GloHealth Junior & U23 Champs Preview
Over 400 of Ireland’s very best athletes will descend on Cork IT for the GloHealth Junior & U23 Championships this Sunday, 6th of July. It is a very important year for Ireland’s leading junior athletes with the World Junior Track and Field Championships taking place in Eugene, Oregon in July the ultimate target.
All the action will be streamed live from Cork via the Athletics Ireland website in partnership with Aertv with commentary provided by Jumping the Gun.
Sprints/Hurdles
Irish junior record holder Marcus Lawler (St Laurence O’Toole) - 100m (10.38) and 200m (20.87) is one of those athletes targeting Oregon. Lawler will target the sprint double in Cork; he will have to be close to his best to compete against the in form Zak Irwin (Sligo AC) after he set a personal best of 21.34 in Nivelles, Belgium last weekend.
In the junior women’s sprint events watch out for the likes of Cliodhna Manning (Kilkenny City Harriers AC), City of Lisburn duo of Megan Marrs and Roseanna McGuckian and Ferrybank AC athlete Niamh McNicol who are all set to battle it out.
Phil Healy (Bandon AC) is the standout performer in the U23 sprint events. The Bandon express has already run a time of 11.53 seconds this year. The time ranks her second on the 2014 Irish outdoor lists behind senior athlete Amy Foster (City of Lisburn) and also qualifies her for the European Track and Field Championships in Zurich. Catherine McManus (Celtic DCH) is the likely challenger to Healy having run 11.62 (+3.8) at the Le Cheile International on the 27th of June.
McManus (U23) and Marrs (U20) will start as favourites in their respective sprint hurdle events.
Keith Pike (Clonliffe Harriers AC) is the fastest on paper in the U23 men’s race with a personal best of 10.72 with Eanna Madden (Carrick-on-Shannon A.C.) next quickest on 10.77
Paul Murphy (Ferrybank AC) is the likely favourite in the junior 400m having run a personal best of 47.75 this year.
Middle Distance
In the middle distance events Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dundrum South Dublin AC) has secured the standard for Oregon in both the 800m and 1,500m. Cleirigh Buttner will compete in the 800m where she can expect tough competition from Aislinn Crossey (Newry AC) and Alanna Lally (Galway City Harriers AC). The junior men’s 1,500m is set to be a thriller with the likes of Andrew Corscoran (Star of the Sea AC) and Aaron Hanlon (Clonliffe Harriers AC) on the start list.
Field Events
Watch out for Sam Healy of Cork club Leevale AC who has soared over 7m on numerous occasions this year in the long jump. Healy has also exceled in the 110m hurdles this year running a time of 14.66 seconds. The junior men’s high jump could be one the closest competitions of the day with Jamie Murtagh (St Andrews AC), Donagh Mahon (Gowran AC) and David Cussen (Old Abbey AC) all over 2m already this year.
Youth athlete Michaela Walsh who has been in impressive form this year steps up to the junior ranks in the Shot Putt with Marco Pons (DMP AC) the outstanding favourite in the U23 discus.
The programme begins on the track at 10.30am with the 3,000m Walk and in the field at the same time with the men’s hammer.