Dublin Athletics Graded Series Meeting Number 4 @ Morton Stadium, June 6th

It was a perfect evening for running at the Dublin Athletics Graded Series Meeting Number 4 in Morton Stadium, June 6th, with Bandon AC’s Phil Healy running 10.91 and a new national 100m record in the second race of the evening. While the cancellation of the hammer competition meant that the Donore Hammiers didn’t get the chance to throw their weight(s) around, Donore were otherwise well-represented.

The 400m races featured 3 Donore athletes, with David Campbell finishing 4th in the B1 race in 54.23. Adam Halpin (55.15) and Javier Romero (57.71) finished 3rd and 5th respectively in the B2 400m.

In the women’s 1500m A race, Niamh O’Neill finished 9th in 4:53.22, which bodes well for the rest of her season. Unfortunately, Maura Kearns suffered an injury during the same race and was forced to drop out. Karla Doran ran a smart race in the first of the combined B & C Grade 1500s, finishing 3rd in 5:11.99, while Jona Kalemi clocked 5:51.68 to finish 7th in the second.

In the men’s 1500m races, Emmet Ó Briain was first into action finishing 9th in 4:15.67 in the first Championship ‘A’ race. The second ‘A’ Championship race featured four Donore athletes, with Donore’s Daragh Fitzgibbon and Ray Hynes involved in a tactical battle at the front up against Clonliffe’s Colm Rooney. After a swift 62-second first lap, the three leaders shut down the pace in the second lap, which pulled the chasing pack, including Michael Ryan and Jamie Cullen, back into the race. The final lap featured a three-way burn-up with Clonliffe’s Rooney edging out Daragh (N/T) and Ray (4:01.92) for the win. Michael Ryan ran a strong last 300m to finish 6th and dip under 4:10 for the first time in 4:09.45, with Jamie Cullen finishing 10th in 4:11.93.

In the B2 race, Donal Iremonger, moving up from his usual 400m and 800m distances, backed himself to run a quick time from the gun, sticking with an early pace and holding it to finish strongly in 4:31.12. In the final race of the evening, Des Gill also ran an astutely-judged 1500m in the ‘D’ grade, working his way into the race over the course of the 3 and 3/4 laps to finish in 7th in 5:22.65.

Dublin Athletics Graded Series Meeting Number 5 @ Tallaght AC, June 20th

The Dublin Athletics Graded Series continued with Meeting Number 5 last Wednesday, June 20th out in Tallaght on another pleasant, but windy, evening for athletes.

The programme of races featured the 200m, 800m, and 3000m on the track, as well as Pole Vault, Long Jump, Hammer and Javelin in the field, with 12 Donore athletes participating across the events.

First up on the track was Adam Halpin, who was racing in the B1 200m, which unusually featured only two athletes. Into a stiff headwind on the home straight, Adam ran 25.32 to finish 2nd.

Next were the 800s, with Maura Kearns representing Donore in the Women’s Championship ‘A’ race, finishing 6th in 2:26.44. Having raced 4 days previously, and with a day of multi-eventing ahead of him at Round 1 of the National League, Track & Field captain David Campbell ran an even-paced 2:09.73 to finish 5th in the B2 race.

Donore vests were particularly prominent in the final event of the track programme, the 3000m, with 8 athletes competing across 4 races in *arguably* the most demanding flat track event.

The single women’s 3000m combined the ‘A’ Championship race with the B & C Grades, with Niamh O’Neill, Karla Doran and Aoife Ní Thuathail all competing. The highlight of the night was Niamh O’Neill’s performance in this race finishing 3rd in 10:33.86 and securing a Dublin Senior Championship Bronze, days after running a 5:04.69 1500m at the IMC/Le Chéile meet. Karla Doran finished 9th in 11:03.41 and Aoife Ní Thuathail making her Donore debut (I think!), finished 13th in 11:54.55.

The men’s 3000m races featured another 5 Donore athletes. First up, at contrasting ends of the race, were Rossa Hurley and Emmet Ó Briain in the Championship ‘A’ race. Marking his seasonal track debut, Rossa was looking to break the 9-minute barrier for the first time which, despite the conditions, he did by some distance, running a 10-second pb to finish 6th in 8:50.69. Emmet finished 13th in 9:20.17, also recording a small pb.

The second men’s race included Paul Cummins and Kevin Nolan, who was making a return to track action after a long lay-off. With the field widely spread from the first 600m, both were racing into the wind for long stretches, with Kevin ultimately finishing 5th in 9:42.43 and Paul 7th in 9:48.64.

The final Donore athlete on the track was Des Gill, who seems to be embracing the track more and more with each successive race on the tartan. Having run 11:52 for 3000m in the first Graded meeting of the season, Des improved on this substantially, running 11:19.69 to finish 14th, which suggests there is considerably more to come as the track season continues.

Meanwhile, on the field, and back in the throwing circle, was Orlaith Read, perhaps Donore’s most vocal advocate of all things throwing (espeically hammers!). Orlaith’s best throw on the night of 25.89 ensured her a first place in the women’s hammer competition.

Next up on the track is Graded Meeting 6 which is on Wednesday 4th July in Morton Stadium Santry. The programme of events features the 100m, 800m, and 5000m on the track, as well as Triple Jump, Discus and Javelin in the field.

Photo credit: Paul Kelly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulelwoodkelly/)