ATHLETICS REPORT – for week ending 21st July 2019

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS: Both the men’s and women’s teams lose out on the podium by narrow margins in the finals of the Premier Divisions of the National League. Aoife Lynch is the star with PBs in both the 100m and 200m. At the Euro Under 20s Jack Raftery and his Irish team-mates reach the final of the 4 x 400m placing 7th. Louis O’Loughlin fails to shine in the Euro 800m. NOTE: missing results (unavailable) will be added later.

NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD FINALS at TULLAMORE (20.07.2019)

It was a case of so near and yet so far for Donore Harriers in their respective premier division finals of the National Track & Field League at Tullamore on Saturday (20.07.2019), as both the men’s team and the women’s team came agonisingly close to getting amongst the medals.

The club’s president Iain Morrison was full of praise for the teams afterwards, acknowledging the contributions of the coaches, team captains and club director Maurice Ahern. In relation to the contest he said: “We had two teams out there today who challenged for medals up until the very last event (4 x 400m relays). The fact that we had two teams contest the final so keenly makes us one of the strongest clubs in the country”.

The men’s team captain David Campbell and women’s team captain Leonie Newman were also full of praise for their team members. Campbell told them: “You gave your all out there today, I could not have asked for anything more”, whilst Newman said: “We just need to build on this and come back stronger next year”.

Both teams made positive starts with Eva McPartlan (17.13) running a strong middle section of the 100m Hurdles that was key to getting 2nd position, whilst David Slupko (15.42) got maximum points with a very efficient effort in the 110m Hurdles.

Anne Gormley (10.07.63) came 6th in the Women’s 1.5km Walk, before Sean Kinsella (18.59.65) put himself in at the deep end on his national league debut to place 4th in his maiden 3km Walk, gaining a valuable 5 points.
Caoimhe Mackey (1.09.57) gained to 3rd place from Lane 1 in the 400m Hurdles after a steady start. New national junior champion Daragh McAuley (57.57) came an excellent 4th in a competitive men’s hurdles. The 4th track event, the 4 x 100m relay, saw mixed fortunes for the Donore teams. The women’s quartet of Robyn O’Keeffe, Sarah Lahiff, Emily Geoghegan and Suzi O’Farrell came 6th in 52.10, whilst David Slupko, Zak Higgins, David Campbell and Paul McDermott produced a great finish to come 2nd in 43.15.

Out in the field Alex Conway (14.62m) placed 6th in the Hammer, with Sean Chann (5.83m) gaining to 5th place with his 4th and final effort in the Long Jump. Despite a below par performance from Lara O’Byrne in the High Jump, her 3rd attempt clearance of 1.55m was still good enough for 2nd place. Hammer specialist Lauren O’Keeffe (7.48m), stepped into the breach in the Shot Putt, but could only manage 7th position.

At this point Clonliffe Harriers had opened a gap at the top of the men’s leader-board with 52 points, with Donore Harriers (35) in 4th behind Raheny Shamrocks (39) and Galway City Harriers (36). The women’s contest saw DSD AC (48), ahead of Galway County (40) and Tipperary County (32) with Donore Harriers (30) next.

In the next action on the track Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill (4.45.17) put in a solid performance to get 3rd position in the 1,500m. Michael Ryan (4.22.10) could not be faulted for effort but fell back to cross the line 7th over the same distance. Lauren Flaherty (1.04.22) and Zak Higgins (51.34) came 7th and 5th respectively over 400m. The ever-consistent Barbara Cleary (10.20.88) ran 3rd in the 3,000m. Moyle Park student Gavin Curtin (10.23.83) again lowered his personal best time to place a fine 4th in a competitive 3k steeplechase.

Nobody epitomizes the heart and spirit of the Donore teams more than sprinters Paul McDermott and Aoife Lynch. McDermott, having already ran a super last leg in the 4 x 100m relay, came 3rd in both the 100m and 200m in times of 11.00 and 22.07. Lynch (24.17) narrowly lost out to Sharlene Mawdsley of Tipperary County in the 200m and then had a photo-finish with Kate Doherty of DSD AC in the 100m as both were timed at 11.99. Despite the two runner-up spots Lynch had the satisfaction of gaining two personal bests, confirming her steady progress towards the top echelon of Irish sprinting.

Meanwhile, Roisin Rynn-Cahill (8.53m) could do no better than 8th place in the Triple Jump, but fine 2nd places by Ailbhe Healy (2.65m) in the Pole Vault and Lauren O’Keeffe (45.30m) in the Hammer kept the Harriers in contention for the podium. Rebecca Power (27.76m) consolidated the team’s challenge with 4th spot in the Javelin.

At this point DSD AC (76) led the women’s contest from Galway County (73) with Donore Harriers and Tipperary Country (both 57) tied in 3rd ahead of Louth County (51).

Niall Allen (10.80m) took 4th place in the Shot Putt, Alex Clarkin (1.50m) 8th in the High Jump and Oran O’Brien (35.38m) 5th in the Discus.

The men’s score card showed Clonliffe Harriers (80) ahead of Raheny Shamrocks (71) with Donore Harriers (59) in 4th behind Galway City Harriers (68)

The team took a boost when Elliot Slade (1.54.00) ran a well-judged race to secure victory in the 800m. Maura Kearns (2.23.58) gained two places in the sprint to the line to place 5th in the two laps event.

Irish orienteering international Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan (15.24.14) knocked 18 seconds of his previous best time to place a gallant 5th in quality 5,000m race. Next on the track in the Donore colours was 16 years-old Ruby Kelly (13.21.23), gaining 4 points with 5th position in the 3km steeplechase.

In the remaining women’s field events Robyn O’Keeffe (22.95m) came 5th with a PB in the Discus and Lara O’Byrne (4.84m) placed 6th in the Long Jump. With 4 jumps allowed O’Byrne had marked the plasticine with her first 3 efforts, thus had to ‘play it safe’ with her last attempt.

Sean Kinsella (8.95m) had similar experience in the Triple Jump. Being a last-minute replacement with no experience he took technical advice from coach Ray O’Keeffe during the contest, thus enabling the young Donore athlete to make a mark with his final jump, albeit only good enough for 8th position.

There were decent points gained from the final two men’s field events as Edgar Rutins (56.42m) got 2nd in the Javelin and Niall Allen (6.64m) 3rd in the 56lb Hammer.

An absorbing contest saw the men’s competition for bronze medals coming down to the final event, the 4 x 400m relay, as Galway City Harriers and Donore Harriers were tied on 89 points. However, the best efforts of Zak Higgins, Conor Fox, Daragh McAuley and Elliot Slade fell just short in an exciting contest as team from the West placed 2nd behind Raheny Shamrocks, with Donore Harriers in 3rd. The margin of difference was less than 4 metres as GCH were timed at 3.23.19 and Donore Harriers 3.23.77.

The final team score in the Men’s Premier Division was thus: – 1st Clonliffe Harriers (124); 2nd Raheny Shamrocks (109); 3rd Galway City Harriers (96); 4th Donore Harriers (95) ;5th Crusaders AC (91); 6th Kildare County (84); 7th DSD AC (84); 8th St Abbans AC (32).

With DSD AC and Galway County well clear on the score-board the women’s team championships also had the most excitement in the battle for the bronze – with Donore Harriers (80) just one point behind Louth County (81) and one point ahead of Tipperary County (79) going into the all important 4 x 400m relay. Without a specialist 400m runner in the quartet it proved too difficult a task for Caoimhe Mackey, Sarah Higgins, Sarah Lahiff and Maura Kearns as they came 6th in 4.23.71. A 2nd place finish by the Tipperary County 4 x 4 team elevated them to the bronze medal position.
The final team score read – 1st DSD AC (106), 2nd Galway County (102), 3rd Tipperary County (86), 4th Louth County (83 + 2 wins), 5th Donore Harriers (83 + 0 win), 6th Kildare County (82), 7th St. Abbans AC (56), 8th Monaghan County (54)

EUROPEAN UNDER 20 CHAMPIONSHIPS at BORAS, SWEDEN (18-21.07.2019)

Two Donore Harriers athletes were in action in the European Under 20 championships held at Boras in Sweden between the 18th and 21st of July 2019.

Louis O’Loughlin (1.55.74) never got to grips when the 2nd semi-final of the 800m charged up after a moderate paced 1st lap run in 57/58 seconds. As the leaders raced out a 54 seconds last lap O’Loughlin could not raise a challenge and crossed the line 7th of 7. He later said: “I’m disappointed, but I will take from the experience”. His coach Gerry Naughton said: “There may be a number of factors as to why Louis did not run at his best. We will discuss. He has as much talent as anyone on the start line. What’s important is that his progression is gradual and not overloaded with the possibility of burnout”. Saveliy Savlukov (1.51.94) of Russia won Louis’ semi-final race.

Jack Raftery, buoyed by his recent successes in the national junior and national juvenile championships over 400m, ran the 3rd leg for the Ireland 4 x 400m team that qualified to the final from Semi Final 2 in a time of 3.13.72.

In the relay final, the Irish 4 of Ciaran Carthy, Adam Hughes, Jack Raftery and David Ryan, came 7th in a season best time of 3.11.51. Raftery again ran the 3rd leg pressing the Ukraine 3rd leg athlete for 6th position as he ran his lap in a very fine 48 seconds. Turkey won in 3.08.34.

KBC NACHT EUROPEAN CLASSIC MEET at HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, BELGIUM (20.07.2019)

In the KBC Nacht Classic Meet at Heusden-Zolder in Belgium on Saturday (20.07.2019) Eric Keogh placed 1st in the E grade 5,000m with gaining a new personal best time of 14.15.44.

Daragh Fitzgibbon (3.51.40) came 3rd in Heat 1 of the 1,500m and John Travers (3.44.32) 8th in Heat 3.
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BETTYSTOWN 5 MILE ROAD RACE (16.07.2019)

Sean Fox (28.26) was the 11st athlete home in the Bettystown 5-mile road race held on Tuesday evening (16.07.2019). He came 2nd in the M40 category. The other competing Donore Harriers athletes were – Craig Scott (30.18) in 22nd and 5th M40 and Kieran Beausang (30.57) in 31st position.

PARKRUNS

A number of Donore Harriers athletes put in fine performances in the Saturday morning Parkrun series, including Donal Iremonger (19.27) and Sam Allen (17.18) who were first placed finishers at Russborough and Naas. Barbara Murray W40 (20.33) was 3rd overall and first woman home at Monaghan. Alan Farrell (22.21), an Under-16 athlete knocked 2 minutes of his previous best time when placing 11th at Porterstown. Aidan Kelly U.19 came 3rd in the Fr. Collins Parkrun in a new PB time of 19.03.

RESULTS IN BRIEF:

BETTYSTOWN 5 MILE ROAD RACE (16.07.2019)
11th & 2nd M40: Sean Fox (28.26)
22nd & 5th M40: Craig Scott (30.18)
31st & 18 MS: Kieran Beausang (30.57)
EUROPEAN UNDER 20 CHAMPIONSHIPS at BORAS, SWEDEN (18-21.07.2019)
U.20 Men’s 800m Heat 2 of 3: 7th Louis O’Loughlin
U.20 Men’s 4 x 400m Relay H2 of 2: 3rd Ireland (3.13.72)
U.20 Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Final: 1st Turkey (3.08.34), 7th Ireland (3.11.51 SB)
NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE FINAL at TULLAMORE (20.07.2019)
WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION
100m: 2nd Aoife Lynch (11.99 PB)
200m: 2ND Aoife Lynch (24.17 PB)
400m: 7th Lauren Flaherty (1.04.22)
800m: 5th Maura Kearns (2.23.58)
1,500m: 3rd Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill (4.45.17)
3,000m: 3rd Barbara Cleary (10.20.88)
100mH: 2nd Eva McPartlan (17.13)
400mH: 3rd Caoimhe Mackey (1.09.57)
1,500m Walk: 6th Anne Gormley (10.07.63)
3,000m SC: 5th Ruby Kelly (13.21.23)
Long Jump: 6th Lara O’Byrne (4.84m)
High Jump: 1st Lara O’Byrne (1.55m)
Triple Jump: 8th Roisin Rynn-Cahill (8.53m)
Pole Vault: 2nd Ailbhe Healy (2.65m)
Shot Putt: 7th Lauren O’Keeffe (7.48m)
Discus: 5th Robyn O’Keeffe (22.95m PB)
Hammer: 2nd Lauren O’Keeffe (45.30m)
Javelin: 4th Rebecca Power (27.76m)
4 x 100m relay: 6th Donore Harriers (52.10)
4 x 400m relay: 6th Donore Harriers (4.23.71)
TEAM SCORE: 1st DSD AC (106), 2nd Galway County (102), 3rd Tipperary County (86), 4th Louth County (83), 5th Donore Harriers (83), 6th Kildare County (82), 7th St. Abban’s AC (56), 8th Monaghan County (54)
MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION
100m: 3rd Paul McDermott (11.00)
200m: 3rd Paul McDermott (22.07)
400m: 5th Zak Higgins (51.34)
800m: 1st Elliot Slade (1.54.00)
1,500m: 7th Michael Ryan (4.22.10)
5,000m: 5th Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan (15.24.14 PB)
110mH: 1st David Slupko (15.42)
400mH: 4th Daragh McAuley (57.57)
3,000m: 4th Sean Kinsella (18.59.65)
3,000m SC: 4th Gavin Curtin (10.23.83 PB)
Long Jump: 5th Sean Chann (5.83m)
High Jump: 8th Alex Clarkin (1.50m)
Triple Jump: 8th Sean Kinsella (8.95m)
Pole Vault: no competitor
Shot Putt: 4th Niall Allen (10.80m)
Discus: 5th Oran O’Brien (35.38m) 2/4
Hammer: 6th Alex Conway (14.62m)
Javelin: 2nd Edgar Rutins (56.42m)
56lb Hammer: 3rd Niall Allen (6.64m)
4 x 100m: 2nd Donore Harriers (43.15)
4 x 400m: 3rd Donore Harriers (3.23.77)
TEAM SCORE: 1st Clonliffe Harries (124), 2nd Raheny Shamrocks (109), 3rd Galway City Harriers (96), 4th Donore Harriers (95), 5th Crusaders AC (91), 6th Kildare County (84), 7th DSD AC (79), 8th St. Abban’s AC (32)
KBC NACHT CLASSIC MEET at HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, BELGIUM (20.07.2019)
Men’s 1500m Heat 1: 3rd Daragh Fitzgibbon (3.51.40)
Men’s 1500m Heat 3: 8th John Travers (3.44.32)
Men’s 5000m E Grade: 1st Eric Keogh (14.15.44 PB)
PARKRUNS
Russborough: 1st Donal Iremonger M45 (19.27)
Naas: 1st Sam Allen (17.18)
Monaghan: 3rd & 1st woman: Barbara Murray W40 (20.53)
Kilcock: 8th Niall O’Reilly M35 (21.39)
Fr. Collins: 3rd Aidan Kelly U.19 (19.03 PB)
Porterstown: 8th Jonathan Farrell (21.46); 11th Alan Farrell U.16 (22.21 PB); 13th Tom Fagan M50 (22.36)
Griffeen: 119th Anna McMahon W35 (31.54)
Bushy: 104th Tommy Halton M60 (27.43)