Athlete of the Week

ROBERT DOYLE, DC '01 Track Hometown: Chicago, Ill. Major: History Favorite Color: Blue Favorite Residence: Davenport Cottage Favorite sports teams: Whitesox, Bulls, and anything Chicago except the Cubs.  "I'm a southsider." Favorite Fruit: Banana.  "It's accessible"

Rob Doyle, DC '03, is living proof that good things come in small packages. His present time of 14:13.95 puts him 0.7 seconds ahead of Yale's old 5-K record, and he plans on beating his own time again and again. In fact, he currently holds the sixth fastest 5-K time this year in the U.S.

How did this amazing career begin? "I was too small for football and too bad for basketball," Doyle recalled. His mom suggested that he try cross country in high school so he could meet new people before freshman year started. Not only did cross country introduce Doyle to some new friends, but it also distinguished him from the other 1,400 Catholic boys in ties. He was fast!

Doyle's mom certainly influenced his life beyond cross country. In fact, he names her as his role model.

This mama's boy is not only dedicated to his family, but he also adores his roommates in the "prime real estate" of the Davenport cottage. His Davenport pride is further evidenced by his past position as president of the Davenport College Council, and he even once played the gnome in the D-port production "Of Love and Gnomes." Besides, of course, Davenport, Doyle's favorite things about Yale are "the amazingly brilliant people here."

Yale certainly loves Doyle, too. Although he came to Yale a little shy ("There were girls here!"), several Yalies now call him simply "the man." Teammate Jack Lovejoy, PC '01, adds, "Walking around campus with Rob is like walking through a crowd with the president. Everyone says hi to him and wants to talk to him. I think every card-swiper in every dining hall knows him by name." Furthermore, "He's smart, he's gentlemanly, women love him, and he's highly underrated due to his less-than-Herculean stature."

This man of seemingly limitless social and physical capacity explains his ideal future. He would like to live up in the mountains somewhere, read books, and just keep on running. His life goals are to be a good person and to be happy.

Despite the fact that Doyle is currently applying to law schools, he plans to continue running in upcoming years. As he did not compete freshman year due to a stress fracture, he plans on putting his remaining year of college eligibility to good use. Beyond that, Doyle is eyeing the 2004 Olympic trials and the 2004 Games in Athens.

"I just want to keep on running 'til my legs fall off," he explained with a smile. Photo by Rebecca Rosenthal.

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