SOPHIE BECKER STRIKES GOLD AS SHE WINS NATIONAL 400 METRES IN FINE STYLE
Last weekend’s adverse weather did nothing to deter the masses from turning up at Morton Stadium, Santry for the 123.ie National Senior track and field championships.
In what has been a memorable year for Irish athletics, the attraction for many was the presence of those who performed so well at the European Championships, including the relay gold and silver medallists.
With the Paris Olympics just around the corner, and qualifying places at stake, it was a case of action stations as athletes sought to consolidate positions or gain ranking points.
Thomas Barr, the Waterford native with a Fethard-on-Sea granny, captured his twelfth national 400 metres hurdles title (50.61), and Sophie Becker from Ballykelly, a member of Raheny Shamrock AC, won the 400 metres in fine style (52.68).
Wexford had a mix of both young and more experienced athletes in action.
Taghmon’s Aisling Kelly, a member of UCD AC, was part of the winning 4 x 100 metres relay team along with Molly Hourihan, Michelle Duggan and Rhianna McCarthy (47.17 seconds).
In individual events, Aisling was fifth in her 200 metres heat (26.53) and sixth in her 100 metres heat (12.32).
DMP’s Pádraig Hore had an impressive round of throws in the men’s discus which included a personal best of 48.26m on his penultimate throw.
Yet even before this big throw, he was in the lead.
However, it was also this round that Leevale’s Michael Healy, with three of his previous four throws having been fouls, chose to launch the discus out to the 50.11 metres mark.
Such is the way these competitions work, particularly in an event like the discus, where so many technical elements come into play. This meant gold for the Cork man, and silver for Pádraig.
Men’s shot put was won by Raheny’s Eric Favors with 18.85 metres. Wexford combined events specialist, Jack Forde (St. Killian’s), was fifth (13.06 metres).
Saidhbhe Byrne (Enniscorthy), another combined eventer, was fifth in javelin with a throw of 37.80 metres. She was eighth in shot (8.41 metres).
Having clocked some impressive splits at an Olympics qualifying event one week previously, Adamstown’s racewalker Joe Mooney featured in a competitive 10,000 metres walk.
The race was won by Oisín Lane of Mullingar (40.25 minutes), while Joe was second in a new best time of 42.17 minutes.
Joe’s sister, Ciara, finished ninth in the women’s 5,000 metres walk (26.44 minutes.
Jack Forde was back out for the high jump, an event held in atrocious weather conditions. He placed fifth with 1.80 metres, well off his best.
The following day, in much better conditions, Michael Kent (DMP) was eighth in long jump (6.83 metres).
Another DMP athlete, Cara Kelly, checked in on Saturday for the heat of her 400 metres hurdles, but numbers dictated that there would be a straight final on Sunday.
She was rewarded with a new personal best time of 63.80 seconds when finishing fifth. That time, incidentally, was just 0.75 seconds behind third-placed Rachel Lynch of DSD – plenty more to come from Cara.
The men’s 400 metres saw Wexford native Aaron Tierney-Smith (Clonliffe Harriers) finish third in his heat (50.40 seconds).
All in all, this was a most successful championships, one with which Athletics Ireland should be well pleased. Credit is due to their marketing people for promoting the event so well and getting such a huge turn-out.
Credit also to the big-name athletes for giving so generously of their time to meet young fans and sign posters and programmes. Credit, finally, to the officials who endured a weekend of nasty weather.
Fixtures: July 5 to 7, European Athletics off road running championships, France; July 5, Mick Murphy Memorial 5km, Ferns, organised by Sliabh Bhuidhe Rovers AC; July 6, National League preliminary round, TUS, Athlone; July 7, national outdoor Juvenile Under-13 to Under-19 championships day one, Tullamore; July 9, Cork City Sports, MTU, Cork; July 10, Mr Oil Wexford Senior open track and field (2), Enniscorthy.
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