JUVENILE RECORDS TUMBLE AS DOMESTIC INDOOR SEASON CONCLUDES
Day’s Two and Three of the 123.ie National Juvenile Indoor Championships concluded the domestic indoor season this weekend at TUS International Arena in Athlone.
There were numerous impressive performances as several championship records tumbled.
Day Two – Saturday
While there was several memorable performances on Saturday arguably none were more notable than Destiny Lawal’s (Doneen AC) in the Girls U16 60m.
Lawal, not once but twice, lowered the championship record of 7.67 seconds that Rhasidat Adeleke had held since 2017. In the heats Lawal ran 7.66, before returning to the track for the final where she crossed the line in 7.61.
In the U16 Boys event, the aforementioned Adeleke’s younger brother Abdullahi (Tallaght AC) won silver in a time of 7.34. Kelvin Kalu (Sligo AC) took gold in 7.26.
Another star of Irish sprinting, Israel Olatunde, nearly had one of his long standing championship records broken in the Boys U17 60m. Gabriel Ebo (Midleton AC) dipped beneath the seven second mark, clocking 6.99 to win the title, just 0.01 of a second off Olatunde’s record.
The Girls and Boys U19 titles went the way of Leila Colfer (St. Laurence O’Toole AC) and Jesse Osas (Ratoath AC) respectively. Colfer clocked a time of 7.53, while Osas crossed in 6.90, both new personal bests.
Over the two lapped 400m event Camille Madden (Kilcoole AC) and Sean Doggett (Athenry AC) came away triumphant in their U19 finals. Madden’s winning time was 55.74, while Doggett ran 48.44, over two seconds clear of the silver medallist Conor Crotty (Annalee AC).
Another Kilcoole athlete Maria Zakharenko, who has run 55 seconds this year, won the Girls U18 title comfortably in 57.33.
Over 1500m, Noah Harris (Parnell AC) produced the standout performance of the day as he won Boys U18 gold in 3:56.45. Aimee Wallace (Mullingar Harriers AC) was a convincing winner of the Girls U19 final over the same distance, crossing the line in 4:36.80.
In the walks, Matthew Newell (Tuam AC) added another national title to his growing collection as he won the Boys U17 1500m race in a championship record time of 5:59.97.
Fresh from being named on the Irish team for next weekend’s World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey, Seamus Clarke (Moy Valley AC) won the U18 Boys title in 6:18.40.
Aoife Tuthill (Bandon AC) came out on top in the Girls U19 race, crossing the line for gold in 7:17.63.
The record books were also rewritten in the field events. Tara O’Connor (Dundalk St. Gerald’s AC) produced a sensational performance to win the Girls U18 High Jump adding 4cm to the championship record in the process. O’Connor’s winning jump was 1.79m.
The Boys U17 championship record in the Triple Jump was extended by over one metre as Daniel Oluwalaanumi Sangodele (Galway City Harriers) recorded a best of 13.26m. Silver medallist Eoin Malik (St. Brendans AC) was also over the previous record.
In the Pole Vault, Jamie Hyland (St. Laurence O’Toole AC) added a centimetre to the championship record in the Boys U17 event clearing 4.21m.
Two Leevale athletes were also in top form in the Pole Vault. Fionn Naughton broke the championship record in the Boys U15 competition clearing 3.00m, while Alex Neff did likewise in the Boys U18 event clearing 4.01m.
Caoimhe Fitzsimons (Ratoath AC) won the Girls U19 Long Jump with a best leap of 5.37m.
Day 3 – Sunday
The final day of the championships saw the 600m titles decided first. Philip Griffith (Claremorris AC) won the Boys U12 title in a championship record time of 1:40.03. There was another record breaking performance in the Boys U13 race as Killian Coman (Limerick AC) won gold in 1:35.61.
Katelynn Woods (Dundalk St. Gerald’s AC) won the Girls U12 title over the distance, with Ailbhe O’Neill (Ennis Track AC) winning Girls U13 gold.
In the 200m finals, Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers AC) wrapped up her excellent indoor season by winning the Girls U17 title in 24.55 seconds.
Fatima Amusan (Leevale AC) is the U19 Girls national champion in the event, crossing the line in 24.90, while Donal Martin (Blackrock AC) showed his class to win the U19 title in 21.85.
Over 800m, Freya Renton (Westport AC) was in scintillating form as she took over a second off the U15 Girls championship record clocking 2:12.12.
In the U16 Girls race Faye Mannion (Ennis Track AC) lowered the championship record to win gold in 2:12.08. Silver medallist Freya Bateman (Belgooly AC) was also below the previous record.
Oisin Lynch (Killarney Valley AC) was so far clear in the Boys U19 final that he had the opportunity to emphatically celebrate down the home straight. His winning time was 1:55.45. Nicole Dinan (Leevale AC) won the Girls U19 event in 2:16.45.
In the 60m Hurdles, Caoimhe Fitzsimons dipped under nine seconds to win the U19 Girls title in a swift 8.99, while Reuben McCarthy (St. Laurence O’Toole AC) claimed U19 Boys gold in 8.72.
Arguably the pick of the field event results on the day was Conor Penney’s (Craughwell AC) terrific performance in the Boys U17 High Jump. The 15-year-old from Galway achieved the European U18 qualifying standard by soaring over the bar at 2.04m, adding a remarkable six centimetres to the previous championship record. Penney would return to action later in the day to win the Boys U17 60m Hurdles in 8.28, lifting his arms aloft in the air with delight after crossing the line.
In a dramatic Girls U17 competition Lauryn Healy (Dundrum South Dublin AC) claimed gold on countback, clearing 1.60m.
Georgia Myerscough (Crookstown Millview AC) broke the championship record in the Girls U16 Triple Jump with a best of 10.71m.
Ryan Onoh (Leevale AC) was an emphatic winner of the Boys U17 Long Jump, with a best leap of 6.77m, just one centimetre off the championship record. Tadhg Stephenson-Wong (Cabinteely AC) was a convincing winner of the Boys U18 competition, while Sean McCabe (Sligo AC) won the U19 title in the event.
Maebh Corkery (Midleton AC) provided the standout performance in the Pole Vault, winning the Girls U17 event with a championship record of 3.26m.
Daniel Downey (Portlaoise AC) did a rare double winning the Boys U16 Long Jump with a best jump of 6.00m and 800m in 1:59.52.
Athletics Ireland wishes to congratulate all who competed and thank all officials who made the event possible.