Irish Team Achieve Best Ever Performance

The Irish athletics team achieved their best ever performance at the European Athletics Team Championships (1st League) which took place in Crete from the 20th-21st of June. The Irish team finished in sixth position with a score of 261.5 points, improving on their previous best performance of seventh from 2014 & 2013 when the championships were held in Estonia and Dublin respectively. The event was won by the Czech Republic with a score of 351 points from Greece (327) second and the Netherlands (299.5) third, all three teams will now progress to the super league next year.

High Performance Director

Kevin Ankrom, Director of High Performance said “It was a great championships for us, we came here targeting a best ever performance at this event and we achieved that. It was a great success for the entire team and I am very proud of them. To come sixth and accumulate more points than we have ever done before is a successful team performance for us. It was a combined team effort with points coming in events we previously haven’t scored in.”

Reynolds Sets the Tone

Ben Reynolds (North Down AC) blasted to a seasons best time of 13.73 seconds in the 110m hurdles to place second and secure 11 points for Ireland. European medallist Mark English (UCD AC) was another of those just missing out on a victory as he placed second in the 800m in a time of 1.48.28. Irish athletes demonstrated their battling qualities in the distance events with Kerry O’Flaherty (Newcastle AC) and John Travers (Donore Harriers AC) snatching third place finishes in the 1,500m and 3,000m respectively.

McCambridge Digs Deep

The evergreen Maria McCambridge (Dundrum South Dublin AC) gave it her all as she secured fourth place in the 5,000m in a time of 16.09.30. Newcomer to the Irish team Megan Tice (Finn Valley AC) matched McCambridge position as she also placed fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.80m.

Relay Team Claim Third

In a thrilling conclusion to the programme the men’s 4x400m team (Brian Gregan, Thomas Barr, Craig Lynch and Mark English) finished in third place in a time of 3.05.07 to claim ten points for team Ireland. Sprinters Amy Foster (City of Lisburn AC) and Marcus Lawler (St Laurence O’Toole AC) had both earlier finished in sixth place overall in the 200m events securing all-important points for Ireland.

Combined Team Effort

The performances on day two of the event combined with the previous day’s points gave Ireland it’s best ever performances at these championships with an overall score of 261.5 points. Highlights on day one of the event included a second place for Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) in the 400m Hurdles and a clutch of third place performances from Michelle Finn (Leevale AC) – 3,000m steeplechase and Sarah Treacy (Dunboyne AC) – 3,000m. A full report from day one of the championships can be viewed here: Day 1 Review