Lindie Naughton brings the highlights of another busy week of Irish racing, including a historic performance by Mark English.
With 1:43.92, Mark English (Finn Valley AC) became the first Irish athlete to break the 1:44-barrier when winning the 800m at the FBK Games in the Dutch city of Hengelo on Monday evening (June 9).
Only ten days earlier, the vastly experienced English had run 1:44.34 in Bydgoszcz (Poland), which broke his Irish Record of 1:44.53 set last summer. His time is well inside the World Championships qualifying mark of 1:44.50 and puts English 15th on the current world rankings list.
Photo: James Rhodes
English then travelled to Oslo for the Bislett Games on Thursday where he finished seventh in the 800m in 1:44.33, which is his second fastest time ever.
Also running in Oslo was 400m specialist Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC). She finished fourth in her first individual outdoor 400m with a time of 50.42. Four days later, Adeleke continued to ease herself into the season at the Stockholm Diamond League , where she finished sixth with a marginally slower time of 50.48.
Photo: James Rhodes
In Eugene Oregon, Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC), representing the University of Washington, became only the the fifth Irish woman ever to take an NCAA title when winning the 1500m on Saturday (June 14). A blazing fast final 200m brought O’Sullivan home in a season’s best time of 4 mins 7.94 secs. She had come into the race as favourite after winning her heat in 4:09.39 two days earlier.
AS an NCAA champion, Sophie was following in the footsteps of her mother Sonia who won the 3000m in both 1990 and 1991. Other Irish women champions were Valerie McGovern in the 5000m in 1990, Mary Cullen, also the 5000m in 2006, and, in 2023, Rhasidat Adeleke in the 400m.
Both O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy have already run qualifying times for the 1500m at September’s World Championships in Tokyo.
In the women’s 800m at the championships, Maeve O’Neill (Doheny AC) finished fifth in her heat in 2:03.43. Shane Brosnan (An Riocht AC) finished 23rd in the men’s 10,000m in 29:33.81.
Closer to Home
After long injury break, Nick Griggs (CNDR TC) made a welcome return to competition when winning the mile in a time of 3:55.97 at the Lagan Valley AC/British Milers Club Open meet at the Mary Peters Track, Belfast on Saturday.
Griggs’s time was marginally outside his personal best of 3:55.73 run in 2023. Finishing third in 4:00.44 was Phillip Marron (Dublin City Harriers).
Athletes from all over the country had travelled to Belfast for the meet and winning the women’s A 800m in a personal best 2:02.60 was Alex O’Neill (St Cronan’s AC). Second in 2:03.54 was Emma Moore (Galway City Harriers), also a PB.
Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC) won the women’s A 1500m in a PB 4:13.33, with Cara Laverty (Finn Valley AC) was second in 4:16.37 and Niamh Kearney (Raheny Shamrock AC) third in 4:127.89. Thomas Moran won the men’s 3000m in 8:02.35. Winning the B 3000m in 8:27.86 was junior athlete Lucas Lyons (North Leitrim AC).
Zoe Toland (Australia) was first home in the women’s A 3000m with a time of 9:17.84, closely followed by Grace Richardson (Kilkenny City Harriers) in 9:18.95 and Cheryl Nolan (St Abban’s, W35) in 9:20.01.
Despite occasionally monsoon-like conditions, the full programme was completed at the fifth Dublin Graded Track and Field meet held at the DSD Track on Tibradden Road.
First up and escaping the rain were the 3000m runners, with Kevin Byrne (Newbridge AC) winning the men’s A race in 8:59.67 and Aine O’Connor (Ratoath AC) best of the women with a time of 10:22.33.
St Abban’s AC made it a double over 800m, with Emily O’Shea winning the women’s A race in 2:14.79 and Cian Kelly the men’s A race in 1:54.56. All the 800m athletes got a thorough soaking!
Photo: Lindie Naughton
More Track
Irish athletes were competing all over Europe on Saturday (January 14) and in Nivelles, Belgium Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers) finished second in the 1500m with a time of 4:15.90. In the men’s 800m, Robert Hewison (Kildare AC) finished second in 1:48.64 and Louis O’Loughlin (Donore Harriers) fourth in 1:48.89. Oisin Lynch (Killarney Valley AC) won the junior men’s race in 1:48.88.
At the Meeting de Braga in Portugal, Sean Tobin (Clonmel) finished fourth in the men’s 5000m with a time of 13:50.39 while at the British 10,000m Championships in Birmingham, Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) finished second in the 10,000m with a time of 28:09.36. Jack O’Leary (Mullingar Harriers) was fourth in a personal best time of 28:23.64.
Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers) was in Lahti, Finland for the Motornet GP on Tuesday (June 10), where she finished third in the women’s steeplechase in an Irish U23 record time of 9:45.00.
In Trafford, Sarah Healy (UCD AC) lined out in a mixed 800m at the BMC Gold Standard meet and was rewarded with a time of 2:00.87 — one-hundredth of a second off her personal best of 2:00.86 set two years ago.
In France, at the Meeting de Montreuil, also on Tuesday, Jodie McCann (DCH) finished sixth in the 1500m with a time of 4:09.95.
At the Kladno meet in Czechia, Louis O’Loughlin (Donore Harriers) finished sixth in the 800m with a time of 1:48.38. At the Meeting Cidade de Lisbon in Portugal, Sean Donoghue (Dublin City Harriers) won the men’s 1500m in 3:43.34, while Fintan Dewhirst (TÃr Chonaill AC) finished fifth in the 400m hurdles in 51.49 secs; brother Ethan won the B race in 52.15 secs.
On the Road
Canadian visitor Nickolas Colyn proved the class of the field at the Castleknock 5km in west Dublin on Sunday (May 15) winning in a time of 14:45. Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) was second in 15:33.
Photo: Lindie Naughton
Aine Cotter (North East Runners) was first woman in 17:06, with Ellen McLoughlin (Metro St Brigid’s AC) second in 17:45.
On a busy Friday evening, Tadhg Donnelly (Drogheda and District AC) in 14:37 was a clear winner of the Boyne 5km, in Drogheda, Co Louth on Friday (June 13). Second in 15:10 was Ian Guiden (Clonliffe Harriers). First woman was Abbie Sheridan (St Peter’s AC) in 17:27, with Kate Purcell (Raheny Shamrock, W40) second in 17:53.
Winners at the Naomh Mhuire AC 5km, in Daingean, which was round five of the Healthy Offaly 5km Series were Kevin Minnock (Tullamore Harriers in 15:32 and Heather Murphy (St Michael’s AC) in 16:38. A total of 380 completed the race in this popular series, with two more race remaining, as well as three more rounds in the Offaly Endurance Series.
Also on Friday, in Co Tipperary, David McCarthy (West Waterford AC) was the winner of the Moycarkey Coolcroo 5km, in Littleton, with a course record time of 14:29. Eoin Everard (Kilkenny City Harriers, M35) was second in 14:38 and local man Brendan Neary (Moycarkey Coolcroo AC) third in 15:08. First woman in 16:59 was Dymphna Ryan (Dundrum AC, W40) . Ciara O’Neill (Clonmel AC) was second in 17:22 and Edel Gaffney ( Trim AC, W35) third in 17:48.
Two days earlier, Ger Forde (Kilkenny City Harriers) came home first at the the Athletics Wicklow 5km Championships, held in Arklow on Wednesday (June 11) with a time of 15 mins 2 secs. Joe Dowd (Greystones and District) was second and declared Wicklow champion when finishing in 15:48. Sheila O’Byrne (Parnell AC) was first woman in 17:43. Parnell AC won both men and women’s team titles.
On a wet evening in Cork, Paul Moloney was the winner of the Musgrave BHAA 5km in a time of 15:13 secs, with Tadhg O’Sullivan second in 15.25 First woman was Sinead O’Connor in 16:35, with Jennifer Martin second in 17:38. Department of Education teams not only took both men and women’s A team titles but also won the women’s B and C categories.
Off Road
James Moran led home 1,407 finishers at the Dublin Front Runners Pride 5km around the 15 Acres in the Phoenix Park on Friday (June 13). First woman was Mollie O’Donnell (Liffey Valley AC) in 18:25
In Trim, Co Meath, a day earlier, over 500 runners took to the fields on a warm, sunny evening for the Braveheart 5km trail run held in the shadow of the medieval Yellow Steeple overlooking the river Boyne.
From the start, George Smee, along with former winner Peter Somba (Ballyskenach AC) and racing machine Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) pushed the pace, and with 200m to go, sprinted clear for the win in 15 mins 55 secs in the final 200 metres. Somba was second in 16,.00 and Doran third in 16:24.
First woman in 19:15 was Susan Glennon (Mullingar Harriers), with Louise Bailey (Na Fianna) second in 19:39 and Kate McCrystal (UCD AC) third in 20:05.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday evening, Sean Doran (Harriers Products) was the runaway winner of the BCMGlobal 5km Trail Race in the Phoenix Park on Tuesday evening (June 10). Doran finished in 16 mins 16 secs, with Tom Sherlock (Bank of Ireland) second in 16>59 and Ian Comerford (ESB) third in 17.31. Sixth and first M40 was Paddy O’Boyle in 18:32.
First woman was Clare Sullivan (CSO) in 19:52. Niamh O’Keeffe (ESB) was second in 21:32 and Caroline McCarthy (RCSI) third in 21:43. A number of BCMGlobal staff members also lined out, led home by David Geraghty in a respectable 25th place, with Rebecca Cuskelly first woman home and sixth of the senior women.
To the Mountains
Anna McGookin (Ballymena and Antrim AC) representing Northern Ireland finished a brilliant third place in a hard-fought women’s race over 5.2km at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup at the Tatra mountains in Donovaly, Slovakia on Saturday (June 14) . The Northern Ireland team finished 11th and the Republic of Ireland 12th. In the men’s race, Finn Yore (West Muskerry AC) for the Republic of Ireland finished eighth, with the team also eighth.
Also taking place was an open race, with Eoin Smith (Shercock AC)Â finishing 21st and fourth M50.
Ben Mangan and Becky Quinn were the winners at the Leinster Mountain Running Championships on a new 13.8km route at Mount Leinster, on Saturday (June 15).
