Olatunde overjoyed by Munich show but not surprised

Eight days after his glorious evening in the famous old Olympic Stadium in Munich, Israel Olatunde is back to the more humdrum matters of his KPMG internship, of which he is in the closing days before heading on to UCD.

Over the course of a few hours last Tuesday, Olatunde went from being a promising young sprinter, known primarily to athletics anoraks, to an Irish sensation, the darling of national and social media.

And as Ireland's new fastest man reflected on his sudden viral fame, one message of adulation in particular stood out - that from his predecessor.

"I didn't expect people to react this way," Olatunde told reporters on Wednesday.

"It was just all positive, it was great to see. I went a little bit viral. I was pretty happy with that, honestly. Our sport might go a bit under the radar a bit. I think we do deserve this type of attention. There's so many great athletes doing great things, competing against the best in the world.

"They all meant a lot to me but the one that meant the most was definitely Paul Hession, who sent me a message right after, congratulating me. And I saw a video of an interview of him congratulating me too. To have a legend like him acknowledging my achievement, that really means a lot to me for sure.

"It's been an interesting experience, to say the least. It's been cool to see how people have reacted and responded to my performance and my achievement.

"Me and my coach are really grateful for the outpouring of support and love that people have shown us. It's been really great to see people get behind athletics."

Olatunde hasn't ventured out too much to see if this adoration has travelled far beyond cyberspace.

"I haven't really gone out that much. I've just been at home chilling with my family.