It was an action-packed day of athletics with the National 20k Walks Championships taking place in Galway, alongside the AAI Games and National Combined Events Championships which were taking place in Santry.
The Men’s National 20k Walk title went the way of David Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley) who came home in 1:28:03 ahead of Brendan Boyce 1:29:49 (Finn Valley AC), and Jerome Caprice 1:34:28 (Dundrum South Dublin AC).
Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) collected the the Women’s 20k Walk title in what were seriously humid conditions at the stunning St. Jarlath’s College venue in Tuam.
Back in Santry, the Men’s 3000m proved to be one of the races of the day. A strong pace from eventual winner Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers AC) saw him cross the line in 8:11.57, closely followed by Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers A.C.) in 8:11.68. The race also saw three athletes secure the European U20 Entry Standard of 8:23.00.
- Tadhg Donnelly (Drogheda and District AC) 8:12.51
- Dean Casey (Ennis Track AC) 8:15.56
- Fionn Harrington (Bandon AC) 8:22.00
The Women’s 3000m saw one of the performances of the day with a big PB of 9:06.67 for Roisin Flanagan (Carmen Runners A.C.) on her way to taking first place from Aoife Kilgallon (Sligo A.C.) 9:20.05 and Laura Mooney (Tullamore Harriers A.C.) 9:27.42.
Lilly Ann O’Hora (Dooneen AC) was on fire In the Women’s 100m Hurdles, setting an impressive PB of 13.53 in windy conditions. The performance moves O’Hora to 5th position on the all-time list. Megan Marrs (City of Lisburn A.C.) 13.61 and Kate Doherty (Dundrum South Dublin A.C.) 13.64 clocked the second and third fastest times on the day.
If the 3000m was the race of the day, finish of the day may have been in the Men’s 800m where Cillian Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock AC) dipped for the line take Heat 1 in 1:48:83, ahead of Louis O'Loughlin (Donore Harriers). Robert Hewison (Kildare AC) was third fastest in 1:51.30.
The Men’s 110m Hurdles saw familiar rivals Gerard O’Donnell (Carrick-on-Shannon A.C.) 14.10 and Matthew Behan (Crusaders A.C.) 14.30 take to the starting blocks for a series of two races which saw O’Donnell come out on top in both occasions with a best time of 14.10.
Mark Smyth continued his winning ways in the Men’s 200m. The Raheny Shamrock AC athlete posted the 200m time of the day in 21.09 ahead of second fastest Colin Doyle of Leevale in 21.34.
Catherine McManus was fastest of the 200m women, with the DCH athlete clocking a 24.01. Lauren McCourt (Bandon AC) 24.28 and Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn A.C) 24.60 posted the second and third fastest times.
Mary Horgan (Crusaders A.C.) 2:08.08 narrowly finished in front of Carla Sweeney (Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. A.C.) in the ever-competitive Women’s 800m. Maeve O’Neill was third for Doheny A.C. in 2:09.12.
The Women’s High Jump was witness to some brilliant competition which saw Women’s High Jump Aoife O`Sullivan (Liscarroll A.C.) 1.78 finish ahead of Sommer Lecky (Finn Valley A.C.) 1.74 with a best of 1.78. Ciara Kennelly (Killarney Valley A.C.) was third with a 1.70 jump.
Sean Mockler (Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C.) continued his impressive 2021 in the Men’s Hammer with a best throw of 64.50 to take first place, while Michaela Walsh (Swinford A.C.) 62.10 and Nicola Tuthill (Bandon AC) 61.46 battled out for first place in the Women’s Hammer. Walsh would finish in first place with her third throw of 62.10 proving enough to take the win.
The Men’s High Jump saw Ciaran Connolly of Le Cheile A.C. take top spot with a jump of 2.05 while the Men’s Shot Put was won by Paul Collins (North Westmeath A.C.) with his second throw of 14.00 proving enough. Saidhbhe Byrne competed in the Women’s Shot alongside Mary Fitzgerald of Gowran AC. Byrne finished with a best throw of 9.24.
The Men’s Triple Jump victory was secured by Conall Mahon (Tír Chonaill A.C.) in 14.24 on his 6th and final jump, while Saragh Buggy (St. Abbans A.C.) was back to winning ways with a 13.30 jump.
The final standings in the Combined Events are yet to be decided with more action set for the track and field tomorrow. Elizabeth Moreland currently sits top of the Women’s standings after four events with 3208 points from Lara O’Byrne 2965 and Louise King 2449.
The Senior Men’s Decathlon sees Rolus Olusa currently in top spot with 2912 from Shane Aston 2765 and Michael Healy 2424. Jack Forde of St. Killian's A.C. leads the way in the Junior Men after four events with a total of 2575 going into tomorrow.
- Full list of Results
- Action and the live stream from Morton Stadium will get underway from 10am tomorrow.
- Day 2 Preview: https://www.athleticsireland.ie/news/bumper-weekend-of-athletics-action-set-for-morton-stadium/
- Live Stream via Athletics Ireland Youtube Channel from 10am each day.
- Commentary: 12 – 4.30pm Sunday.