Ronnie O'Sullivan tells Chris Froome: 'I’m more into running than snooker' ahead of World Championship

Ronnie O'Sullivan stars in the first of a brand-new Eurosport series: Voice Notes. His first message comes from cycling legend Chris Froome, who was keen to know the sort of training required to stay at the top of snooker. O’Sullivan also fields questions from fans and a myriad of other big names in the new series, including Rio Ferdinand, Reanne Evans and Raymond van Barneveld.

Ronnie O’Sullivan fielded a question from four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome as part of Eurosport’s brand-new series, Voice Notes.

The Rocket, speaking ahead of his bid to win a record-breaking eighth world title at the Crucible, was stunned to hear a message from Froome and called him “one of the all-time greats in my book”.

Froome asked: “I’ve always wondered watching snooker players… what kind of training do you need to get to the top of your game? I know there’s obviously the mental side, the mental preparation, but what kind of physical training is generally involved?”

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O’Sullivan confessed that snooker was a more mental sport than physical, but said it was important to “clear your head” to retain an edge.

“Really, you don’t need a lot of physical attributes to play snooker,” he replied.

“But I think it would be advisable just to clear your head – and the equivalent of a 20-minute run every day would be ideal. It’s long enough to get a bit of a sweat on, but short enough to not overdo it or leave yourself knackered for when you have to play snooker.

“I tend to run a lot further because I got hooked on running long-distance races, so I tend to do 35-40 miles a week. A lot of the time I’m too tired to even play snooker!

“So I’ve got it the wrong way round, but I’m more into running than I am into snooker. I have been for the last 15-20 years!

“But it helps me because it’s a bit of a distraction away from snooker and it helps me have a better perspective on things. It’s not really a physical game, but it helps to do something that clears the mind.

“Snooker is a bit of a mental sport so the more you can clear the mind, the better it is to go back to snooker to play again.”

O’Sullivan is tied with Stephen Hendry on seven world titles, with the 47-year-old hoping to defend his crown in Sheffield for only the second time.

He has won two invitational tournaments this season – the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions – but has not progressed beyond the quarter-finals at a ranking event.

Watch the full first episode of Voice Notes on the Eurosport YouTube channel, where O’Sullivan was asked a number of questions from fans, athletes, celebrities and more including Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, 12-time women’s world snooker champion Reanne Evans and more.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

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