Former 400m hurdles world champion DAVID ‘DAI’ GREENE is undoubtedly one of our most successful athletes. Competing internationally for both Wales and Great Britain, he won a cabinet full of medals including the World, European, Diamond League and Commonwealth titles. He is actually the second fastest British man over the 400m hurdles, behind the British record holder, Kriss Akabusi.
He’s a Llanelli lad and showed a real aptitude for sport as far back as his time at Pen-y-gaer primary school. He was pretty good on the football pitch, thanks in part to his hero Ryan Giggs. Dai began practising football skills with his left foot. When he was 13, while attending Coedcae School, he joined the youth team set-up at Swansea City, playing left wing, and once scored a penalty against a Barcelona youth side.
Turning down a contract to turn professional as a footballer aged 16, he continued studying while still playing youth football for Manchester City youth side. After contracting Osgood-Schlatter disease during a growth spurt.
The disease is probably the most frequent cause of knee pain in children. The condition occurs most commonly between the ages of 9 and 16 years but it can occur in younger children. Both boys and girls are equally vulnerable to its debilitating effects.
When he turned 17, Dai was also diagnosed with epilepsy, a condition he manages on a daily basis. Fewer late nights and no alcohol help, as these are the main diagnosed triggers of his seizures. Dai is also an ambassador for the charity YOUNG EPILEPSY. If you’d like any information on what they do, or to give them some support, just go here – Young Epilepsy.
With all that going in his life he decided to give up football in his late teens for athletics. His personal challenges seemed to push him on to achieve great things both on and off the track. To this day he still runs for Swansea Harriers Athletics Club. If you head over to their website you’ll see him on the clubs ‘Hall Of Fame‘ – SEVEN times if you want to be exact.
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(Pic: Paul Gilham)
Like all of us, Dai has been trying to fit training around long periods of lockdown, he is currently in Loughborough in Leicestershire so is under lockdown restrictions there until next month.
The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23rd 2021, while the closing ceremony will take place on August 8th. Despite the new date having been announced, with many countries still battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak, there is still no guarantee that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will even take place in 2021. Dai however, is working and training hard with the belief they will, and if they do, he’ll be there.
Dai has also recently ventured into the business world and has launched his own Tomahawk Massage Gun – a powerful handheld deep tissue muscle massager. Although it provides muscle relief for athletes, in these tough, strenuous times, it seems we can all benefit from it too.
SOUTH WALES LIFE spoke to Dai recently about training, his preparations for the 2021 Olympics and life on his home gym farm. We also chatted about the Tomahawk and why he chose to enter the world of business.
If you’d like more details on the Tomahawk, or indeed to see what Dai is up to, just go here. DAI You can purchase the Massage Gun by clicking on the picture below.
