A: Grange, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland | E: info@mullingarharriers.com

Week ending Saturday 31st March 2018

 

Star performances by Mullingar athletes at All-Ireland Indoors

The best way to sum up the second day of the AAI Juvenile Indoors last Sunday in Athlone IT is to let the numbers speak for themselves – 11 athletes, 8 reached their finals, 5 won medals, 3 crowned All-Ireland Champions.

First into action was Shauna Leydon in the girls 200m u/17 but she didn’t qualify from the extremely competitive heats. For Awa Fane, her heat of the girls 200m u/18 was a mere formality, cruising around the one lap race to win her heat comfortably and earn her place in the final. On to the boys 600m u/12 where Conor Liston and Jamie Wallace were drawn in the same heat, which was won by Conor and Jamie finished very fast to take third and join Conor in the final. Aimee Wallace contested the girls 600m u/13 but just didn’t click on the day and was disappointed not to qualify for the final. Philip McCartan made short work of his heat of the boys 600m u/13, winning to qualify for the final, but Callum Costello made hard work of his heat where he finished fifth but qualified for the final as a fastest loser by a mere four thousandths of a second, less than an inch, but a place in the final nonetheless and a chance to make amends.

Over at the field events, Criostoir Ormsby was in fourth place after four jumps in the boys u/12 long jump, enough to earn him three more jumps and with his sixth and final attempt he leaped out to 4.40m to clinch the gold medal and All-Ireland title, Mullingar’s first of the day. Shane Ormsby impressed in the boys u/14 shot where he put together a very consistent series to take third place and win an All-Ireland bronze medal.

Eoin Quinn ran a fine race in his heat of the boys 800m u/18, finishing fourth and just missing a place in the final in a time that would have won the first heat, but that’s Championship racing. In the girls 800m u/18 heats, Aoife Darby measured her effort perfectly and did just enough to qualify and saved her strength for the final.

The programme then moved to the track finals. Drawing the outside lane in the girls 200m u/18 final, Awa Fane was simply too good for the opposition and blasting from the blocks she led from gun to tape to win in 24.95 seconds, a new personal best, and Mullingar’s second All-Ireland title of the day.

The boys 600m u/12 final was run at a fierce pace from the start and Conor Liston and Jamie Wallace had to work hard to keep in contention. Both boys gave great accounts but had to settle for places out of the medals. In the boys 600m u/13 Philip McCartan led the chasing pack on the early leader, with Callum Costello looking much more comfortable than in his earlier heat following close behind. Down the back straight for the final time, the long time leader began to fade and Philip surged past him to the front and powered his way around the final bend into the home straight and crossed the line first to win Mullingar’s third and what was be final All-Ireland title of the day. The race wasn’t over yet though, and coming off the final bend, Callum moved from fifth to third with a phenomenal turn of pace and held his place to the finish to win the bronze medal. We ended the day with Aoife Darby in the final of the girls 800m u/18 where she put in a very strong performance but is still only recovering from recent illness and had to settle for sixth place, out of the medals this time.

For most, this ends the indoor season and they’ll now settle into a new training block to prepare for the schools T&F in early May but not finished yet is the Mullingar boys 4x100m u/12 team that will compete on the final day in Athlone IT looking to add All-Ireland gold to Leinster gold!

Double European medal success for Sean McMullin

Sean McMullin got off to a medal winning start at the European Masters Indoors in Madrid last Wednesday afternoon when he won the silver medal in the 3,000m track walk at the magnificent Gallur Municipal Sports Centre. Race walking is a very technical event and not without its pitfalls; of the 15 starters, 2 were disqualified and 4 others given a warning during the course of the race, but Sean kept a clean sheet and put in a sterling performance to take the silver medal behind Ettorino Formentin (Italy) and ahead of Ludwig Niestelberger (Austria) who had kept close to Sean in what was a tactical race but Sean kept to his task and pulled well clear in the closing stages to secure second place, to the delight of the very big 126-strong Irish team.

Even though it is an indoor Championships, there is also a race walk on the road and even a cross country, so Sean’s attention turned to the 5k road walk last Friday morning at nearby Casa de Campo where in perfect 14degC but cloudy and damp conditions he put in another great performance and avoided any distracting warnings to win his second silver medal of the Championships, finishing behind Formentin of Italy and ahead of Niestelberger of Austria again, to give the same 1-2-3 result as in the 3,000m track walk two days earlier. Congratulation to Sean on winning double silver in European masters race walk.

Sean rounded off his trip to Madrid early last Saturday morning when he competed in the 5k cross country in the Cuña Verde Park beside the Indoor Stadium where in cool but very windy conditions and despite only a day’s recovery from the 5k road walk, Sean put in a strong performance to finish well up with the pack, out of the medals but pleased with the run nonetheless.

Padraig Moran impresses in Dunboyne 4 Mile

A huge entry of six hundred in the Dunboyne AC 4 mile road race last Sunday were treated to a very nice change in recent weather and could run the two lap race in lovely dry sunny conditions. Among them, Mullingar’s sole representative Padraig Moran impressed with a fine twentieth place finish in 20:17 to make another mark on his welcome return to competitive racing.

Hyundai “Pat Finnerty Memorial” 5k

In a change to previous years, this year there will be no road league in May but instead there will be a single race on a new fast slightly downhill straight course based out of Clonkill GAA. The first man and first woman will receive the Pat Finnerty Memorial Trophies at the presentation ceremony after the race in the Clonkill GAA Clubhouse, where of course there will be lots of refreshments for the thirsty and hungry runners. The race is on Wednesday 2nd May, which is only six weeks away. Entries are now open at www.myrunresults.com for €12 online or €15 on the night. We’ll also have a 1,500m race for boys and girls aged 15 and younger.

April Committee Meeting

The April meeting of the committee will be held next Tuesday 3rd April in the Club house at 8.20pm after training. Preparations for the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k, a new format on a new course, are high on the agenda and a full attendance is required.

For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website www.mullingarharriers.com. You can also follow what is happening at the Club on our Facebook page.

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