Ciaran McDonagh Pushes Olympic Champion Dwight Phillips in Cork - Athletics Ireland
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Ciaran McDonagh Pushes Olympic Champion Dwight Phillips in Cork

4 July 2005

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Athboy native Ciaran McDonagh produced the longest jump ever by an Irishman, leaping a slightly windy 8.09m (+2.3) at the Cork City Sports pushing Olympic Champion Dwight Phillips right down to the wire. McDonagh was in supreme form all day with multiple jumps over 8 metres, although the blustery conditions made it difficult for the jumpers to get on the takeoff board. He led Olympic Champion, and training partner, Dwight Phillips after two rounds before Phillips responded in round 3 with what turned out to be the winning leap of 8.17m. A World Championship finalist in Seville, McDonagh has proven again that he is capable of competing with the best in the world. He had demonstrated his talent to anyone paying attention as recently as 2003 when he jumped 7.95m at the National Championships in Santry before injuries spoiled his chances of making the Olympics last year in Athens. Derval O'Rourke took advantage of the tail-winds to record the second fastest time of her career, 12.99w, in a fast race which saw four athletes dip under the 13 second barrier. But more significantly than the time perhaps was the fact that O'Rourke was right in the hunt among a field which included former World Champion Anjanatte Kirkland (who won in 12.81) and American Danielle Carruthers (who has a PB of 12.56) who finished just one place ahead of O'Rourke on the day. In the 3000m there was the rare sight of Sonia O'Sullivan coming home in 6th place on her home turf with two other Irishwomen ahead of her. Maria McCambridge and Jolene Byrne recorded season bests and personal bests respectively as they finished in 4th and 5th behind a very strong international trio of Benita Johnson, Shalane Flanagan and Kim Smith, with Johnson's winning time an impressive 8:55.72 considering the windy conditions. Taking full advantage of the conditions were Ailis McSweeney and Emily Maher who ran two of the fastest ever 100m's by Irish women under any conditions as they speeded to times of 11.43 and 11.44 in a race won by the unpronounceable Yelana Nevmerzhitakaia of Belarus in 11.14. And Gary Ryan suffered a rare defeat to a fellow Irish sprinter when Jer O'Donoghue got the better of him in the men's 100m, 10.40-10.41, in a race won by Britain's relay Olympic Champion Marlon Devonish in 10.16. Devonish was a double winner on the day as he took the 200m in a time of 20.34 in yet another race which saw the wind exceed the allowable limit for record purposes.

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