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| Megan Coomber, Maryfield, in long jump. |
The Irish boys and girls teams both finished second behind England at the annual AVIVA SIAB Schools International. Winners for Ireland were Alice Akers who throw 52.22 to win the girls’ hammer, Sinead Burke who won the walk and David Cussen, who soared over 2.02 in the high jump. Other impressive performances came from Peter O’Brien second in the pole vault with 4.20 and Adam King who threw 66.66 to finish second in the boys’ hammer.
Anita Fitzgibbon of DSD improved her a personal best to 49.60 when she won the javelin at the Woodies’s DIY National League Rd 2 in blustery Santry. Fitzgibbon is now threatening Mary T Real’s Irish record of 50.42.
Jessie Barr, Claire Bergin and Marian Heffernan, all members of the Irish 4x400m squad competed in both the 400m and the 4x400m, won by DSD from a Ferrybank teams that includes Barr and was anchored by Kelly Proper. The KCH squad included Caitriona Cuddihy, who was reinstated on the relay squad yesterday (Tue).
Brian McMahon of Clonliffe and DSD’s Sarah Mulligan both finished fourth at the Snowdon International 10-mile hill race in Wales. McMahon led at the summit where Mulligan was third woman. The Irish men’s team finished fifth, with Scotland the clear winners.
Exactly one hundred years ago, Kennedy Kane McArthur from Dervock in Co Antrim won the marathon at the 1912 Olympic Games in Sweden. His achievement was celebrated by his local village in the form of a well-supported marathon, half marathon and 10km last weekend. An appropriate winner of the half marathon was Alan McCullough, brother of Olympic boxer Wayne who took silver at the 192 Games. Veteran athlete Geoff Smyth won the marathon in 2:57.14, with hill running master Karen Alexander the first woman head of the ageless Mary Jennings from Waterford.
Michael Mac Diarmada beat his Clonliffe team mate Gary O’Hanlon to win the inaugural Fingal 10km in Swords, leading home 3,229 finishers. Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisokane and DSD’s Niamh Devlin were the first two women.
Claire Tarplee of DSD ran 2:03.46 for 800m at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Solihull. Tarplee was already second in the Irish rankings behind Rose Anne Galligan who clocked a time of 2:02.62 in Botrop, Germany earlier this month.
(Pretty out of date by now, but for the record…)
Mohamed Ahmed Hamada of Egypt, an athlete with a 1500m best of 3.38.16, is the latest addition to the entry for tonight’s (Wed) Morton Mile – the feature event of the Morton Pre-Games, with athletes from 16 nations using the event as a final blow-out before London 2012.
Hamada, who competes in the 800m at the London Games, replaces Djibouti’s Ayanteh Souleiman who has withdrawn with an injury, and is expected to challenge American athlete David Torrence and Ryan Gregson from Australia for victory.
The Irish entry led by Olympian Ciaran O Lionard now includes Mark Hanrahan and Eoin Everard, following the withdrawal of John Travers. Other Irish athletes confirmed included John Coghlan, and Paul Robinson.
Stephanie Reilly, who goes in the steeplechase at the London Games, is the only Irish entry in the women’s mile.
Leading the men’s IMC 800m entry is world 1500m bronze medal winner Matthew Centrowitz of the USA in his final race before the 1500m in London.
In the Albie Thomas 3000m, Zane Robertson of New Zealand will now race his brother Jake. Includes in the large field are six American athletes and an Irish field led by national cross-country champion Eddie McGinley.
Amy Foster will take on comeback kid Kelly Proper and Catherine McManus in the women’s 100m, while Steven Colvert leads the local entry in the men’s 100m. Brian Gregan, who so narrowly failed to qualify for London 2012, goes in the men’s 400m, while Thomas Barr runs the 400m hurdles.
So big was the demand for a quality women’s 800m that two top-class races are now scheduled, with the entry led by Canadians Melissa Bishop and Jessica Smith, who have both run under two minutes for the distance.
Smith goes in the first race, where the opposition includes Kenyan Jane Jelegat, Gabrielle Anderon of the USA, Irish champion Ciara Eviston of Raheny and Riocht’s Laura Crowe. In the second race, Bishop takes on American Katie Mackey, Louvisa Lyndh of Sweden and Britain’s Gemma Simpson, as well as local athletes Kelly McNeice and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner.
Also on the programme are men’s pole vault and discus and women’s long jump, plus Paralympic shot and discus and graded IMC 800m races from 4.30pm. The international program gets underway at 7.15. Admission €5 or €10 families. Details www.mortongames.ie.
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