HIGHLIGHTS: Brilliant bronze for Aoife Lynch in National Senior 100m; bronze for both the women’s 4 x 100m and women’s 4 x 400m relay teams; Abdel Laadjel bronze in National Junior 3,000m; Emma Stacey silver in Dublin U18 1,500m; Des Tremble 1st M50 in the St. Coca’s 5km.
REPORT: The 149th edition of the NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25-27.06.2021) at Santry on the weekend may not have been one of the more successful for Donore Harriers, but there were plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
The stand-out performance came from Aoife Lynch in the Women’s 100m final. Having qualified 2nd (11.81) from her Heat on Saturday morning, Lynch was fully determined for the ‘stacked’ afternoon final. She was unable to match the pre-race favourites Rhasidat Adeleke (11.29) of Tallaght AC and Molly Scott (11.46) of St. Laurance O’Toole AC, but she held off the late challenge of Ciara Neville (11.69) of Emerald AC and others to secure the bronze medal. Indeed, the race clock gave the verdict to Lynch by just one-thousandths of a second with Lynch timed at 11.685 and Neville at 11.686. Lynch’s time was inside the European Under 23 qualifying standard, but the wind reading of plus 2.6 metres per second disallows the time.
Also on Saturday, the women’s 4 x 100m relay quartet (52.6) of Eva McPartlan, Sarah Lahiff, Roisin Rynn-Cahill and Lucy Hurley came 3rd behind winners DSD AC and runners-up Crusaders AC.
Other Donore Harriers athletes contested finals on Saturday. Caoimhe Mackey (1.05.21) ran just outside her personal best time to place a highly creditable 5th in the Women’s 400m Hurdles. She qualified to the final by coming 3rd in the second qualifying heat on Friday evening in a time of 1.06.77. Louis O’Loughlin (1.50.59) came 5th in the final of the Men’s 800m. A poor start saw the Donore Harriers man in 10th place with 350m to go, but a blistering final 150m saw him progress to place 5th behind winner John Fitzsimons (1.49.48) of Kildare AC and pre-race favourite Luke McCann (1.49.51) of UCD AC. McLoughlin qualified to the final on Friday evening by placing 2nd in Heat 1 in 1.52.37.
Jack Raftery (47.52) came 4th in the Men’s 400m final, after he qualified by winning Heat 5 on the Friday evening in 47.69. Raftery was another to finish strongly after a conservative opening 200 metres. The final was won by Cillian Greene (46.78) of Galway City Harriers.
John Travers (3.54.10) made it through to the 1,500m final by crossing the line in 4th place in the 2nd Heat of the 1,500m on Friday. In Saturday’s final he was unable to stay with the pace in the later stages and finished in 11th position.
The Men’s 1,500m was won by Andrew Coscoran (3.48.89) of Star Of The Sea AC in a close finish with Cathal Doyle (3.48.96) of Clonliffe Harriers. Coscoran, thus, became the 3rd winner of the Basil Clifford Memorial Trophy – a trophy donated by Donore Harriers in memory of the former club member who was the 2nd Irishman to run a sub-4-minute mile and a competitor in the 1964 Olympic Games. Family man Clifford died in a workplace accident in the UK in 1973, aged just 35. The trophy was presented to the winner by club coach, historian, and former club-president Willie Smith.
Saturday’s women’s 3,000m was a straight final and whilst Barbara Cleary (16.34.62) was outside the medals in 6th place she deserves a special mention. The women’s Road & XC captain Florence Curley said afterwards: “Barbara is aged 48 and was amazing! The 5 women ahead of her are much younger and some are on US scholarships”. Indeed, Cleary finished just 8-seconds behind the 3rd placed athlete and knocked more than 20 seconds of her previous best time. She ran consistent laps of about 69 seconds and her time is a new national record for the W45 category, subject to ratification. The winner was Aoife Kilgallon (16.16.85) of Sligo AC.
The other club athletes to compete in the first two days of the championships were – Zak Higgins (52.81) 4th in Heat 2 of the 400m; David Campbell (DNF injured) in Heat 4 of the 400m; Eva McPartlan (12.47) 7th in Heat 1 of the 100m; Oran O’Brien (36.95m) 11th in the Men’s Discus; and the 4 x 100m team (44.89) of Sean Chan, Paul McDermott, Conor Fox and Adam Halpin who came 4th in their final behind winners Leevale AC.
Also incorporated into Saturday’s busy programme was the Junior Men’s 3,000m championship. Abdel Laadjel, who came 2nd in the 2020 race had to settle for bronze this time with a new personal best time of 8.27.93. Gavin Curtin also obtained a PB of 8.49.42 when finishing in 8th place. The race was won by Nicholas Griggs of Mid Ulster (Magherafelt) AC in 8.11.15. His time replaces that of the 8.12.79 championship record set by John Travers in 2010.
In Sunday’s action Donore Harriers picked up another bronze medal as the 4 x 400m team of heptathlete Lara O’Byrne, newcomer Adelle Heskin, and two Under 18 athletes Sara Higgins and Emma Stacey came 3rd in a time of 4.13.56 behind winners Ratoath AC (4.02.22). Team Manager Leonie Newman was full of praise for the team afterwards: “They were all brilliant out there today. Lara was delighted that we had a team – and Adelle, Sara and Emma will definitely benefit from the experience”.
Earlier in the day Aoife Lynch (23.83) came 5th in the final of the Women’s 200m having qualified 2nd from Heat 2. Both her heat and final (22.83) were won by Irish No. 1 Phil Healy.
Lara O’Byrne (14.40) ran a new personal best to come 4th in the final of the Women’s 100m Hurdles – a fine effort! In the Men’s 200m qualifying round David Campbell (24.47) came 6th in Heat 2, whilst Paul McDermott narrowly failed to progress to the final when he sprinted to 2nd place in heat 4 in a time of 22.40.
Donore Harriers had two athletes in the 10,000m final. Kane Collins is still relatively new to track racing, so can be encouraged by 10th place and a PB of 32.55.21. Ray Hynes, a more seasoned athlete, came 15th in 33.52.86.
In the Men’s Shot Putt final Oran O’Brien, another developing athlete, came 6th with a best throw of 12.48m.
To comply with the Covid-19 guidelines, the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS are being held over several days. Day 4 featured the 1,500m and was held at the Tallaght Track on Thursday (24.06.2021). Thankfully, the rain stopped just before the competition started, but it was nevertheless a cool, damp evening.
Donore Harriers had just 4 competitors. In the Under 18 Girls 1,500m Final Emma Stacey ran a fine race to finish 2nd in a time of 5.05.0. A much-improved Claudia Redmond, running in her first track race, put in a super effort to record a time of 5.29.1.
The Under 18 Boys had two races with the medal decided on best times. Sean Kinsella made a strong start in Race 1 but fell back on the last lap to finish outside the medals in a time of 4.32.0. James Bolton was the comprehensive winner of Race 2, but his time of 4.17.9 was slower than the top finishers in the first race, so he did not make the podium.
The 2nd Meet of the DUBLIN OPEN GRADED TRACK & FIELD SERIES at Tallaght Track on Wednesday (23.06.2021) saw several club newcomers make very encouraging debuts. Adelle Heskin (2.27.2) won the Women’s 800m B race with a gap of more than 2-seconds back to runner-up Lea Braud (2.29.5) of Crusaders AC. This was Adelle’s first time to race on the track. It was likewise for Daragh Keegan (9.37.7) in the Men’s 3,000m. Keegan impressed when winning the B race, with another debutant Matthew McCullagh (9.42.64) making it a Donore Harriers one and two.
Zak Higgins, getting in a sharpener before the National 400m, finished in a dead-heat with Peter Murphy of Crusaders AC as both men recorded a time of 23.069 to share the win in the A 200m race. Zak’s young sister Sara (Higgins) came 2nd in the Women’s 200m B race recording a time of 28.6.
Jack Byrne (1.57.6) won the Men’s 800m A race with a new personal best ahead of Tallaght’s Eoghan Keaney (1.58.2).
Sorcha Loughnane recorded a fine personal best in the Women’s 3,000m A race with a time of 10.44.9. Debutante Deirdre McCanna placed 10th in the same race in 11.05.8.
The other Donore Harriers competitors, all masters athletes, were – Craig Scott (10.10.1) 1st in the Men’s 3,000m C race, Alan Farrell (2.22.0) 4th in the 800m C race, and Sean O’Broin (26.8) 4th in the 200m B race.
The club had several athletes compete in the ST. COCA’S 5KM ROAD RACE at Kilcock on Friday evening (25.06.2021). This was a very welcome return to the road-racing scene. The course followed the usual rural route along Courtown Park Road before returning to town at the Fair Green via Gragadder.
The notable club performance came from Des Tremble (16.24), who reached the line in 41st place and won the M50 category. First home for the team was Cathal McCarron (15.25) in 16th position. Also among the 203 finishers were David McConn (16.29 PB) in 45th, Gavin Keogh M40 (16.33) in 47th, Alasdair Brown (16.38) in 51st, Paul Cummins (16.42) in 58th, Donal Iremonger M50 (17.15) in 80th, and Sinead O’Reilly W40 (19.48) in 148th, just 7 months after giving birth. The overall race winners were Evan Fitzgerald (14.53) of Clonmel AC and Irish International Lizzie Lee (15.53) of Leevale AC.
<< NOTE: here’s a link to a clip of the St. Coca’s 5km 2021 https://www.facebook.com/215349685147954/videos/650935152530340 >>
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RESULTS IN BRIEF:
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET 2 at Tallaght (23.06.2021)
Women’s 200m B: 2nd Sara Higgins (28.6)
Men’s 200m A: = 1st Zak Higgins (23.03)
Men’s 200m B: 4th Sean O’Broin M50 (26.8)
Women’s 800m B: 1st Adelle Heskin (2.27.2 PB club debut)
Men’s 800m A: 1st Jack Byrne (1.57.6 PB)
Men’s 800m C: 4th Alan Farrell M45 (2.22.0)
Women’s 3,000m A: Sorcha Loughnane W40 (10.44.9 PB), 10th Deirdre McCanna (11.05.8)
Men’s 3,000m B: 1st Daragh Keegan (9.37.7 PB club debut), 2nd Matthew McCullagh (9.42.6 PB club debut)
Men’s 3,000m C: 1st Craig Scott M40 (10.10.1)
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 4 at Tallaght (24.06.2021)
Under 18 Girls 1,500m Final: 2nd Emma Stacey (5.05.0), also Claudia Redmond (5.29.1)
Under 18 Boys 1,500m A race Final: 5th Sean Kinsella (4.32.0)
Under 18 Boys 1,500m B race Final: 1st James Bolton (4.17.9)
ST. COCA’S 5km ROAD RACE at Kilcock, Co. Kildare (25.06.2021)
16th Cathal McCarron MS (15.25)
41st & 1st M50 Des Tremble (16.24)
45th David McConn MS (16.29 PB)
47th & 19th M40 Gavin Keogh (16.33)
51st Alasdair Brown MS (16.38)
58th Paul Cummins MS (16.42)
80th & 6th M50 Donal Iremonger (17.15)
148th & 13th W40 Sinead O’Reilly (19.48)
203 finishers
NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY ONE at Morton Stadium, Santry (25.06.2021)
Senior Women’s 400m Hurdles Qualifying Heat 2: 3rd Caoimhe Mackey (1.06.77 – qualified for final)
Senior Men’s 400m Qualifying Heat 2: 4th Zak Higgins (52.81)
Senior Men’s 400m Qualifying Heat 4: DNF David Campbell
Senior Men’s 400m Qualifying Heat 5: 1st Jack Raftery (47.69 – qualified for final)
Senior Men’s 800m Qualifying Heat 1: 2nd Louis O’Loughlin (1.52.37 – qualified for final)
Senior Men’s 1,500m Qualifying Heat 2: 4th John Travers (3.54.10 – qualified for final)
NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY TWO at Morton Stadium, Santry (26.06.2021)
Senior Women’s 100m Qualifying Heat 1: 7th Eva McPartlan (12.47)
Senior Women’s 100m Qualifying Heat 3: 2nd Aoife Lynch (11.81 – qualified for final)
Senior Women’s 5,000m Final: 6th Barbara Cleary W45 (16.34.62 PB)
Junior Men’s 3,000m Final: 3rd Abdel Laadjel (8.27.93 PB), 8th Gavin Curtin (8.49.42 PB)
Senior Women’s 400m Hurdles Final: 5th Caoimhe Mackey (1.05.21)
Senior Women’s 100m Final: 3rd Aoife Lynch (11.69 wind 2.6 m/s)
Senior Men’s 800m Final: 5th Louis O’Loughlin (1.50.59)
Senior Men’s 400m Final: 4th Jack Raftery (47.52)
Senior Men’s 1,500m Final: 11th John Travers (3.55.96)
Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final: 3rd Donore Harriers <Eva McPartlan, Sarah Lahiff, Roisin Rynn-Cahill, Lucy Hurley> 52.60
Men’s 4 x 100m Relay Final: 4th Donore Harriers <Sean Chan, Paul McDermott, Conor Fox, Adam Halpin> (44.89)
Senior Men’s Discus Final: 11th Oran O’Brien (36.95m)
NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY THREE at Morton Stadium, Santry (27.06.2021)
Senior Women’s 200m Qualifying Heat 2: 2nd Aoife Lynch (24.36)
Senior Men’s 200m Qualifying Heat 2: 6th David Campbell (24.47)
Senior Men’s 200m Qualifying Heat 4: 2nd Paul McDermott (22.40)
Senior Women’s 100m Hurdles Final: 4th Lara O’Byrne (14.40 PB)
Senior Women’s 200m Final: 5th Aoife Lynch (23.83 wind 2.1 m/s)
Senior Men’s 10,000m Final: 10th Kane Collins (32.55.21 PB), 15th Ray Hynes (33.52.86)
Senior Women’s 4 x 400m Relay Final: 3rd Donore Harriers <Lara O’Byrne, Sara Higgins, Adelle Heskin, Emma Stacey> (4.13.56)
Senior Men’s Shot Putt Final: 6th Oran O’Brien (12.48m)
