Stop Press: Monday’s 30th Dublin Women’s Mini Marathon will see a showdown between the 2010 winner Linda Byrne of DSD and last year’s winner Caitriona Jennings, now back with Rathfarnham WSAF . Both Jennings ard Byrne run the marathon at the London Olympics later this summer. Between 2,000 and 3,000 women are expected to run the 10km distance, a charity event where most of the entry walk.
Track and field competitions is moving into top gear with the European Championships starting in Helsinki on June 27 and – lest anyone forget – London 2012 a month later.
Irish athletes are chasing times all over European at the moment, as well as in the USA and at home.
All of the Irish athletes who have qualified for the Olympics could also, in theory, compete at the Europeans. Younger athletes, and a few others who suspect their Olympic dream may have passed , are targeting the slightly less tough Helsinki A standards.
They still must satisfy high performance director Kevin Ankrom that they want to do more than simply qualify. “On Demand Performance and success at the European Athletics Championships requires the ability to compete on demand at a level equal to or better than the qualifying standards, ” is how he puts it.
In plain English , that means you better produce the goods if you’re picked. Even scarier, if you disappoint at a major games, Ankrom has made it quite clear that you may scupper your chances of Irish selection in the future.
Among those who have put themselves in the frame over the past week are Letterkenny’s Mark English who ran 1:45.77 to win the 800m at the IFAM meet in Oordegem. Belgium. This time vastly improves on the Irish junior record of 1:47.9 set by English last year and is close to the Olympic A standard of 1:45.60.
Jessie Barr of Ferrybank was second in the 400m hurdles in 56.16, well inside the European A standard of 57.10. Orla Drumm of UCC is another close to booking her flight after running 4:09.06 for 1500m in Dessau, Germany. In Morocco, Ciara Mageean ran 4:13.10 and is targeting the Olympic time of 4:06. Fionnuala Britton is also comfortably inside the qualifying times in both 10,000m and 5000m, as are Florida-based sprinter Jason Smith, with a time of 10.24 from a fortnight ago, and 5000m runners Alistair Cragg and Mark Christie.
Not far off the mark are Rory Chesser 1500m, Ben Reynolds 110m hurdles, Steven Colvert, 100m and 200m, Brian Murphy 400m, Amy Foster 100m and Claire Bergin 400m.
Closing date for qualifying in June 17; watch this space!
Dundrum South Dundrum preserved Ireland’s plave in the A division of the European Clubs Championships when they finished sixth in Portugal. In a competition dominated by a world-class squad from Luch Moscow, DSD picked up valuable points in the high jump, where Deirdre Ryan finished second, Claired Tarplee third in the 1500m and Linda Byrne fifth in the 5000m.
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| Fiona Clinton at European Clubs |
Clonliffe’s men , in the B division, were competing in Slovakia where John Fagan finished second in the 400m hurdles, Tomas Rauktas was third in both shot and discus and Dave Donegan third in the pole vault.
Despite the searing heat, 34 of the 35 teams completed a memorable Wicklow Way Relay from Kilmashogue to Shillelagh last Saturday.
Among them were four teams from Meath – Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, St Brigid’s and Trim – Donadea and Le Ceile from Kildare and Athenry from Co Galway. Also lining out were Rathfarnham WSAF, Crusaders, UCD, Sli Cualann and Raheny Shamrock , orienteering clubs 3ROC , Setanta and Cork; Wicklow Mountain Rescue, and a number of ad hoc teams.
Raheny led early on, but by the fourth of the eight legs, Rathfarnham had a four minute advantage. They kept that lead to the end, finishing the 127km course in 7 hrs 9 mins 52 secs.
In the battle for second place, the After 8’s managed by Mick Hanney just edged out All the President’s Team, anchored by IMRA president Dermot Murphy. For most of the 30-odd teams, finishing was the goal, with the last team home in just under 11 hours.
Highlight of the Greystones IMC meet was a 1:49.67 personal best from Karl Griffin of Tir Chonaill in the 800m. Sam Kelly of Fingallians won the A 1500m race, paced by Olymians Thomas Chamney, while Maria McCambridge ran a mixed 5000m, finishing in 15:59.79.
Paul McKee continued his comeback at last week’s Dublin Graded meet in Santry, where he won the 400m in 48.83, beating Nick Hogan of DSD. Shauna Cannon of Bros Pearse won the women’s 400m from Iseult O’Donnell of Raheny.
In the 3000m, Andrew Monaghan of Lagan Valley was the winner in 8:34.51, closely followed by Leinster schools champion Aaron O’Hanlon of Clonliffe. Ian Guiden, another Clonliffe junior, was third, with Annadale master David Morwood fourth. Winning the pole vault with 4.30m was Ruairi O Briain of Crusaders.
Freddy Keron Sittuk won the Heart of Laois 10k in Abbeyleix in a good time of 30 mins 48 secs; second was Clonliffe’s Sergiu Ciobanu. Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisokane won the women’s race in 36.08 with Pauline Curley second.
Coming up on Saturday June 30 is the Irish Runner 5-mile in the Phoenix Park, which launches the annual Dublin Marathon Race Series. For the first time, the series includes the Fingal 10km in Swords on July 22, as well as the Frank Duffy 10-Mile on August 25 and the Dublin Half Marathon on September 15. Entry is €20 per race or €65 for the series. Closing date for the Irish Runner 5 is June 10, so sign up now!
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