Athletics Ireland announce strong team for World Championships

Athletics Ireland has announced a squad of 14 athletes to compete at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, Germany this month. The team for the Championships between the 15th and 23rd of August was decided following the Woodie's DIY National Track and Field Championships over the weekend in Santry Stadium.

The 14-strong squad is one of the most experienced teams that Athletics Ireland has been able to send to a major championship in recent years and includes all the countries top athletes. David Gillick, Derval O'Rourke, Paul Hession, Eileen O'Keeffe and Robert Heffernan will all be in action over the course of the week hoping to grab glory for Ireland.

Gillick has been in blistering form so far this season. Following the disappointment of failing to retain his European Indoor title he went on to smash the Irish 400m Irish record in Madrid becoming the first Irish athlete to break the 45 second mark registering a time of 44.77. He has raced consistently over the distance and will be confident of peaking in Berlin. He gave his Irish fans a flavour of what he could do at the weekend with a comfortable victory over 200m at the Woodie's National Championships in Santry on Saturday.

Paul Hession is another athlete that has been looking good so far this season. The Athenry clubman who came so close to an Olympic final last year will be aiming to crack the world stage in Berlin and make the final in the 200m. Hession pulled out of the National Championships on Sunday after winning his heat in the 100m after feeling a head cold coming on but is expected to be fully fit for the trip to Berlin.

Eileen O'Keeffe and Rob Heffernan were Ireland's heroes at the last World Championships in Osaka with both registering top 8 finishes. O'Keeffe has had a tough time since, with a serious knee injury hampering her Olympic participation but this year she has been throwing high sixties and will be looking to hit over 70 in Berlin. She retained her hammer title at the weekend in Santry as she continued her build up to the World Championships.

Heffernan, who came top 8 in Beijing, has been in his usual record breaking form this year as he broke his own 3k walk record at the Cork City Sports registering a new record of 11:14.09. He added another Woodie's DIY national title to his collection at the weekend as he retained his 10k title.

Derval O'Rourke is another athlete who may peak at the right time on Berlin. O'Rourke was back to her medal winning best in Turin earlier this year as she took bronze at the European Indoor Championships. She has been running well, breaking the 13 second mark several times during the season. O'Rourke ran in Stockholm with a chest infection and subsequently withdrew from the National Championships but has confidence that she will be 100% fit for the World Championships.

One of Ireland's top performers at track and field in last year's Olympics, Olive Loughnane has also been named on the team for Berlin. The Loughrea athlete was 7th in the 20k walk in Beijing and has raced well this year. She took 4th at the European Cup of Race walking in France and had a commanding victory over Olympic bronze medallist Elisa Rigaudo. In Santry she set a new personal best as she won the 5k walk, winning in a time of 21:03.45.

The team also includes Olympic finalist Roisin McGettigan, Jamie Costin who smashed the 50k Irish race walking record earlier this year and Irish high jump record holder Deirdre Ryan who took the National title with a jump of 1.83m.

Two notable absentees are Sligo's Mary Cullen and Kilkenny's Joanne Cuddihy. Cullen, who won a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in Turin earlier this year, suffered a stress fracture of her hip in April. She is expected to be fully fit for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships which will take place in Dublin in December.

Cuddihy has been focused on her final medical results this year and will not compete in the Championships. She is currently on route to Australia to commence work and training at the Australian Institute of Sport. The Kilkenny woman is hugely committed to the European Outdoor Championships in Barcelona in 2010.

Fionnuala Britton, who won the steeplechase at the Woodie's DIY National Championships, felt along with her coach that she was not ready for the World Championships and will now focus on the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin at the end of the year.

Liam Hennessy, President of Athletics Ireland, is hoping Ireland can repeat the heroics of two years ago in Osaka. "Our last world championship was the best global performance by an Irish athletics team and it was capped off by two amazing sixth place finishes with Eileen O'Keeffe and Rob Heffernan. This team is very similar to the team we sent to Osaka in 2007 and I hope that they can match and maybe even better the results from two years ago," Hennessy said today.

Patsy McGonagle, Chair of the High Performance Committee and Team Manager for the Championships, is hoping for some strong performances from all the athletes. "The team we are sending to the World Championships is extremely experienced and we have quality performers across the field. We will be hoping that the team can get some seasonal best and personal bests with each athlete focused on getting through the rounds. Performances on this world stage will also give an interesting view as to how we will go in the European Championships next year" McGonagle said.

The Irish team will depart for Berlin next week ahead of the Championships which begin on the 15th of August and will end a week later on the 23rd. First in action for the Irish on the opening day will be Rob Heffernan in the final of the 20k Walk. For further information and updates throughout the World Championships see www.athleticsireland.ie

Athletics Ireland Team World Track and Field Championships – Berlin, Germany – 15th – 23rd August, 2009

• Olive Loughnane (Loughrea AC) 20k Walk
• Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) 20k Walk
• Paul Hession (Athenry AC) 200m
• Derval O'Rourke (Leevale AC) 100m H
• David Gillick (Dundrum South Dublin) 400m
• Roisin McGettigan (Sli Chulainn AC) 3,000m Steeplechase
• Alistair Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers) 5,000m
• Eileen O'Keefe (Kilkenny City Harriers) Hammer
• Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) 50k Walk
• Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) 50k Walk
• Deirdre Ryan (Dundrum South Dublin) High Jump
• Deirdre Byrne (Sli Chualinn AC) 1,500m
• Michelle Carey ( Dublin Striders AC) 400m H
• Thomas Chamney (Crusaders AC) 800m / 1500m

For further information -- Declan Lee – O'Herlihy Communications – 01 660 2744 / 087 695 7451; Sinead Galvin – Athletics Ireland – 087 974 8052