Over 500 athletes battled it out on a bumper day of athletics at the 123.ie National U20 & U23 Indoor Championships which were hosted at the TUS International Arena in Athlone today (March 9th).
Max O’Reilly (Riverstick Kinsale AC) moved up to fourth on the Irish all time list on the back of his gold-medal winning performance of 6.66 in the U23 60m final, while fellow 60m sprinter Jesse Osas (Ratoath AC) broke the U20 championship record in a time 6.80.
Kate O’Connell (Lucan Harriers) broke the U23 400m championship record in a time of 55.11, while Sean Doggett (Athenry) also smashed the championship record in the U20 men’s 400m, clocking 47.63.
There were also several standout performances in the field events with Aoife O’Sullivan’s (Liscarroll AC) gold-medal-winning performance of 1.78CR in the U23 high jump one of the highlights on a busy day of competition.
U23 Summary
The first track medals of the day were decided in the 1500m with Alexandra Joyce (Tuam AC) taking gold in a stacked women’s race in 4:33.18. Hannah Kehoe (KCH) was second in 4:34.00, with Kirsti Charlotte Foster (Willowfield Harriers) third in 4:34.94. Joyce would also go on to claim silver in the 800m later in the afternoon.
Defending champion Oisin Murray (An Riocht) retained his title in the men’s 1500m race, going for home early and fighting off the challenge of Louie Woodger (MSB) to cross in a winning time of 3:55.30.
Max O’Reilly stormed to the men’s 60m sprint title in 6.66, streaking away from a strong final lineup which saw Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght) 6.81 and defending champion Nkemjika Onwumereh (MSB) 6.81 complete the podium.
Aisling Kelly (UCD) lived up to the favourites tag in the women’s 60m, completing the sprint double which kicked off with 60m gold in 7.57. Kelly would follow up with victory in the 200m later in the day in 24.62, while Nenagh’s Padraic Hasset took gold in the men’s 200m in 21.59.
The 400m was dominated by Kate O’Connell (Lucan Harriers) who ran away to a new championship record of 55.11 with Jenn Breen (City of Lisburn) pushing her closest in 55.16 which would have also broken the old championship record. Finn Woodger (Metro/St. Brigids AC) 1:53:71 and Renee Crotty (UCD AC) 2:14:58 secured the closely contested 800m titles.
Ciara Wilson Bowen (Dundrum South Dublin AC) was the star turn in the 3000m walk, taking gold in 14:40.05 ahead of Éabha De Faoite (Kenmare AC) 15:03.73 and Méabh O’Connor (Waterford AC) 15:10.30.
Adam Nolan (St. L. O’Toole AC) picked up another national gold in the 60m hurdles (8.06) to go with his senior gold from two weeks previous, while Laura Frawley (Nenagh Olympic) is the women’s champion thanks to her 9.60.
The field events delivered some of the most exciting performances of the day, headed by Aoife O’Sullivan’s (Liscarrol AC) 1.78m gold-medal-winning display in the women’s high jump. Emmanuel Osas (Rathoath) took gold in the men’s high jump with a 1.80m clearance.
Joshua Fitzgerald (Leevale AC) won the last two U20 pole vault titles and continued the winning run in today’s U23 competition with a best of 4.30m, while Abbie O’Neill (City of Lisburn) took gold in the women’s competition with a 3.20 clearance.
Kotryna Pacerinskaite (Fanahan McSweeney AC) dominated the women’s shot with a best throw of 12.37m taking gold, while Callum Keating (North Cork AC) is the men’s champion thanks to his 14.24m best.
JUNIOR SUMMARY
The U20 women’s 1500m was billed as one of the races of the day and it didn’t disappoint with Gemma Galvin (Ennis Track AC) 4:42.10 and yesterday’s senior school’s cross country champion Emily Bolton (Clonliffe Harriers AC) 4:42.41 producing the finish of the day.
The men’s race was a thriller with Sean Cronin (Clonliffe Harriers) kicking his way to gold in 4:00:42 ahead of Caolan McFadden (Cranford AC) 4:01.48 and clubmate Lorcan Benjacar (Clonliffe Harriers AC) 4:01.59. The 800m titles went to James Foot (Bray Runners AC) 2:03.02 and Emer Brennan (Clonmel AC) 2:12.80
The 60m saw Jesse Osas (Ratoath) put on a show, breaking the championship record of Israel Olatunde/ Sean Aigboboh to clock 6.80CR. Cillian Doherty (Crusaders AC) 6.82 and Ciaran O’Farrell (Donore Harriers) 6.90 ran huge races to complete the podium.
The women’s 60m was one not to be missed and it was Blackrock’s Precious Akpe Moses (BlackRock AC) who took the title in 7.37, before going on to also pick up gold in the 200m later in the afternoon in 24.19. Donal Martin (Blackrock Dublin) would take the men’s 200m title in 21.67.
The 400s were hotly contested, but it was Sean Doggett (Athenry AC) who stamped his authority on the men’s race, running away to gold in a new championship record of 47.63. Erin Friel (Letterkenny AC) beat a stacked women’s field to secure gold in an impressive display of 54.75 over 400m.
The 3k walks saw Savanagh O’Callaghan (Tuam AC) defend her title in dominant fashion, clocking 14:52:98, while Matthew Newell (Tuam AC) completed the Tuam double as he walked clear of the field to cross in isolation in 12:37:73.
Sean Owens (Crusaders AC) was hugely impressive over the hurdles, claiming the U20 title in 8:05. National senior champion Michael Kent (DMP AC) added two more titles to his collection in taking today’s long jump (6.84m) and pole vault (4.50m) titles. Tara O’Connor (Dundalk St. Gerards AC) won the women’s long jump with a best leap of 5.41m, while senior indoor pole vault champion Meabh Corkery (Midleton AC) took the women’s pole vault with a best of 3.30m.
Triple jumper Darragh Fahy (Loughrea AC) saved his best for last to claim gold with 13.33m, while Patience Chinda (St. Michael’s AC) took gold in the women’s competition with 11.68m.
Tara O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerards) 1.70m and Conor Penney (Craughwell AC) 1.90m were in flying form over the vertical jump once again, both picking up their respective U20 titles, while throws fans were served a treat in the men’s shot with the dual between Theo Hanlon (Suncroft AC) and Andrew Cooper (Gorwan AC) seeing both athletes throw out over 16 meters, with Hanlon just coming out on top with a best of 16:81m ahead of Cooper’s 16:48m.
Caoimhe Gallen (Lifford Strabane AC) continued to impress in the women’s shot, posting a best throw today of 11.81m to claim gold.
Full Results HERE
