Updated 22/05/2013 - Please note the Connacht Development Squad scheduled for this Saturday May 25th in Claremorris has been cancelled.

———————————————————–

The final Connacht Development Squad day for the 2012/2013 season will take place at Claremorris AC on Saturday May 25th from 12 noon-3pm. This session will build on the success of recent squads and affords athletes an opportunity to fine tune preparations for the coming outdoor season.

All Connacht athletes aged u15 to u19 in 2013 that finished in the top 3 at a Connacht Schools or Connacht Clubs championships in Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, Cross-country or Combined Events in 2012/2013, or are at an equivalent standard, are invited to attend.

Please note, athletes planning to attend MUST email or text AAI RDO Paul McNamara (paul@athleticsireland.ie / 0872693675) to confirm that they will be there by Wednesday May 22nd at the latest.

When doing so athletes MUST also include their chosen event so we can ensure we have sufficient coaching cover for each event. If insufficient numbers confirm attendance in any given event, then that event will not be catered for, and those who have confirmed attendance will be notified of this. Given the proximity to state exams and to Irish Schools T&F it is particularly important that we know exact numbers in advance in this instance.

Athletes are asked to contribute €5 to offset the cost of the event. This will be collected on the day.

Meet at 12 noon in the indoor centre. Training session from 12.15 to 2pm. Guest Speaker from 2.15 to 3pm

Connacht Development Squad
Date: Saturday May 25th
Venue: Claremorris AC
Time: 12 noon to 3pm
Who: Top 3 (or equivalent standard) in any Connacht event in 2012/2013 and aged u15 to u19 in 2013
To attend: Confirm name & event to Paul McNamara (paul@athleticsireland.ie / 0872693675) by May 22nd
Cost: €5
Consider bringing a packed lunch.
Be prepared for inclement weather.

The National Combined Events squad took over Scanlon Park as they met for their second session of the year in Kilkenny on Saturday the 11th of May.

The day started with a dynamic warm up delivered by Rosie Daniel. A full complement of coaches was present with Brid Golden (hurdles), Alan Golden (long jump), Dave Sweeney (javelin & discus) and Lucy Moore (high jump and shot put). Athletes moved through each group over the day with particular attention on the technical aspects of their events.

A number of athletes were on competitive duty in the United Kingdom with Sarah McCarthy (Mid Sutton AC) taking Junior heptathlon silver with 4534 points and Mark Rogers (St Peters AC) taking youth octathlon gold with a personal best performance of 5135 in the annual Woodford Green AC Combined Events meet in Essex.

Back home in Kilkenny the coaches and mentors discussed competition plans with athletes as they prepared to start their outdoor multi events season at various competitions at home and abroad in June. Good luck to everyone over the summer and don’t forget to link in to the National Combined Events Squad Facebook page for the latest information on squad activity and competition plans.

For more information on the National Combined Events Squad please contact;

Kieron Stout, National Combined Events Coordinator
Email: combinedevents@athleticsireland.ie Mobile: 087 7812778

Round 1 National Track & Field League 26th May 2013

TIMETABLE

Round 1 National Track & Field League 26th May 2013 Santry Premier Men Premier Men Tullamore Ferrybank AC D.S.D North Down AC Kerry Athletics Menapians AC Tullamore Harries AC Raheny Shamrock  AC Crusaders AC Clonliffe Harriers AC Meath Athletics SLOT AC Galway City Harriers AC Tallaght AC Leevale AC Kilkenny City Harriers AC St Abbans AC Santry Premier Women Premier Women Tullamore Ferrybank AC County Kildare Clonliffe Harriers AC St Abbans AC Kilkenny City Harriers AC Kerry Athletics North Down AC Leevale AC Raheny Shamrock AC Galway County City of Derry AC Bandon AC Tirchonaill AC D.S.D Santry Division 1 Women Division 1 Women - Tullamore Olympian Youth AC Meath Athletics Sli Cualann AC Galway City Harriers AC Lifford AC Tullamore Harriers AC Louth County Youghal AC Finn Valley AC West Waterford AC Menapians  AC Clare County Sligo County Limerick AC Wexford County Portlaoise AC Donore A.C. Santry Division 1 Men Division 1 Men - Tullamore Sli Cualann AC Youghal AC Lifford AC West Waterford AC Louth County Clare County Finn Valley AC Craughwell AC Olympian Youth AC Limerick AC Sligo County Bandon AC Donore Harriers AC Galway County Dunboyne AC Kildare County Shercock AC An Riocht AC Wexford County Togher AC Tir Chonaill A.C.

Results of the AVIVA Connacht Schools

RESULTS

There were several outstanding performances at the Aviva Leinster Schools on Saturday.Pride of place goes to Marcus Lawlor CBS Carlow who set a National Junior Record in the 100m with a time of 10.38 seconds and then went on to set a Leinster Schools record in the 200m with a time of 21.17seconds - both times had legal winds.

Another outstanding performace by Siofra Cleirigh Buttner from Colaiste Íosagáin saw her set a new mark in senior girls 800m when she ran 2.06.67. Cliodhna Manning (Loreto Kilkenny) also had two impressive performances winning both the senior girls 100m and 200m.

There was also some excellent performances in the field events. Stephen Rice (Wesley College) a first year senior, added 2m to the senior boys javelin record when he threw 59.48m. Others who impressed included Jamie Murtagh, Ashbourne CS, in the senior boys high jump, Sarah Buggy (Castlecomer) in the senior girls triple jump and Ann Marie Tornsey, Loreto Swords in the senior girls discus.

Full results can be found here:
RESULTS

UpdatedThere have been some excellent Youth and Junior performances early this season ahead of the European Youth Olympics, World Youths and European Junior Championships with several athletes already achieving A and B qualification standards

Athletes who have to date achieved the guideline standard for European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF)

Athletes who have to date achieved the Performance standard for World Youths

Athletes who have to date achieved the Performance standard for European Juniors

Do you know someone who deserves a People of the Year Award?

They are to be found in our families, our schools, our sporting clubs, our communities. Selflessly giving of themselves in our homes, acting tirelessly as champions in our neighbourhoods, inspiring others as leaders on our sporting fields, courageously serving our communities in our public services. They are all around us. Heroes who deserve to be recognised with one of the nation’s highest honours, a People of the Year Award.

But unless you nominate them for an award now, we may never know.

This year’s 39th annual People of the Year Awards event, organised by Rehab and broadcast live on RTÉ One television, takes place on Saturday September 14 at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin.

Nominated by you, these are the People’s Awards that each year celebrate ordinary people who inspire a nation. In addition to a number of People of the Year Awards, specific awards are also presented for:

Young Person of the Year (under 25 years)

Community Group of the Year

Sports Person of the Year

International Person of the Year

*Note judges reserve the right to alter these categories.

There is a number of convenient ways to nominate:

Online, visit www.peopleoftheyear.com

Via Facebook

Send an email to poy@rehab.ie

Write to: People of the Year Awards, Rehab, Roslyn Park, Sandymount, Dublin 4.

The closing date for nominations is June 14, 2013.

Full Results of International Programme for Letterkenny AC Sub 4 Minute Mile Challenge Event can be found here

The 43rd annual Donegal primary school athletics finals are nearly upon us to be held at the Finn Valley Centre ,Stranorlar with an 11 am start on May 29th. The only variation on that being the wheelchair races at 1045, a new welcome initiative.

There have been qualifying events held Finn Valley Centre ( 2 days ) ,Annagry, Buncrana and Glenties, all of which have had an encouraging response, and with the addition of schools from North and South that did not have the opportunity to have a Q meet its expected that 1200 youngsters will participate representing 90 schools, a number that continues to rise as more and more schools engage .

70 events are included in the programme and its traditionally a slick well run operation by the host club Finn Valley ac . The only team aspect is of course relays and they are in competition on a size basis versus similar size schools as per 0-100 pupils (small school) ,100-200 ( medium school ) and large school 200 plus .

Check in on the day from 0930 with the programme as already indicated to kick off 10.45 with wheelchair events which are 100m for boys and girls separately . Further enquiries to finnvalley1@gmail.com

order-of-events-2013

Results of the Aviva Leinster Schools Track and Field.

Boys Results Day 1
Girls Results Day 1

Boys Results Day 2
Girls Results Day 2

The M3 Monavea Women’s Mini Marathon takes place on Sunday 26th May 2013 at 1pm. The 8km road event will start and finish at St Abban’s AC clubhouse, Monavea, Co Laois. This is the 6th year of the event and It will be perfect for those just wishing to take part to get fit, whilst still offering a quality race and event for the more serious runner.

Cash prizes for the first 10 Finishers as well as many spot prizes.

The cost of entering the mini marathon is just €15 or €40 for a team of 4. Souvenir T-shirt to the first 200 registered.

Further information available on the club website on: www.stabbans.itcarlow.ie

To register online, visit: Run Ireland website

Please note that “Planning a Training Year Workshop” due to be held on Tuesday 21st May at Cork IT has now been re-scheduled for Thursday 6th June from 7pm to 9pm in Cork I.T. Please make sure all coaches in your club are aware of this.

For further information contact RDO Steven Macklin at 0876335565 or steven@athleticsireland.ie.

Paul Robinson (St. Coca’s AC) recorded a significant win yesterday when he won one of the 1,500m races at the Oxy High Performance meet in Los Angeles. His winning time of 3:37.99 was just a fraction outside his best, but the quality of athletes finishing behind him would indicate that he has much more in the tank.

Rose Anne Galligan (Newbridge AC) clocked 2:04.08 to win the 800m at the BMC meet in Solihull on Saturday night, and followed up with a second place finish over the same distance at the Loughborough meet on Sunday in a time of 2:03.19.

Image courtesy of http://trackandfieldphoto.com

BMC Grand Prix Solihull
BMC 800m A (Womens)
1 2:04.08 Rose-anne Galligan Gloucester / St. Mary’s Uni / Irela
2 2:05.85 Shelayna Oskan-clarke Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow /
3 2:07.03 Kaylee Dodd U20 Basildon

BMC 1500m C (Mens)
1 3:50.63 Kyran Roberts U20 Carmarthen
2 3:51.26 Gareth Hill Ballymena & Antrim
3 3:51.73 Michael Dowling U23 Ferrybank / Newham & Essex Beagle
4 3:51.74 Michael Mckillop St. Malachy’s / Ireland
5 3:52.11 Stuart Ferguson U23 Radley / Birmingham Uni

New Balance Twilight Meet Waltham MA
Women Shot Put
1 O’Brien, Becky Unattached 16.79m
2 Connor, Stacey GBTC 11.79m
3 Murphy, Deirdre GBTC 11.39m

Women Discus Throw
1 O’Brien, Becky Unattached 46.89m
2 Murphy, Deirdre GBTC 40.50m
3 Connor, Stacey GBTC 40.25m

USATF Oxy High Performance Meet Los Angeles CA
Men 1500 M Run
1 Robinson, Paul Nike 3:37.99
2 Kaan, James Nike 3:38.23
3 Bolas, Jack New Balance 3:38.48
4 Bishop, David Great Britain 3:38.72
5 Johnson, Brett Unattached 3:38.91
6 Miller, Craig New Balance 3:39.22
7 Huling, Dan Nike 3:39.28
8 Blankenship, Ben Nike 3:39.39
9 Derrick, Chris Nike 3:39.45
10 Gonzalez, Christia Njnytc 3:40.30

Loughborough International
100m Guest A Men WS -0.2 m/s
1 Andrew Robertson Sale Harriers Manchester 10.39
2 Joel Fearon Birchfield Harriers 10.41
3 Aidan Syers LSAC 10.65
4 David Hynes IRELAND 10.70

400m Hurdles Guest B Men
6 Barry Upton IRELAND 54.19

100m Guest A Women -2.2 m/s
4 Niamh Wheelan IRELAND 12.06

400m Hurdles Guest A Women
1 Mandy Gault Lagan Valley 1:00.07

100m Match Women WS0. 4 m/s
1 ENG 2 Anyika Onuora England 11.51
2 Amy Foster IRELAND 11.58

200m Guest A Women WS -0.1
1 Shannon Hylton Blackheath & Bromley 23.54
2 Amy Foster IRELAND 23.59
3 Rachel Johncock Swansea 23.88
4 Niamh Wheelan 23.95

Womens Pole Vault
3 Zoe Brown Loughborough 3.90m
5 Claire Wilkinson BUCS 3.75m

3000m Steeplechase Match Women
1 Kerry Harty Ireland 10:06.30
2 Emily Stewart BUCS 10:10.83

800m Match Women
1 Jessica Judd GB Juniors 2:00.71
2 Rose-Anne Galligan Ireland 2:03.19
3 Alison Leonard England 2:03.22
4 Claire Tarplee Loughborough 2:04.47
5 Tara Bird England (Guest) 2:04.65

1500m Match Women
1 Eilish McColgan Scotland (guest) 4:09.67
2 Morag McLarty Scotland (guest) 4:12.91
3 Claire Tarplee Loughborough 4:15.61
4 Rosie Clarke England 4:15.98

Discus
4 Clare Fitzgerald Ireland 51.07m
Womens Shot
6 Clare Fitzgerald Ireland 14.31

400m Hurdles Match Women
1 Child Eilidh Scotland 56.34
2 Beesley Meghan Loughborough 57.12
3 Barr Jessie BUCS 58.05

3000m Steeplechase Match Men
1 James Wilkinson England 8:44.77
2 Jonathan Taylor England (Guest) 8:50.78
3 Rory Chesser Ireland 8:55.07

Mens High Jump
1 Tom Parsons England 2.28m
2 Allan Smith Scotland 2.22m
3 Chris Baker Loughborough 2.14m
4 Simon Phelan BUCS 2.14m

Sean Tobin (Clonmel HS) achieved a new PB of 1:50.23 when he won the 800m at the Aviva Munster schools championships at Cork IT athletics stadium on Saturday. His time was a new Munster schools record, replacing the 1:50.8 of Liam Reale in 2001.

Later in the afternoon he followed up with another gun to tape win in the 1,500m and his time of 3:50.54 improved on the record of Mark Carroll, whose time of 3:52.5 was set in 1990.

Phil Healy (Colaiste na Toirbhirte) achieved the B standard for the 100m last week, but went one better yesterday when she won the senior 200m in 23.95 to better the record of Sharon Kelly who clocked 24.1 in 2001. Her time betters the A standard of 24.25 for the 200m at the European junior championships. There was a legal 1.3m/s following wind for the race. She made it a winning double when she won the 100m in 11.64 (wind +3.3).

David Cussen (Colaiste and Spioraid Naoimh) cleared 2.05m to win the senior boys high jump, a new schools record previously held by Chris Crowley who jumped 2.01m in 2004.

Results

Ireland’s Rob Heffernan produced another competitive performance on the international stage today at the 10th biennial European Cup of Race Walking in Slovakia.

Competing in the 20km event, Heffernan finished a very commendable 9th position in a very tough field in soaring temperatures in the famous Spa town of Dudince.

Heffernan kept pace throughout the race from the start, and only began to lose ground over the last 3km to the leading group, which included eventual winner Denis Strelkov of Russia who won in 1:21:41. Heffernan’s time was a solid 1:23:27.

The Cork man will have real grounds to be pleased with his performance considering the conditions in Dudince and the fact that he will be likely focusing on the longer 50km event later in the season, hopefully at the World Championships in Russia in August.

Heffernan’s 9th place finish today in this event is his best performance since his 4th place in 2009 in France over the 20km distance.

The bronze medal winning performance of Matej Toth of Slovakia was understandably a crowd-pleasing moment for the locals in Dudince.

Heffernan had two improving compatriots in the same event today, in the shape of 2012 Olympian Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) and Westport AC’s Cian McManamon.

Boyce and McManamon stuck to their task well, and considering temperatures were in the 30’s, will both be happy to have finished the event armed with increased fitness and experience. Boyce crossed in 35th place and McManamon in 47th.

Heffernan was not the only Irish walker to perform particularly well today in Slovakia.

In the Junior Men’s 10km event, Leevale’s Luke Hickey finished in 14th place in a top quality field of emerging talent, in a time of 44:49.

The winner, by the closest of margins, was the Russian Pavel Parshin in 41:14, from his compatriot Nikolay Markov, who were both given the same time but then separated by chip timing technology. Ireland’s other representative in this event was Evan Lynch (Clonmel AC) who struggled in the conditions and failed to finish.

In the Men’s 50km event, Tara AC’s Michael Doyle equipped himself admirably in what was his first outing over the immensely challenging distance. Doyle finished in a noteworthy 21st position in a time of 4:08:03, behind the Double European Champion Yohann Diniz of France who collected another title in 3:41:08, in front of a number of challenging Russians, traditionally strong in this event.

Ireland’s sole female race walker competing today in Slovakia was London Olympian Laura Reynolds (Mohill AC), who had hopes of competing well in the women’s 20km race. In the event, Reynolds found the conditions too challenging this afternoon and, after a positive start, dropped out around the 10km mark. It wasn’t the season opener she would have wanted but there will be plenty more opportunities to progress over the season ahead.

Russia claimed a 123 in this women’s 20km event with the ever competitive Anisia Kirdiapkina taking the gold in 1:28:40.

Results - 10th European Cup Of Race Walking, Dudince, Slovakia, May 19th 2013

Senior Men 50km
1. Yohann Diniz (France) 3:41:08
2. Mikhail Ryzhov (Russia) 3:44:42
3. Ivan Noskov (Russia) 3:45:32
21. Micheal Doyle (Ireland / Tara AC) 4:08:03

Senior Men 20km
1. Denis Strelkov (Russia) 1:21:41
2. Miguel Angel Lopez (Spain) 1:21:49
3. Matej Toth (Slovakia) 1:21:52
9. Rob Heffernan (Ireland / Togher AC) 1:23:27
35. Brendan Boyce (Ireland / Letterkenny AC) 1:28:57
47. Cian McManamon (Ireland / Westport AC) 1:33:13

Junior Men 10km
1. Pavel Parshin (Russia) 41:14
2. Nikloay Markov (Russia) 41:14
3. Vito Minei (Italy) 41:27
14. Luke Hickey (Ireland / Leevale AC) 44:49
DNF. Evan Lynch (Ireland / Clonmel AC)

Senior Women 20km
1. Anisia Kirdiapkina (Russia) 1:28:40
2. Vera Sokolova (Russia) 1:29:19
3. Marina Iumanova (Russia) 1:29:26
DNF: Laura Reynolds (Ireland / Mohill AC)

Championship medals will be awarded for the first time at this summer’s Energia 24-Hour Race in Belfast on July 19/20.

The decision was taken at last month’s Athletics Ireland Ultra Running Committee meeting with medals being given to the 1-2-3 in both the mens and womens race.

Race Director Ed Smith says: “ This is great news and further recognition that ultra running is ‘coming home’ and is very much a part of the Athletics Ireland heartland - as more and more people look beyond marathon to new challenges and our top athletes continue to make their mark on the world stage.

“ We are also delighted to be staging the National Championship for the third year in a row - and the new-look Mary Peters’ track with its new 8-lane track and stand should provide a fitting backdrop for the Irish title race,” he says.

“ It is important to point out that to become champion the athlete will need to belong to a recognised club in Ireland and have covered a minimum distance : For men this is 200k and ,for women,160kms,” he says.

The Energia race, now in its 4th year , will also be used as a selection race for international competition with qualifying standards available from Athletics Ireland.

The remarkably consistent Irish champion John O’Regan from Leixlip in Kildare will be back looking for a hat-trick of titles but he will have to watch out for fellow international Eoin Keith.

Keith had to pull out during this race last year with a stomach upset but the Rathfarnham man has since become only the fourth person in history to run 300 miles in 3 days. He achieved the feat in Phoenix at the start of the year.

Also on his way is another Irish international,Madrid-based Eddie Gallen. Remarkably the 50 year-old has never stepped off the track in the three runnings of the race, finishing second twice and third.

There is a £500 prize to the man and woman who goes the furthest, a £250 bonus for an Irish track record ( currently 236kms(men)and 181kms(women)and a £100 bonus for a Belfast track record(currently 213kms and 181kms). There are also special ‘Beyond Limits’ jackets for anyone who joins the 100 mile club.

There is also a 12-hour race and a relay for teams of 4 which must include one woman.

You can enter at Active.com or contact Ed Smith on 00447740818389, e: ed_n_smith@ hotmail.com.

The Irish Team competing at the World & European Championships in Steenbergen, Netherlands over the weekend experienced some very difficult conditions with low temperatures and rain adding to their task.

Eoin Keith covered 234km to be first finisher on the team in 25th place (15th European Champs) with Eddie Gallen covering 212km to achieve 81st (59th European Champs) place. John O’Regan suffered from hypothermia which curtailed his efforts and he covered 162km to finish in 176th place (132nd European Champs). Dan Doherty unfortunately had to withdraw at 78km with injury. Dan has been in very good form recently and was going well when the injury arose.

The team finished in 17th place in the World Championships and 13th in the European Championships.

The team had travelled in the hope of a strong showing after some recent good results and notable performances in this event last year. However luck was against them on this occasion. The team will now focus on recovering before preparing for the upcoming events.

Special mention must go to the support crew of John Collins, Kevin Belton & Gary McConville who did a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.

The Fanahan McSweeney Gathering Sports will take place on Monday June 3rd at 1pm at Mitchelstown GAA Pitch.

GALS & GUYS (Age after Dec 31 2013)
U 6 (2008) 50 m
U 8 (2006) 80 m
U 9 (2005) 80 m, 300 m
U 10 (2004) 80 m, Ball Throw, Mixed Relay
U 11 (2003) 100 m, 300 m, High Jump
U 12 (2002) 100 m, Shot Putt, Mixed Relay
U 13 (2001) 100 m, 600 m, Poc Fada
U 14 (2000) High Jump, Mixed Relay
U 16 (1998) 100 m, 600 m Poc Fada
U 18 (1996/7), Shot Putt, Mixed Relay

Senior (born before 1998):
1500 m, Poc Fada, Wellie Throwing
Mama’s & Papa’s: 100 m
Masters 300m

Entry : €3 Juveniles €5 Adults
Mixed Relay : 2 gals + 2 boys €1 each

Contact: Finbarr McCarthy 086.0712403 / Seamus Fox 087.3589734
FLYER

The Letterkenny AC Sub 4 Minute Mile Challenge Event will take place this Saturday 18th May 2013 along with the official opening of Danny McDaid Athletics Track.

Event by Event Preview

Men 100m

In the men’s 100m, England’s Richard Kilty will be coming to take on the best of the Irish. Kilty, a former European U-23 medallist, nicknamed “The Teeside Tornado” holds a personal best of 10.15 seconds and has been showing some good early season form on the American circuit. Dean Adams, and Chris Russell, along with up and coming athletes Zak Irwin and National Indoor champion Keith Pike will make sure that Kilty doesn’t have it all his own way to show who is the fastest man on the Letterkenny home straight.

Women 200m

Kelly Proper just last week broke the Irish record for the heptathlon in Italy. She will feature in the womens 200m, a distance in which she claimed the National Indoor title earlier in the year. Tir Chonaill’s Mary McLoone will look to challenge Proper on Donegal soil. Louise Holmes, Sarah Lavin & Laura Costello will add further class to the field. Lavin recently recorded a standard for the European Junior Championships in the 100m hurdles, and Costello recorded a standard for the European Youth Olympic Festival over 200m.

Men 400m

Brian Gregan, European finalist over 400m last year, and fastest European indoors this year, will be looking to set his stall out for the World Championships in Moscow in August. Gregan will be challenged over the one lap distance by England’s Luke Lennon Ford who has a PB of 45.23 seconds, which is world class running. This will be some battle and when the lanes even out coming off the final bend, it will be an epic battle to the finish line. However, it is far from a two horse race with four other Irish athletes with bests of 47 seconds, Curtis Woods, Dara Kervick, Jason Harvey and Eoin Mulhall, who will all be looking to steal the thunder.

Women 800m

Womens 800m running has shown a resurgence over the past 12 months with several Irish athletes making the breakthrough to international level. Laura Crowe will lead the field in this event, and with a PB of 2:05, will be looking to get down towards the 2 minute mark. Alanna Lally, who holds a qualification standard for the World Youths Championships for the 400m, will be looking to add the 800m standard, and along with Rachel O’Shea and Clare McSweeney, will further add to the improvement in Irish womens middle distance running, hoping to make it a fast 800m in Letterkenny.

Men 800m

Quoted by many as Ireland’s hottest athletic prospect, local boy Mark English will be looking to impress the home crowd in the 800m. English recently recorded a fine win over 400m in an impressive time of 47.56 seconds, winning the Irish Universities title last month. Having finished 5th in the World Junior Championships last Summer, Mark has already established himself as a world class athlete. Another young talent Shane Fitzsimons from Mullingar will be chasing qualification times for the European Junior Championships, and along with Mark Patterson and Darragh Greene will be looking to get under the 1:50 barrier for the 800m.

Men Mile

The feature event of the meeting will be the mens mile and the field is star studded with Irish and international athletes looking to join the illustrious sub 4 minute club. Showing Letterkenny’s talent at middle distance, local trio of Darren McBrearty, Danny Mooney and Ruairi Finnegan would love to have the honour of running the first sub 4 minute mile on Donegal soil. Derry’s Conor Bradley will also be looking to join his neighbours in this attempt. However, it is from well away from Donegal where the biggest threat will lie. Kenyan’s Jonathon Kiplimo and Hillary Kipkorir will pose a threat, as African distance runners do. Kiplimo recently won the mile race at the Penn Relays in a time of 3:57 so will bring good form in to the race. Belgium’s Jeroen D’Hoedt will also come with a personal best over 1500m of 3:36 and will be looking to go well under the 4 minute mile. Last weekend, D’Hoedt ran 2:22 for 1000m so he is also bringing good form to Letterkenny. There will also be a challenge from England with Anthony Whiteman and James Tartt. Whiteman, a two time Olympian, is the current world record holder for the masters mens mile, having ran 3:58 in Nashville last year. At 41 years old, he became the first man over 40 ever to run a sub 4 minute mile outdoors, with Ireland’s own Eamonn Coghlan having been the first man ever to record a sub 4 minute mile indoors. With such a star studded line up for the 1609m distance, we will hopefully see the first sub 4 minute mile ever recorded on Donegal soil.

Men 3000m

Another athlete with a bright future, John Travers, who had a superb indoor season with a 7:58 clocking to qualify for his first major track championship, will be looking to kick off his outdoor season. London Olympian over the marathon, Mark Kenneally will step down a distance, and will ensure Travers is not alone in the 3000m, also having broken 8 minutes before with a PB of 7:59. Former European Junior Champion over 1500m Colin Costello, double Paralympic champion Michael McKillop, Letterkenny’s own Ciaran Doherty, and recent North Pole marathon winner, Gary Thornton, should all ensure a fast 3000m will be on the cards.

Women 3000m

Double European Cross Country Champion Fionnuala Britton will be the star of the show in the womens 3000m. Britton has shown her promise on the track, having competed in the London Olympics last year over 5000m & 10000m, and also having won a bronze medal at the European Indoors earlier this year over 3000m. She will open her outdoor season in Letterkenny, having recently returned from a period of altitude training. Siobhra O’Flaherty, another athlete with a qualification mark for the European Youth Olympic Festival, will be joined by Eimear O Brien and Teresa McGloin, making it a competitive race.

Men 1 hour track race

This rarely run event will see athletes running against the stopwatch to see how much distance they can run in one hour. John Treacy’s Irish record of 19625m stands since 1987 from Monaco, and it will be interesting to see how close Barry Minnock and Greg Roberts can get to this record. Minnock has a marathon personal best of 2:17 and will tackle the demanding event, and will need to call on all his reserves to hold off the international challenge from Kenya’s Freddy Sittuk. Sittuk recently finished 3rd in the Belfast marathon, and boasts a marathon PB of 2:14. He is currently staying in the North West with training partner Derry’s Greg Roberts, who leads the local charge over the 1 hour race.

Women 1 hour track race

In the womens’ event 1 hour track race, the winner will be assured of an Irish record, as the race has never been run by an Irish woman before. Olympian Maria McCambridge will be looking to see how far she can push this record, having dominated the Irish road racing scene over the past number of years, and the home crowd will be urging her on over the unique distance.

Men 4 x 400m relay

The mens 4 x 400m relay event will provide a fitting finale to the evening of international athletics. The event will include athletes from many different clubs with international selections taking on the best of the Irish talent on display on the night. With two members of Ireland’s 5th placing world class performance at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia just a few weeks ago taking part in individual events, it may just serve up an exciting finish to the track and field programme.

Men Shot Putt

The mens shot putt is shaping up to be one of the events of the meeting and spectators are in for a treat of world class throwing. Denmark’s Kim Christensen and Sweden’s Daniel Stahl hold personal bests of 20.39m and 18.76m respectively. Christensen competed in last Summer’s London Olympics and is known for his crowd antics, and Stahl recently won the European Cup of Winter Throwing in Castellon, Spain. They will be challenged by two of Ireland’s best throwers, multiple Irish champion Sean Breathnach from Galway and Clonliffe’s Tomas Rauktys. In the Junior competition, Finn Valley’s John Kelly will be looking to record another qualification mark for the World Youth Championships.

Women Shot Putt

Niamh Murphy comes in to the womens shot putt with a personal best of 13.04m, and once again Kelly Proper will compete in her third event of the evening, and shows her versatility by working on every aspect of her multi-eventing. This will serve a great opportunity for this, and Fiona Tuite will also be chasing another qualification mark for the World Youth Championships. Local girl Lisa Gibson will be looking to steal a victory for the home crowd and will use her familiarity with the shot circle in Letterkenny to her advantage.

Men Javelin

There certainly will not be too many people keen to stand in the middle of the new Danny McDaid Athletics track when the javelin competition gets underway. It promises to be a hard fought battle between the best of Irish javelin throwers with several having thrown well over 60 metres. Matthew Martin and Aaron Crawford, will return from training in the UK for the competition, and they will face tough opposition from Adam Rice, Danny Mullan and Sean McBride. It will be interesting to see if Damian Crawford’s Strabane charges can take a victory from North Down, who also have decathlete Peter Glass competing. Crawford indeed will compete himself and holds a personal best of 70 metres, and may just show his young prospects how it can be done.

Men High Jump

Kourosh Foroughi leads the field in the mens high jump with a personal best of 2.20m and he will be looking to begin his outdoor season with a good series of jumps. Several other athletes will be looking to get over 2 metres early in the season, with Jaime Murtagh, Andrew Heney & Adam McMullen. McMullen is completing the challenging double of the high jump and 100m, which shows his versatility. Local lads Derek & Aidan Gillespie, and Kevin Grant are also set to feature.

Women Long Jump

Irish record holder Kelly Proper will be looking to set her stall out early in the season, and with her recent successful debut over the heptathlon, it will be interesting to see if this has enhanced her jumping ability. Just as in the 200m, she will be challenged by Tirchonaill’s Mary McLoone, and along with Linzi Herron & Heather Carson, it will make for an interesting competition into the sand pit.

More information and updates on:

www.facebook.com/LetterkennySub4Mile

www.twitter.com/lacsub4mile

Powerade and Athletics Ireland have teamed up to offer Athletics Ireland members the chance to join a training session with 2012 Olympic Champion Jessica Ennis in Sheffield this summer - Plus the chance for Athletics Ireland Clubs to win lots of Powerade Sports Bottles.

Entry into this competition is through nomination by your Club. To nominate someone (or yourself), fill out the entry form which can be found here and submit to your club secretary.

Your club will then decide on a final nomination to be submitted to marketing@athleticsireland.ie. (One nomination per club submitted by Club Secretary will be accepted).

Final club nominations will be placed in a draw and the winner will be announced at The AAI Games on the 9th of June in Morton Stadium.

Closing date for entries is Sunday 2nd June. Competition open to those aged 18+

For more Info See Our Terms and Conditions

The Promotion is open to registered Athletics Ireland members who are residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, aged 18 years or over, excluding employees of Athletics Ireland, of the Promoter, their families, its affiliated companies and agents, and anyone else professionally connected with the promotion.

ENTRY FORM
Official Flyer
Like Powerade on Facebook