Barr bids for 5th hurdles title
Thomas Barr is bidding for his 5th 400m hurdles title at the GloHealth National Track and Field Championships this weekend (August 8/9) at Morton Stadium as he primes for the World Track and Field Championships later this month.
“It's the one time of the year where all of Ireland's best, and up-and-coming athletes, get to showcase their talent in front of a home crowd,” said the World Universities Champion whose biggest rival for the championship will be Paul Byrne (St Abbans).
“Athletes will usually be on top form, as with the case of this year it is in a period where some of us are priming up for worlds, and some are chasing standards,” continued the Ferrybank star.
The full entry list for the championships is here.
English gears up for worlds against Murray
UCD’s Mark English will be one of those priming for the world championships and he will face stiff competition in the 800m against Clonliffe Harriers’ Declan Murray.
English bounced back into form at the London Anniversary Games finishing fourth in a season’s best of 1:45.49 and secured a qualifying time for the Olympic Games next year. Karl Griffin, who has had an excellent season finishing 6th in the European U23 Atheltics Championships, is down for the 400m.
Cullen's comeback
North Sligo’s Mary Cullen goes into the women’s 5,000m in search of a world qualifying time of 15:20.00. Cullen, European indoor 3,000m bronze medallist in 2009, is running her first outdoor national championship since 2007.
Proper looks to hit world standard
Kelly Proper is another athlete looking for the world qualifying time in the 200m (23.20) but is among a group of athletes still inside the new IAAF quota system that could see them secure selection for Beijing.
Relay spots up for grabs
Among the excitement at the national championships will be the men’s 400m where a number of athletes will be looking to get on the team with a strong showing. Brian Gregan is the favourite for the title with a season’s best of 45.85.
Heffernan's champion return
Defending world 50km race walk champion Robert Heffernan (Togher) will compete in the 10,000m race walk alongside fellow internationals Alex Wright (Leevale) and Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny). All three are Beijing bound later this month.
RTÉ Coverage
There will be an hour's highlights package on RTÉ 2 at 8:00pm on Sunday evening.
Athletes in contention for the IAAF quota for selection
Link for the athletes quota is here.
The quota system is explained on the AAI HP site here.
EVENT RANK NAME TIME EVENT QUOTA
4X400m Relay 13 Ireland 3:01.67 16
200m 51 Kelly Proper 23.24 56
800m 44 Ciara Everard 2:01.21 48
1500m 42 Ciara Mageean 4:08.32 45
3000mSC 42 Sara Treacy 9:44.14 45
110m hurdles 36 Ben Reynolds 13.48 40
Pinnacle of the Irish Athletics Calendar
The pinnacle of the Irish athletics calendar will feature over 500 athletes from all over the country competing in 40 competitions across the array of track and field disciplines. The event is also the perfect, fun-filled family day out and is a great opportunity for kids to come along and be inspired by Ireland's finest athletes.
Kids challenge in the GloHealth Fitzone
There will be a chance to meet and greet some of the biggest names in Irish sport. Children up to the challenge can try out the GloHealth Fitzone which will be packed with mini track and field activities. Bring your little ones down to try their hand at the shot put or jumping the hurdles. You might discover Ireland's next sporting star.