Seth O’Donnell’s journey from suburban footballer to World Athletics Championship athlete

Seth O’Donnell is not your everyday athlete but on Friday night he will be representing Australia in the 5000m in a heartwarming rags to riches story.

“I was a footballer, my dream was to wear the brown and gold, not the green and gold,” O’Donnell says.

He played for the Dingley Dingoes in Melbourne’s south-east, mainly on the wing where he was a “junktime specialist” kicking goals in the last quarter because he was still going strong while others faded.

There was an indication of his future at school cross-country races where he’d rock up in his footy boots and blow away rivals wearing proper running spikes.

“I had no interest really in running,” O’Donnell says.

At the end of the footy season in 2019 there was nothing to do so I did a little bit of running, then Covid hit and I never really sort of went back.”

He worked with a couple of different training groups, won two Australian cross-country titles but never felt like he was on the same page so started coaching himself last year.

Enter Andrew Russell. The premiership winning fitness boss at Hawthorn, and more recently Carlton, had also dabbled successfully in athlete coaching with four-time Olympian Jeff Riseley.

He watched O’Donnell race at club level and immediately saw something he liked.

“I wasn’t going to coach someone until I could coach someone good,” Russell, who left the Blues at the end of last year, said.

“That could have taken me five minutes or five years, luckily it has taken me five minutes.

“Seth is a really smart guy, he understands physiology, he’s a qualified physio and a really switched on athlete. He has done some track sessions which have blown me away, they’re world class.

“He’s capable of running 13 minutes, capable of running 7:30 and probably 3:32, people don’t realise how fast he is.”

O’Donnell, who turned 24 last Sunday, made his breakthrough at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne in March, finishing second in a massive 5000m personal best 13min14.57sec, and then backed it up two weeks later to win the Australian 5000m title.

“I think what I loved about that (the national title) the most is I’d done a lot of work on different aspects of my running,” he says. “I got the opportunity to kick down hard late in the race and I think it was something that I always knew I was capable of.

“I’d never sort of had the opportunity to show the world, it was pretty special that day.”

He then travelled to Europe for a series of races in July where he ran the required qualifying times which saw him selected in his first major championships team

His distinct running style, flowing locks and impressive Instagram work has turned him into a bit of a cult hero which is fed by his impromptu gigs at club meets where he’ll get the drum kit out after races and entertain the crowd.

Music has been a passion all his life. His band Adhesion have released a hard rock album and are a regular on the pub scene around Melbourne.

“I don’t really have heroes but if I had to pick one it would be John Bonham the drummer from Led Zeppelin,” he says. “I have a real passion for the drums, I absolutely love it and it definitely helps me switch off from my running.”

O’Donnell believes he gives hope to regular Australians out there who haven’t gone to the right school or know the right people yet there is still a way to make it to the big time.

“I think I’ve got an important role to play to give back as well,” O’Donnell says. “I think just being myself trying to show people that it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you get into things, I think if you put your heart and soul into it and be 100 per cent unique in yourself and have full faith in what you can do.

“You can go from running laps with the local footy team to representing the green and gold.”