Dublin clubs took the premier titles on a thrilling day of athletics at the Woodie’s DIY Track and Field League final – but it couldn’t have been closer.
In the women’s competition, Dundrum South Dublin, missing some of its big stars, was chased hard by a revived Leevale squad that began well with victory for Derval O’Rourke in the hurdles.
DSD hit back with victory for Deirdre Ryan in the high jump and for the rest of the day, tallymen for both teams practised their mental arithmetic as each new result came in.
Big points winners for Leevale included Ailis McSweeney in the 100m, Clare McSweeney 800m and Lizzie Lee 3000m, while for DSD, Claire Begin beat Ferrybank’s Jessica Barr to win the 400m, while Anita Fitzgibbon set a disputed Irish record in the javelin.
In the end it came down to consistency. Strong runs for Niamh Devlin, Fiona Clinton, Emma Peters and Sinead Denny steadied the DSD ship, while Grainne Moggan and Clare McGlynn picked up points in a variety of events.
Even after DSD emphatically won the 4x400m relay, there was an anxious wait before the result was announced. In the end, DSD had it by just four points from Leevale with Raheny Shamrock a worthy third.
Even closer was the men’s competition, with Clonliffe only nailing down victory over Crusaders in the final 4x400m relay. With the crack Crusaders squad certain to win, Clonliffe knew that they had to finish in the top three to get the points they needed for their fifth title.
When Brian Gregan took the baton for the final leg in eighth place, that looked very unlikely indeed. What followed was a lesson in grit and determination with the big man pulling his team into third place after 200m and then overhauling Raheny in the finishing strait for second place.
Earlier, Gregan had won his specialist 400m and finished a strong second behind Steven Colvert of Crusaders in the 100m. Smart use of talent also paid off with Tomas Rauktys winning both discus and 56lb, while Dave Donegan was a clear winner of the pole vault.
Winning the division 1 titles were the St Abban’s women and the St Laurence O’Toole men. Sarah Buggy and Nessa Millett were prolific points scorers for St Abban’s, while Marcus Lawler made it a sprint double for St LOT.
Records fell at the Woodie’s DIY Masters Championships in Tullamore, with Mattia Leoni of Leevale setting a new M35 record of 23.35 for the 200m and also winning the 400m in 54.08. In the 1500m, Niall Shiel knocked 21 seconds off the old M35 record when he won the race in 4:11.32. Sheelagh Jones of DSD had a shock win over Mary Sweeney of St Finbarr’s in the W50 800, while Jim O’Neill of Crusaders made a welcome comeback to win both M70 400m and 800m. Setting a new record in the M70 5000m was Donore’s Jim McNamara.
Field eventers in good form included Sheila O’Donoghue of Gneeveguilla, whose 10.43m in the W45 shot beat Geraldine Finnegan’s record. Galway’s Linas Mitkus was another athlete in good form improving the M35 shot record to 13.82m, while in the M65 long jump, Brendan Dennehy of Rising Sun improved the reocr d to 4.67m. .
One athlete sorely missed at the weekend round of competitions was Leevale thrower Joe Nagle, aged only 43, who lost his short battle with cancer last week. Joe, a gentle giant who loved his sport, collected a number of titles at county and national level, as well as competing at traditional throws competitions in the UK and in Europe with a close-knit group of older Irish throwers.
In 2007, he picked up shot putt silver at the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai – his proudest moment. On the roads, Joe was a regular at the annual Jingle Bells 5km, always with an eye on the fancy dress prize. Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Joe’s wife Sarah, his brother Larry and family, and to the many friends Joe made wherever he went.
David McCarthy of West Waterford proved the class of the field at the Boston Scientific Half Marathon, held in Clonmel. McCarthy’s time of 70 mins 12 seconds wasn’t particularly fast but it put him well clear of second placed Julio Cesar Castro of Kilmurry. Winner of the women’s race was Clonmel veteran Angela McEvoy in 80 mins 35 secs. In the Castlepollard 5km, Dunshaughlin junior Thomas Moran came home first in 15mins 45 secs with Tullamore’s Pauline Curley first of the women.
Saturday’s Rockford Roof Tiles 4-Mile, in Tinryland, Carlow (5.30pm) features an exceptional list of spot prizes among them a €1,000 holiday voucher. Cash prizes go to the winners in a variety of categories, while all finishers are treated to the legendary Tinryland post-races refreshments.
Long distance running fans are spoiled for choice this weekend, with the Frank Duffy ’10’ in the Phoenix Park and the Warrior’s Run 16k in Strandhill on Saturday and the 11th Longford Festival of Road Races, including a marathon, ultra, half marathon and relay, on Sunday. Last year’s winner of the Longford Half Marathon in an exceptional time of 73 mins 48 secs was Linda Byrne who went on to qualify for London 2012 when she won the Dublin Marathon. Thanks to sponsorship from Pat the Baker, all profits from the Longford races go to the St Christopher’s Services in the town.
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