (total 7) in 1998 (56.59m), 2001 (55.59m), 2002 (52.03m), 2003 (52.67m), 2004 (55.24m), 2005 (52.01m), 2008 (46.03m); National Senior 56lb WFD gold (13) 1991 (8.19m), 1993 (8.61m), 1995 (8.33m), 1996 (8.73m), 1997 (8.95m), 1998 (9.16m NR), 2001 (8.36m), 2003 (8.03m), 2004 (8.35m), 2005 (8.42m), 2006 (8.22m), 2007 (8.20m), and 2008 (7.90m). National Senior Indoor 56lb WFD (6) gold in 1991 (8.23m), 1994 (8.00m), 1995 (7.83m), 2000 (8.78m CR), 2001 (8.74m) and 2003 (8.27m).
John competed in every national senior championship between 1989 and 2011 – a span of 23 years – winning a total of 45 medals.
National Intervarsities 35lb WFD gold (4) in 1993 (10.85m), 1994 (10.36m), 1995 (10.98m), 1996 (11.53m CR) – and Discus gold (5) in 1991 (48.20m), 1993 (distance not available), 1994 (43.25m), 1995 (52.38m) and 1996 (48.36m). Shot Putt gold (2) in 1995 (14.39m) and 1996 (13.46m). Hammer Throw gold (3) in 1994 (43.98m), 1995 (41.81m) and 1996 (43.98m). Indoor Shot Pull gold in 1992 (12.88m)
Also, 1993 Celtic International T&F Discus gold (52.96m) and 1995 Celtic International T&F Shot Putt gold (13.71m) and Discus silver (44.56m).
John represented Ireland in the World University Games 1993 at Buffalo, USA when he threw 51.34m in the Discus. Incidentally, Ireland’s only medal at that Games was a bronze won by John’s team-mate Nick Sweeney in the discus.
Empire State Games 1997 at Albany New York gold medal in 59.24m.
Olympic Games 2000 at Sydney (54.21m) failed to qualify for final.
World Masters 2007 at Riccione, Italy silver medal (53.26m) in the M35 age group.
Also, Ireland vs Scotland vs Wales vs Iceland at Grangemouth in 1991
Ireland vs Wales vs Croatia at Cardiff in 1996
Europa Cup at Aarhus (2003), Reykjavik (2004) and Leiria (2005).
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin 1970
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? Terenure College, UCD, Law Society of Ireland
WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN CAREER PATH? Solicitor
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 1987
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? A number of my friends from Terenure College, including Gareth Murphy and Declan Tonge, were members of Donore Harriers and they introduced me to the club.
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? I used to play Rugby until 14 years old and a serious neck injury ended participation in Rugby.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? 56lb for distance
WHAT WERE YOUR MAIN ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Athlete and Committee member.
WHO WERE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? In Ireland – Phil Conway (Athlete and Coach), the “Irish Whales” who were Irish born throwers that won multiple Olympic Gold medals for the US in Hammer, Discus and Shot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Whales ) as well as Nick Sweeney who qualified for 1992 Olympics in Discus and helped me qualify for the World University Games in Buffalo 1993. In US – Roman Feldman, Coach.
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Ennio Morricone
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. The Good the Bad and the Ugly
2. Duck you sucker (aka a Fistful of Dynamite)
3. The Italian Job (Michael Caine version)
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? AND WHY? Portugal – The weather, food, history, beaches and multiple historical sites as well as the diverse regions and wine.
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Golf, Target Shooting and Venture capital.
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
1. Got To Give It Up – Thin Lizzy (from Life live album)
2.The Man Who Sold The World (Nirvana live version of David Bowie song)
3. The Ecstasy of Gold – Ennio Morricone
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO WERE YOUR COACHES? Gerry Ronan (Donore Harriers), Phil Conway and Dan Kennedy (Ireland Throwing) and Roman Feldman (US Throwing).
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? Breaking the 56lb for Distance Irish record in 1998 which had stood for 25 years at that time.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST MARKS (PBs)?
Discus – 63.70m
Shot Putt – 15.08m
56lb Distance – 9.16m
56lb Height – 4.80m
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Throwing in Randalls Island, roasting hot day, good wind and threw over 20 throws over 60m.
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU DID? Winter throwing in New York – Middle of Winter in New York, Randalls Island beside Hudson River, wind chill was worse than minus 15 centigrade or in St John’s University when we used to sweep the snow off the throwing field as a warm-up!
WHAT WAS A TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN IN YOUR HEYDAY? 20 hours training a week – 5 to 6 hours of throwing per week. Weight training most days with mixture of speed weight training session and heavier sessions.
DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY OR UNUSUAL STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? We used to hold a “handicap” shot putt competition at midnight on New Year’s Eve in Donore Chapelizod (around 1995/1996) so that on New Year’s Day the World Number 1 Outdoor Shot Putter would be Irish (for a few days at least) – at least that was the theory! Steve Backley (Olympic Javelin Medallist) competed one year as well (1995 I think). The warm-up for the competition took place in the Donore Harriers Clubhouse Bar and the handicap system was based on alcohol consumption (by reference to weight to make it fair) and a breathalyser test was administered immediately before the competition (which you had to fail to compete except for Terry McHugh who did not drink). I attach some newspaper clippings from that time which we found recently.
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?
1. Martin Sheridan – from Bahola Mayo – 5 Olympic Gold Medals (for US)
2. Eamonn Coghlan – Running
3. Moss Keane – Rugby
<<NOTE: link to the story of Martin Sheridan (1881-1918) – https://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/towns-villages/bohola/history/martin-sheridan.html >>
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WHERE DID YOU INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COMPETE IN THE DISCUS EVENT? After a neck injury in Rugby I was looking for a sport to take up. Given my height it was with Basketball or Discus throwing and I was no good at basketball!
DID YOU COMPETE AS A JUVENILE OR SCHOOLBOY ATHLETE? I Just turned up for Shot Putt schools competitions in early years – no real training, I had no idea how to technically throw and never qualified for All Ireland Schools from Terenure College. I joined Donore Harriers in 1987 and ended up with a Silver in U17 BLOE Shot Putt.
YOU WON THE NATIONAL JUNIOR TITLE IN 1989 BUT DID NOT WIN YOUR FIRST SENIOR TITLE UNTIL 1998. DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR DEVELOPMENT WAS HAMPERED BY DEMANDS OF WORK, ETC? The reality was that Nick Sweeney was a full-time world ranked Discus thrower during most of this time – being a finalist in European and World Championships – so I have a plenty of silver medals from this time!
IS IT TRUE THAT YOU WON 20 NATIONAL SENIOR TITLES? Indeed, I won 26 National Senior titles in total, 20 outdoor and 6 indoor. Seven outdoor titles in the Discus, 13 in the 56lb Distance – and 6 indoor titles in the 56lb Distance.
YOU COMPETED FOR THE LONDON IRISH ATHLETICS CLUB. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? AND WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE? In the early 90s a lot of Irish throwers competed for London Irish AC, including Sean Egan, John Farrelly, Paul Quinlan – and I joined the London Irish through the other Irish throwers in the club. It was great to have access to the competitions in the British League via London Irish which certainly helped me improve and was important in the build up to qualifying for the World University Games.
YOU WENT TO THE 1992 BARCELONA OLYMPICS AS A SPECTATOR. HOW DID THAT INFLUENCE YOUR FUTURE ATHLETICS PATHWAY? I suppose I caught the Olympic bug watching the 1992 Olympics Live. It was not until 1996 that I joined a “throwing squad” in New York where most athletes in the squad had the aim of Olympic qualification or qualifying for US Nationals.
FAST-FORWARD TO THE YEAR 2000 AND YOUR EFFORTS TO GET THE OLYMPIC QUALIFYING STANDARD WHEN YOU RETURNED TO AMERICA TO LINK UP WITH COACH ROMAN FELDMAN. TELL US ABOUT FELDMAN AND ABOUT REACHING THE STANDARD? I met Roman through Paddy McGrath (Irish Hammer thrower) when I initially moved to New York in 1996. Roman is Ukrainian by birth and coached many of the top Soviet throwers on technique before he defected from the former Soviet Union. He is an expert on the Biomechanics of throwing the Hammer and Discus and made a huge difference to my throwing technique.
I started throwing with him when I arrived in New York in 1996 and was over 55m by year end (just on technical improvements alone). I then started my first winter work with Roman – and Paddy McGrath (Hammer) – as my main training partner along with Gerry Ryan (Hammer), Ronald Quinlan (Hammer) and Leo Sharkey (Discus)) working on specific strength for the Discus. Roman really focused in developing specific strength for the specific throwing event and was always watching for “over training” and knew that “one schedule” did not fit all athletes – for example he was able to tailor my training schedule to my work and travel schedule – which accounted for approx. 60 hours a week and 100,000 miles of travel a year.
Time management was critical to fit in 60 hours of work a week plus 20 hours of training. I used to train in NYAC at lunchtime (and/or some evenings) and also purchased a heavy-duty squat rack, bench, the Olympic Bars and over 300kg of weights for my apartment so that I could complete my weight training early in the morning or late at night. Usually, I would break up my schedule so that I would do 30 minutes weight training in the morning before work and do the heavier lifts in NYAC later in the day. When I travelled within the US – which on average was a quarter of the time – I would stay in reciprocal clubs to NYAC so that I could maintain some training on the road. I would also meet up with Nick Sweeney (in San Jose), Conor McCullough (LA) and Paul Quirke (California) to go weight training when I was in California – which was usually at least 4 times a year. Joining NYAC was critical to my training and I have Eamonn Coghlan to thank for that.
I was able to train in the indoor athletics facility of Manhattan College which was great – particularly during the winter months and we could throw into nets, use the weights-room, and access the track all under one roof. A facility that still does not exist in Ireland! Paddy McGrath, Gerry Ryan and Ronald Quinlan all went to Manhattan College on Hammer scholarships and the head coach there (Dan Mecca) was kind enough to let me use the college training and throwing facilities.
In 1997 I threw over 59m to win the Empire State Games in Buffalo New York – and immediately after the competition had to jump straight onto a plane to work in California that evening! Surgery on a hernia caused a break in training and weight training and I had to settle with another 59m best for 1998 and finally broke 60m in 1999. In the Olympic year I took several months off work and moved back to the US to chase that qualifier of 63.50m and achieved my PB of 63.70m.
IS IT TRUE THAT YOU BUILT A THROWING CIRCLE BEHIND THE DONORE HARRIERS CLUBHOUSE? Yes – Ed Healy and myself, with great help from Matt Rudden, built a throwing circle behind the club house towards the end of 1994. I think the land was owned by the OPW then. We had to have it finished for one of the New Year’s Eve competitions mentioned in the attached newspaper clippings.
WHO WERE THE COACHES/PEOPLE WHO MOST SUPPORTING YOUR ATHLETICS JOURNEY? Phil Conway and Dan Kennedy – throwing coaching in Ireland.
Maurice Ahern – all the way through. Maurice has a real interest in all aspects of Athletics and was always a great supporter of me and throwing events. He always ensured that training facilities were available to throwers at a time when Santry and Belfield were restricted to throwers. He is considered an honorary thrower by the throwing community!
Eamonn Coghlan – When he heard I was moving to New York he suggested that I join New York Athletic Club and he organised for me to join that club straight away – and it was a club that was not easy to get into quickly. The reality is that I would not have been able to put in the training hours without being a member of NYAC which was close to my office in New York and had all the required facilities.
Nick Sweeney – to qualify for World University Games in 1993.
Roman Feldman – US throwing Coach
THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY A FRIENDLY RIVALRY AMONG IRISH THROWERS IN THE 90s & NOUGHTIES. WHO AMONG YOUR RIVALS GAINED YOUR RESPECT AND WHO WERE YOUR TRAINING BUDDIES? Nick Sweeney, Terry McHugh (Javelin), Ed Healy RIP (Hammer), Paddy McGrath (Hammer), Ron Quinlan (Hammer), Leo Sharkey (Discus).
YOU REPRESENTED IRELAND SIX TIMES (correct me if I am wrong), TWICE IN TRIANGULAR MATCHES, ONCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES, AND THREE EUROPA CUP EVENTS TOWARDS THE END OF YOUR COMPETITIVE CAREER. DO YOU REGRET NOT TO HAVE TARGETTED THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP? I did target the Europeans in 1998 but was about 1.5m short of the qualifier. The “problem” with the Discus then was that the world’s best Discus throwers were European so there was not much of a step down in qualifying standards for the European – from memory 61m was European qualifier and 62m for worlds which I missed in 1999.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SPORTING REGRETS? It would have been useful to have had the technical training that I got from Roman Feldman 10 years earlier when I was 15 years old. It is a lot easier to develop and master motor /technical skills necessary for the hammer and discus at a younger age.
DID YOU EVER GET TO MEET AL OERTER? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK MADE OERTER SUCH A SUCCESSFUL ATHLETE? Unfortunately, I never met him, but did get a chance to connect with him a few years before he passed away when he was working as an artist. There is a good quote from an interview he gave back in 2003 which points to why he was so successful and measured his success not just in medals: “When I look back on my discus career it’s the length of time I was in the sport that I am most proud of, not the individual medals. I left the sport with the same attitude that I entered it – with the joy of throwing” -Al Oerter 2003.
<<NOTE: Al Oerter USA won the Olympic gold medal in the Discus in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968>>
HAVE YOU REMAINED INVOLVED IN ATHLETICS SINCE YOU RETIRED AS A COMPETITOR? No in the initial years post 2011 – My daughter joined DSD recently, so I help them out on technical coaching from time to time at their St Thomas throwing facility.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MUST BE DONE TO BETTER PROMOTE THROWING EVENTS IN IRELAND? I think there is a need to have accessible throwing facilities to promote throwing among younger athletes as there is so much competition from other sports. I think parents are not going to drive a kid more than 30 minutes to participate in an activity/sport so unless there are accessible throwing facilities then throwing cannot compete for this potential talent pool. For example, in South Dublin there is no accessible place to throw Hammer/Discus and the National Indoor Stadium still does not have indoor throwing nets for Discus/Hammer.