Top ranked Karen Shinkins and Ciaran McDonagh announce their retirement from athletics Karen Shinkins (born 15.10.76) and Ciaran McDonagh (born 20.05.76) two of the finest Irish athletes of their generation have retired from competitive athletics. Both Karen (400 metres) and Ciaran (long jump) have dominated their respective events for a decade and are the current Irish record holders indoor and outdoor. It was in 1999 that they both made a major impact on the world scene. At the World University Games in Palma Karen smashed the Irish 400 metres record with a stunning 51.07 for 4th place which ranked her 24th in the world that year. Ciaran qualified for the final of the world championships in Seville with a new Irish record of 8 metres and went on to finish 10th in the final. Karen dominated the outdoor scene at home for many years with a string of Irish championship wins and was one of the highest ranked Irish athletes in the world for several years. Perhaps the highlight of her career was in 2002 when having set a new indoor record early in the season of 51.58 she went on to finish 3rd in the European Indoor Championships in Vienna. Ciaran's career was bedevilled with injury but he still managed to produce flashes of pure genius. In 2005 in Cork he produced some prodigious crowd-gasping performances (sadly fouls) and a windy 8.09 metres to finish a close 2nd to the Olympic champion Dwight Phillips. He finished 2005 with a new Irish record of 8.07 metres ( 26ft 6 ins ) in Switzerland and ranked 22nd in the world. Interesting to note that in 1993 in Tullamore shortly after his 17th birthday Ciaran jumped 7.55 metres - one of the best performances in the world for his age that year. The enigmatic Ciaran was a very special talent. Both Karen and Ciaran will be sadly missed by their colleagues in the Irish team. Their place in the history of the sport is assured. On behalf of Athletics Ireland I wish to express our sincere thanks to them both for their enormous contribution to the sport and wish them every success for the future. Liam Hennessy Liam Hennessy Chair of High Performance Athletics Ireland
