8.12.18 PB for Joe Sweeney
The inaugral Irish Milers Club 'Ray Flynn Invitational' got off to an good start with some excellent performances in a sunny but windy Irishtown Stadium on Saturday night. Athletes were faced with a stiff westerly breeze sweeping across the track but this did not deter some fast times. Chief amongst these was Joe Sweeney. The DSD star took over pacemaking duties after 600m and powered away to a new personal best of 8.12.18 to win by over half the lenght of the straight. The remainder of the field tucked in behind pacemaker Garrett Coughlan through halfway and once he stepped off the track, Mark Hanrahan led a group of four including Eugene O'Neill, Mark Kirwan and Gary O'Hanlon as they chased Sweeney. The pace soon began to effect O'Hanlon who was the first to drop off the pace followed by the fighting O'Neill two laps later. This left a titanic battle between the Cork man Hanrahan and the Dub Kirwan with Kirwan eventually finishing second after edging past in the final few metres to a new personal best of 8.18.98. O'Neill and O'Hanlon followed close behind. Sweeney's training partner Alan Mc Cormack also took five seconds off his personal best when running 8.35.68. The wind badly affected the 800m races as well as late withdrawals of Colm Rooney and Ciaran O'Connell. In the men's A race, recently crowned Leinster Schools Champion, John Coghlan followed pacemaker Simon Taggart closely through 400m in 55 seconds with the rest of the field some ten metres down. Kark Fahy, running his first race for Crusaders chased him down as the field approached the 600m mark only for young Joe Warne of Doheny to put in his foot to the floor and burst out of the pack into a 10 metre lead. Coghlan chased him hard down the home straight but Warne held on for a comfortable victory in 1.54.86. Mark Mc Donald who was seeking a European Youth Olympic qualifying time almost passed Coghlan in the final metres but Coghlan hung on for a new personal best with Mc Donald just missing the standard. The men's 800m B debuted some new IMC members. Eoin King of Raheny Shamrocks brazed the elements and chased the two pacemakers, Eoin Cummins and Simon Taggart from the break after the first 100m. This proved to be a good tactic by the young Dick Hooper coached athlete as he went on to win comfortably in 2.01.4 and looked like he can go much faster in the coming weeks. A battle royale followed as Sean Hehir managed to outkick Simon Kenny in the final few metres. Brendan Carrigan made a welcome return to racing in this event. The final event of the evening produced some excellent new personal bests in the women's 800m. Garrett Coughlan again took on the pacing duties leading Kerry Harty and Ciara Everard through 400m in 64 seconds and 600m in 1.37. Harty produced an excellent sprint for the line in the final 200m to take three seconds off her personal best to win in 2.10.52. Leinster Schools Champion, Ciara Everard also took a few milliseconds off her previous best and will look to qualify for the European Youth Olympics in the weeks to come. The field events threw up some surprises with Eugene O'Neill indicating that he may be switching codes on the infield for the summer season. The IMC would like to thank all of those who attended the meeting to support the athletes, the athletes themselves, officials and the staff of Irishtown Stadium. Our next meeting is been held in Tullamore at the Irish Schools and all athletes wishing to compete in this event are asked to enter on our website by the end of this week. Events are as follows: Men A mile, Men B 1500m, Women A 800m. Ray Flynn Invitational Results Garrett Coughlan Sports Management Ireland, 86 Baggot Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. Tel: +353 87 13 13 146 Fax: +353 16 63 10 45 www.sportsmanagementireland.com gar@sportsmanagementireland.com IAAF Authorised Athlete Representative
The inaugral Irish Milers Club 'Ray Flynn Invitational' got off to an good start with some excellent performances in a sunny but windy Irishtown Stadium on Saturday night. Athletes were faced with a stiff westerly breeze sweeping across the track but this did not deter some fast times. Chief amongst these was Joe Sweeney. The DSD star took over pacemaking duties after 600m and powered away to a new personal best of 8.12.18 to win by over half the lenght of the straight. The remainder of the field tucked in behind pacemaker Garrett Coughlan through halfway and once he stepped off the track, Mark Hanrahan led a group of four including Eugene O'Neill, Mark Kirwan and Gary O'Hanlon as they chased Sweeney. The pace soon began to effect O'Hanlon who was the first to drop off the pace followed by the fighting O'Neill two laps later. This left a titanic battle between the Cork man Hanrahan and the Dub Kirwan with Kirwan eventually finishing second after edging past in the final few metres to a new personal best of 8.18.98. O'Neill and O'Hanlon followed close behind. Sweeney's training partner Alan Mc Cormack also took five seconds off his personal best when running 8.35.68. The wind badly affected the 800m races as well as late withdrawals of Colm Rooney and Ciaran O'Connell. In the men's A race, recently crowned Leinster Schools Champion, John Coghlan followed pacemaker Simon Taggart closely through 400m in 55 seconds with the rest of the field some ten metres down. Kark Fahy, running his first race for Crusaders chased him down as the field approached the 600m mark only for young Joe Warne of Doheny to put in his foot to the floor and burst out of the pack into a 10 metre lead. Coghlan chased him hard down the home straight but Warne held on for a comfortable victory in 1.54.86. Mark Mc Donald who was seeking a European Youth Olympic qualifying time almost passed Coghlan in the final metres but Coghlan hung on for a new personal best with Mc Donald just missing the standard. The men's 800m B debuted some new IMC members. Eoin King of Raheny Shamrocks brazed the elements and chased the two pacemakers, Eoin Cummins and Simon Taggart from the break after the first 100m. This proved to be a good tactic by the young Dick Hooper coached athlete as he went on to win comfortably in 2.01.4 and looked like he can go much faster in the coming weeks. A battle royale followed as Sean Hehir managed to outkick Simon Kenny in the final few metres. Brendan Carrigan made a welcome return to racing in this event. The final event of the evening produced some excellent new personal bests in the women's 800m. Garrett Coughlan again took on the pacing duties leading Kerry Harty and Ciara Everard through 400m in 64 seconds and 600m in 1.37. Harty produced an excellent sprint for the line in the final 200m to take three seconds off her personal best to win in 2.10.52. Leinster Schools Champion, Ciara Everard also took a few milliseconds off her previous best and will look to qualify for the European Youth Olympics in the weeks to come. The field events threw up some surprises with Eugene O'Neill indicating that he may be switching codes on the infield for the summer season. The IMC would like to thank all of those who attended the meeting to support the athletes, the athletes themselves, officials and the staff of Irishtown Stadium. Our next meeting is been held in Tullamore at the Irish Schools and all athletes wishing to compete in this event are asked to enter on our website by the end of this week. Events are as follows: Men A mile, Men B 1500m, Women A 800m. Ray Flynn Invitational Results Garrett Coughlan Sports Management Ireland, 86 Baggot Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. Tel: +353 87 13 13 146 Fax: +353 16 63 10 45 www.sportsmanagementireland.com gar@sportsmanagementireland.com IAAF Authorised Athlete Representative
