World Masters Championships

Silver and Bronze for James Gibbons, Bronze for Anne McGill at the World Masters Championships in Denmark.

James Gibbons was the king of the show at the World Masters winning both a silver and bronze in his first World Championships. James competed very well on the track in 5k finishing 3rd 22.57.61. This race was won by Ferance 22.07.85 and a Norwegian athlete was 2nd in 22.51.36. James competed a few days later in the 20k where he won the Silver medal in an excellent time of 1.41.1. James led the race until the last 2.5k. This race was won by Andersen Erling of Norway 1.39.28.

Anne McGill competed on the track in the 5k and finished an excellent 4th. She then took on the 10K where she went one better to lift the Bronze medal in 58.45.65. This race was won by an Italian athlete in 53.52.20 with a Norwegian athlete in 2nd place in a time of 54.55.55.

Dominick Bonner and Mark Connolly competed in the 1500m on Friday, Dominick finished 8th in a time of 4.22.59 and qualified for the final which was on Monday 26th finishing 15th in the final in a time of 4.22.59. This race was won by David Taylor of England in a time of 4.10.83. On Wednesday 28th Dominick, Mark and Bernard competed in the 5000m Bernard and Mark put in a brilliant performances in their heats. Bernard was in the first heat and fought very well. Mark competed in the 2nd heat and also battled hard. Both men really enjoyed the experience. Mark finished 25th in a time of 17.48.60 and Bernard 27th in 17.53.11, Dominick battled hard in his race but found his legs tired after already having run in the 1500m however he competed well finishing 14th in a time of 16.00.87. This race was also won by David Taylor of England in 14.26.95 and new championship record.

Combined Events in Tullamore

We had three juvenile athletes competing in Tullamore on Saturday in the U/14 Combined Events. Congratulations to Jodie Stewart who won the Bronze medal with very strong performances throughout the five events. Jodie is a very talented all-round athlete and will be delighted with her excellent season. Aileen Brennan also competed in this age group and put in very fine performances also to finish 10th. Both Jodie and Aileen are eligible for this age group again next year.

Lorcan McMenamin competed in the U14 Boys Championship and was very unlucky to miss out on a medal, indeed he was actually announced as the Bronze medallist only to lose it again on a recheck of points. However, Lorcan will be delighted with his performance particularly in the High Jump where he had a new p.b. of 1.51 c.m.

Many thanks to Lorcan's dad, Enda and Aileen's parents who took the athletes to the event.

Mazda League

The 2nd round of the National League was held in Santry Stadium on Sunday where our men's team was a successful mixture of young and old who all put in great performances. Brendan Alexander was first to compete in the Pole Vault and despite carrying an ankle injury finished in 4th position scoring valuable points. Bosco Reid preparing for the National Masters Championships this coming weekend had an excellent Hammer competition taking 1st place and maximum points. Gerard Doherty, our top scorer in the first round was also in good form taking 2nd place in the Discus. Kieran O'Grady guested in this competition and will have gained from the experience. In the absence of James Gibbons on duty in Denmark our Jumps Coach Seamus McGranaghan tried out a new event for him, the 3000m Walk where he did extremely well to finish in 4th position. James Gourley bravely tackled the 400m Hurdles and scored yet more valuable points finishing 5th. Joe McGinley was delighted with his new p.b. for the 200m finishing 5th in a time of 23.8 seconds. Pauric Feely was unlucky to sprain his ankle while competing in the triple jump and we wish him a speedy recovery. Pauric still managed to finish 5th despite the injury. Gerard Bogle also preparing for the National Masters had a very good run in the 800m finishing 5th in 2.09 mins. but unfortunately also suffered an ankle injury and was unable to compete in the last event of the day the 4 x 400m relay which always produces great excitement.

However, with three able bodied young men and one walking wounded we fielded a team with excellent splits from James Gourley, 54.3, Stewart McClean, who so far seems to be able to tackle any event, running his first 400m ever in an excellent 53.2 handing over to Joe McGinley who also ran a great leg in 54.0 with the injured Brendan Alexander bravely finishing the race for the points. The only event which was left uncovered was the 5K but it was just a bit too far for our young sprinters, jumpers and throwers to tackle, however there is always next year.

Celtic Games in Scotland

Congratulations to Breda McGinty who had been selected for the 800m in the Celtic Games International in Scotland this weekend. This is a great honour for Breda who will join Kieran McConnell who has been selected for the discus and club coach Bernie Alcorn who is on the coaching/management team.

Training

All juvenile athletes are now on a break until September. Congratulations to all our young athletes who have done so well again this season. Many thanks to all the club coaches who give up so much of their free time and to all parents who have supported us this year.

Good Luck to Irish Olympic Team

Good luck to Patsy McGonagle and the Irish Team who will be departing for Cyprus next week to the pre-olympic camp and onwards to Athens.

Bernie Alcorn, P.R.O.