HIGHLIGHTS: Jack Raftery celebrated his selection to the Irish World Championship team by winning the 400m in the MORTON GAMES. Zion Osawe (High Jump) and Emily Bolton (800m) won gold on Day 1 of the NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS with the latter running a club record 2.13.93. Reuben McCormick 6th in final of Under 15 Boys 800m. Master athlete Didier Da Costa 2nd overall and 1st M40 in the CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON. We also had Anne Gormley compete in the WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS in Finland, Sinead O’Reilly in the DATEV INTERNATIONAL IRONMAN in Germany, and Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan and Kevin O’Boyle in the WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS in Denmark.

REPORT: <report/results by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley> Jack Raftery came around the final bend vying for the lead with 5 other athletes. It was then that Raftery came into his own as he sprinted ahead of his rivals to record a fine victory in the MORTON GAMES 400m race. His winning time of 47.04 on a wet track and easing down close to the finish line suggests that the big man had more in the tank. Marcus Lawlor (47.48) of Clonliffe Harriers came 2nd and Maarten Heylen (47.93) of Belgium 3rd.
Earlier in the week Raftery had his selection confirmed by Athletics Ireland to compete on the Irish team in the Mixed 4 x 400m Relay in the upcoming WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS to be held at Eugene, USA between the 15th and 24th of July. The 21 years old DCU student, who joined Donore Harriers aged 12, is one of Ireland’s most exciting up and coming talents.
Zak Higgins answered a late call to compete in the same 400m race in the Morton Games. Higgins made a strong start and was among the leaders thru the opening 250 metres, but he was unable to sustain the effort and he came home 7th in 50.24.

Emily Bolton (2.13.93) set a new club record when winning the Under 15 Girls 800m final on the first day of the NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore on Sunday. Bolton gave respect to her opponents as she sat just off the front throughout the opening 600 metres. She then sped away to win by 15-20 metres with Emma Bonar (2.16.32) of Letterkenny AC in 2nd place and Emer McKee (2.16.39) of Willowfield Harriers in the bronze position.
Zion Osawe was locked in battle with Hazel Fahy of Loughrea AC for the gold medal in the Under 14 Girls High Jump. Both girls made a first effort clearance of 1.50m before the bar was raised to 1.53m. And both girls failed their first two attempts at the new height before Osawe got her technique right to record a successful clearance and take the gold medal. Osawe, who is coached by Ray O’Keeffe, Alex Conway, and Daniel Hernon, equalled her personal best with that 1.53m mark.
Zion’s training partner Melody Omozee (1.30m) came 17th in the same competition.
Zion Osawe and Melody Omozee also contested the Under 14 Girls 75m Hurdles with Melody qualifying to the final from Heat No. 1 in 3rd place in a time of 12.78. Zion (12.98) came 6th in Heat 2 and was eliminated. Melody was unable to make an impression in the final and came 8th in 13.08. She later admitted that she was “spooked” by the earlier false start.
Ruby Blake (11.27), who had a busy weekend, narrowly missed out on making the final in the Under 13 Girls 60m Hurdles as she came 5th in Heat 3. Elliot Whelan (14.66) came 7th in Heat 1 of the Under 14 Boys 75m Hurdles – and Romeo Omozee (17.39) placed 7th in the final of the Under 17 Boys 100m Hurdles.
The club’s youngest competitor on the day was Dylan O’Connor who came 14th in the Under 13 Boys Javelin with a first throw personal best of 20.78m.
Oisin Cummins-Weiss (5.26m) jumped very close to his best when placing 8th in the Under 17 Boys Long Jump category, with Romeo Omozee leaping to a season’s best of 5.00m for 10th place in the same contest.
First season athlete Reuben McCormick (2.10.59) qualified to the final of the Under 15 Boys 800m when he won the Heat 2 qualifier in 2.10.59. The final proved a tricky affair for the club newcomer as the first lap was very slow, but when the pace became lightning quick with 300 metres to go. McCormick was unable to react to the speedsters – but battled on bravely for 6th spot in 2.13.53. Coach Joe Kelly said afterwards: “Only 4 months running properly and to make another national final is amazing”. Note that Reuben also made the All-Ireland Schools final. Coach Graham Hopkins added: “Top six nationally with just a few months experience under his belt speaks of his ability. One for the future!”
Arlen Szep-Szabo failed to progress from Heat 1 of the Under 15 Boys 800m. He came 9th in 2.18.04 – a season’s best. Kelly explained: “Arlen was disappointed with his run. He never really got going and that performance today does not do justice to the athlete Arlen is. Once he converts his training form to racing, he will be fine”.
Thomas Bolton (2.10.58) came 6th in Heat 2 of the Under 17 Boys 800m and failed to make the final.
On the previous day the NATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES & U12 & U13 CHAMPIONSHIPS took place with Tullamore the venue. Both Anabella Omozee and Ruby Blake competed in two field events each. Anabella came 7th in the Under 12 Girls Shot Putt with a best of 7.76m and was 14th in the High Jump with a best effort of 1.20m. Ruby was 12th in both the Under 13 Girls Long Jump (4.07m) and Shot Putt (7.83m).
Anabella Omozee also competed in the Under 12 Girls 60m sprint and came 7th in the final.
Also, on the track Alan Maddox (9.71) came 7th in Heat 1 of the Combined 60m with his sprint partner Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss (10.48) placing 8th in Heat 2 in 10.48m. Alan and Daniel Maddox competed in the Combined U11 Boys Long Jump. No result is available.

Didier Da Costa (1.20.58) came 2nd overall and 1st in the M40 category in the JOE DUFFY BMW CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON on Saturday. Da Costa, who ran just outside the hour mark in the Clontarf 10-mile road race back in February, set a time of 1.20.58. The race was won by Jesus Calle Arroyo (1.15.52) of Raheny Shamrocks AC.
Kevin Odgers (1.26.10) came 31st and 11th in the M40 category with Wayne Waldron the next club finisher in 36th overall in 1.27.37 and 21st in the senior men’s category. Patrick Moriarty posting a time of 1.28.57 for 66th spot and 26th in the M40s.
Next to finish for Donore Harriers was Louise Murray (1.37.10) who came 162nd overall and 8th in the senior women’s class.
Des Gill (1.46.24) came 350th overall out of 1,469 finishers and 19th in the M50 category.

In Friday evening’s LEIXLIP 5KM ROAD RACE new member Adam Foy (19.44) failed to match his time set in the St. Coca’s 5km a week earlier. Foy came 44th of 199 finishers. The race was won by Peter Somba (14.36) of Dunboyne AC.

Sinead O’Reilly competed in the DATEV INTERNATIONAL IRONMAN CHALLENGE in Roth, Germany on Sunday. Having completed the swimming element (3.8km) in 1.29.47 and the cycling route (180km) in 6.37.44 Sinead completed the marathon running distance in 3.44.59 – the 29th best running time on the day. She came 140th overall and 35th in the W40 category with an overall time of 12.18.47.
Anne Gormley came 8th in the 10,000m Walk at the WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tampere, Finland on Sunday.

In the WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Federicia in Denmark on Tuesday Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan came a very fine 18th of 36 starters in Sprint Qualification Group B. His time of 13.44 was just 1.16 behind winner Yannich Micheils of Belgium. His Donore Harriers colleague Kevin O’Boyle came 26th of 35 in Group C in 14.08.

The DONORE HARRIERS SPORTS DAY for young club members last Friday evening was a huge success. There were races from the Under 9 age group up to the Under 17s with a mixed relay that included adults. There were also field events, including the Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Putt and Turbo Javelin. The event was expertly organised by Juvenile Coach and athlete Suzie Henley-Willis. Here is some of the feedback – Florence: “It was a great evening and so good to see the club coming together, massive kudos Suzie for making it happen”; Pearl: “Well done Suzie – amazing event, great organising, and super fun. The kids had a ball and were delighted with all the medals”; Sinead: “Well done Suzie – what a brilliant evening for everyone”; Iain: “Great fun!”; Leonie: “Brilliant night, well done everyone, great job Suzie. What a finish to the night with that relay – great fun!”; Orla Waters: “Thanks so much for a great evening! Everyone really enjoyed it. Well Done to all the organisers  ”; and Charlie: “Well done Suzi and many helpers. Great craic! Let’s say we threw out the rulebook with the mixed relay…” NOTE: more photos from the evening can be found in the DH Juvenile Team facebook page.

Best club result in PARKRUNs this week was juvenile member Dylan McKenna (19.16) first home at WATERSTOWN.
More results below.

Results in brief:
LEIXLIP 5KM ROAD RACE at Leixlip (01.07.2022)
44th Adam Foy MS (17.44)
199 finishers
MORTON GAMES at Santry (02.07.2022)
MEN’S 400m: 1st Jack Raftery (47.04), 7th Zak Higgins (50.24)
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES & U12 & U13 CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore (02.07.2022)
U12 GIRLS 60m SPRINT FINAL: 7th Anabella Omozee (awaiting official result)
U12 GIRLS 2KG SHOT PUTT: 7th Anabella Omozee (7.76m PB)
U12 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 14th Anabella Omozee (1.20m)
U13 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 12th Ruby Blake (4.07m PB)
U13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 12th Ruby Blake (7.83m PB)
U11 BOYS COMBINED 60m SPRINT HEAT 1: 7th Alan Maddox (9.71) and HEAT 2: 8th Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss (10.48)
U11 BOYS COMBINED LONG JUMP: Alan Maddox and Daniel Maddox (awaiting official result)
NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Tullamore (03.07.2022)
U13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES HEAT 3: 5th Ruby Blake (11.27)
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 1: 3rd Melody Omozee (12.78) Q.
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 2: 6th Zion Osawe (12.98)
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES FINAL: 8th Melody Omozee (13.08)
U14 BOYS 75m HURDLES HEAT 1: 7th Elliot Whelan (14.66)
U17 BOYS 100m HURDLES FINAL: 7th Romeo Omozee (17.39)
U15 GIRLS 800m FINAL: 1st Emily Bolton (2.13.93 PB & club record) GOLD
U15 BOYS 800m HEAT 1: 9th Arlen Szep-Szabo (2.18.04)
U15 BOYS 800m HEAT 2: 1st Reuben McCormick (2.10.59) Q.
U15 BOYS 800m FINAL: 6th Reuben McCormick (2.13.53)
U17 BOYS 800m HEAT 2: 6th Thomas Bolton (2.10.58)
U13 BOYS JAVELIN: 14th Dylan O’Connor (20.78m PB)
U14 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Zion Osawe (1.53m) GOLD, 17th Melody Omozee (1.30m)
U17 BOYS LONG JUMP: 8th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (5.26m), 10th Romeo Omozee (5.00m SB)
WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tampere, Finland (03.07.2022)
W55 10,000m WALK: 8th Ann Gormley
DATEV CHALLENGE ROTH TRIATHLON at Roth, Germany (03.07.2022)
140th Sinead O’Reilly W40 (Overall time 12.18.47 – 1.29.47 3.8km swim, 10.53 trans 1, 6.37.44 180km bike, 15.26 trans 2, and 3.44.59 marathon)
JOE DUFFY BMW CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON (02.07.2022)
2nd & 1st M40 Didier Da Costa (1.20.58)
31st & 11th M40 Kevin Odgers (1.26.10)
36th & 21st MS Wayne Waldron (1.27.37)
66th & 26th M40 Patrick Moriarty (1.28.57)
162nd & 8th WS Louise Murray (1.37.10)
350th & 19th M50 Des Gill (1.46.24)
1,469 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (25.06.2022)
BUSHY: 129th Thomas Halton M65 (33.17)
CORKAGH: 6th Eoin Mooney M11-14 (20.15 PB), 45th Joan McTernan W60 (25.20), 108th Terry Mee M75 (31.09)
MALAHIDE: 113rd Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.35)
WATERSTOWN: 1st Dylan McKenna M15-17 (19.16), 12th & 2nd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (24.19)