John Kelly combining 50-hour-a-week job with athletics dream

John Kelly lives in a bubble, yet life can still feel a bit madcap at times. 

Take last summer, for instance. 

One minute, he was stewing at home in St Johnston having broken the Irish shot put record and the next he was on a plane to the World Athletics Championships.

When throwing out to 20.16m in Cork, Kelly entered a whole new world. 

In Eugene, Oregon, a little over a week later, Kelly threw a best of 17.92m.

The Finn Valley AC man is back in Sweden now, where he has found order. 

“Sweden is going very good and I've got life settled there now,” Kelly says as he readies for the European Throwing Cup in Portugal this weekend.

He works in automation and can be on the go 40-50 hours a week. 

“It's a lot of juggling, but bills have to be paid,” Kelly says.. 

“It's about compartmentalising things. I just have to get into the right way of going: Think about work when working; think about training when training. 

“I like being busy. It gives me things to focus on.”

Kelly is something of a rarity: an athlete who genuinely does it for the love of it. 

His coach in Sweden, Vésteinn Hafsteinsson, recently retired. 

The world of the shot put can be a lonely one at times, but the infectious Kelly is at home spinning in the circle. 

He says: “If I want it, I'll go for it. I'll do what it takes to get there. 

“It's for the love of the sport for me. I love competing and love championships, but I just want to throw the shot put far. 

“That's what it comes down to for me. It's about the true beauty of it. I don't do this because of titles or the athlete lifestyle – I do it because I love it. 

“We've had a bit of a change with the coach retiring, but we still have a good group at the moment. I might move around a bit, I’ll see.”

At the Irish Indoor Championships last month, Kelly threw 19.19m to win silver. He was bettered only by Eric Favors, the Raheny Shamrocks athlete with home Kelly has built on exciting rivalry. 

He says: “I'm a competitor and I like to compete. That makes it fun. 

“It's great having me and Eric pushing each other. That is going to drive us both on. Only good can come out of that. 

“It's still early in the season so it's about moving up the ladder and moving up the ranking.”

Kelly celebrates his 27th birthday today. He has matured and grown quite a bit of late, having spent a lengthy period out injured. 

The foot injury threatened to derail his march, but Kelly has come back in impressive fashion. 

“The younger me would be trying to smash it from the early rounds,” he says. 

“It's better to be calm and you can only do what you can do. 

“Younger me was scream, scream, scream, but I can take it as it comes now.

“Aggression isn't the only thing. There are a lot of working parts in a machine and it's about getting them all to work at the same time.

On Sunday, Kelly goes to work again in Leiria, jousting alongside some of Europe’s best throwers. 

“2022 was crazy,” he says. 

“There were a lot of ups very fast and a down very fast. This can be like a rocket at times: Up very fast and down twice as quick.

“It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of valuable experiences. 

“I was maybe a bit immature going into the Worlds, but that's part of the journey. I'll learn a lot from last year.

“I'll take it as it comes now and try not to stress. That's the big one.”