Paul Hession Smashes His Own Irish Record - Full Detailed Results
The Woodies DIY Indoor Championships proved an outstanding success over the weekend. The magnificent Odyssey Arena brought out the best in the athletes competing, with more than a few going home with new PB’s. Paul Hession’s season continues in whirlwind fashion. He opened up in the 60m with a very respectable 6.70 in his first round heat, and followed up with 6.76 to ease into the final. His final was something else with everything going smooth as silk for him. In spite of a false start he was head and shoulders above everyone and crossed the line in a new Irish record time of 6.63, smashing his previous 6.66. He is very much an athlete on an upward curve. The Women’s 60m featured ‘local’ athlete Anna Boyle. She clocked 7.43 to qualify easily for the final. In the final she showed that she has a lot more in the tank to win in time of 7.38. Behind her Ailis McSweeney had to work hard to take second place ahead of Claire Brady, with both athletes given the same 7.64 clocking. Coincidentally, both athletes clocked the exact same 7.62 in the heats. 
The middle distance events produced some thrilling results. Happiest athlete of all was Mark Christie. Running only his second indoor race, he had a comprehensive win in the 3,000m. He took the lead form the gun and soon had his opponents stretched to the limits. He feared the Russian runner, not knowing what to expect from him, but his fears were not realised as the Mullingar man raced to victory. His winning time of 7:58.12 was a new PB by six seconds. Remarkably this was only his second ever indoor race, his first was the AAA’s last weekend. He has no immediate plans, but selection for the European championships must surely be a option. 
Another ‘local’ Gareth Turnbull was the focus of attention in the 1,500m. He qualified easily then allowed Joachim Brondbo from Norway to build up a big lead in the final before making inroads into that lead in the last 600m. He finally took the lead at the bell and then had too much strength on that last lap to win well. He also ran the heats of the 800m and again qualified for that final. On paper the 800m final line-up promised to be a cracker. The final was a tactical affair with everyone watching to see what the other was doing. Brendan O’Shea led for the first two laps before Kenyan Justus Koech took over. Liam Reale placed himself perfectly on his shoulder for the last lap, with the entire field all within striking distance. Koech held that lead all the way to win, with Reale taking silver as the first five crossed the line within hundredths of each other. 
Kelly Reid was in tremendous form to win both the 800m and 1,500m in the best possible fashion, leading all the way. Orla Drumm was an easy winner of the 3,000m, but struggled to stay with Reid in the 1,500m and had to settle for second. Francisco Fernandez from Spain was in superb form in the 5,000m walk. His solo effort resulted in a time of 18:24.13, a new Spanish record, and world leader. Robert Heffernan was second, while Gillian O’Sullivan dominated the women’s 3,000m to win well. Kelly Proper must have thought she would never again break 6m in the long jump after a series of competitions under the 6m mark. However, she regained her form and jumped 6.19m to take second in the long jump behind Ineta Radevica from Latvia who won with 6.21m. Deirdre Byrne came close to clearing 1.90m in the high jump but had to settle for a best of 1.85m to win the title. 
Paul McKee was another of the ‘locals’ to win a title, taking the 400m in good style from Brian Doyle. Overall the Woodie’s DIY Indoor Championships was an outstanding success. The RTE2 coverage brought Irish athletics to many stay at home fans, while the RTE Webcast gave enthusiasts all over the world a close up of the championships. This was a first for Irish athletics. 
The Woodies DIY Indoor Championships proved an outstanding success over the weekend. The magnificent Odyssey Arena brought out the best in the athletes competing, with more than a few going home with new PB’s. Paul Hession’s season continues in whirlwind fashion. He opened up in the 60m with a very respectable 6.70 in his first round heat, and followed up with 6.76 to ease into the final. His final was something else with everything going smooth as silk for him. In spite of a false start he was head and shoulders above everyone and crossed the line in a new Irish record time of 6.63, smashing his previous 6.66. He is very much an athlete on an upward curve. The Women’s 60m featured ‘local’ athlete Anna Boyle. She clocked 7.43 to qualify easily for the final. In the final she showed that she has a lot more in the tank to win in time of 7.38. Behind her Ailis McSweeney had to work hard to take second place ahead of Claire Brady, with both athletes given the same 7.64 clocking. Coincidentally, both athletes clocked the exact same 7.62 in the heats. The middle distance events produced some thrilling results. Happiest athlete of all was Mark Christie. Running only his second indoor race, he had a comprehensive win in the 3,000m. He took the lead form the gun and soon had his opponents stretched to the limits. He feared the Russian runner, not knowing what to expect from him, but his fears were not realised as the Mullingar man raced to victory. His winning time of 7:58.12 was a new PB by six seconds. Remarkably this was only his second ever indoor race, his first was the AAA’s last weekend. He has no immediate plans, but selection for the European championships must surely be a option. Another ‘local’ Gareth Turnbull was the focus of attention in the 1,500m. He qualified easily then allowed Joachim Brondbo from Norway to build up a big lead in the final before making inroads into that lead in the last 600m. He finally took the lead at the bell and then had too much strength on that last lap to win well. He also ran the heats of the 800m and again qualified for that final. On paper the 800m final line-up promised to be a cracker. The final was a tactical affair with everyone watching to see what the other was doing. Brendan O’Shea led for the first two laps before Kenyan Justus Koech took over. Liam Reale placed himself perfectly on his shoulder for the last lap, with the entire field all within striking distance. Koech held that lead all the way to win, with Reale taking silver as the first five crossed the line within hundredths of each other. Kelly Reid was in tremendous form to win both the 800m and 1,500m in the best possible fashion, leading all the way. Orla Drumm was an easy winner of the 3,000m, but struggled to stay with Reid in the 1,500m and had to settle for second. Francisco Fernandez from Spain was in superb form in the 5,000m walk. His solo effort resulted in a time of 18:24.13, a new Spanish record, and world leader. Robert Heffernan was second, while Gillian O’Sullivan dominated the women’s 3,000m to win well. Kelly Proper must have thought she would never again break 6m in the long jump after a series of competitions under the 6m mark. However, she regained her form and jumped 6.19m to take second in the long jump behind Ineta Radevica from Latvia who won with 6.21m. Deirdre Byrne came close to clearing 1.90m in the high jump but had to settle for a best of 1.85m to win the title. Paul McKee was another of the ‘locals’ to win a title, taking the 400m in good style from Brian Doyle. Overall the Woodie’s DIY Indoor Championships was an outstanding success. The RTE2 coverage brought Irish athletics to many stay at home fans, while the RTE Webcast gave enthusiasts all over the world a close up of the championships. This was a first for Irish athletics. 
