National u/20 and u/23 T&F

The National u/20 and u/23 T&F took place in a warm but windy Tullamore on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th July, where Mullingar had three race walkers in action on the Saturday afternoon, each delivering excellent performances on the National stage.

Aisling Lane contested the u/23 women 3,000m walk, which was combined with the corresponding u/20 women race, so the start line was very crowded. With such a busy start line, Aisling took no chances and went out hard from the gun to take the early lead and stay out of trouble, with only one other u/23 athlete trying to go with her. Showing her class and dominance, Aisling kept the pressure on and as the laps unfolded, the gap to the field increased and it wasn’t long before she began lapping some of the back markers. Continuing to push on, Aisling never looked back and powered to a fine win in a time very close to her own Championship Record that she set last year, which was excellent in the windy conditions.

The u/20 men 5,000m walk went out very fast too, as Seamus Clarke (Moy Valley AC) raced to the front, followed closely by Matthew Newall (Castlegar AC). Showing why both have qualified for the World u/20 T&F in Oregan (USA) in August, they set a fierce early pace, so Mullingar’s John Glennon and Daniel Glennon wisely stuck to their own race plans and didn’t try to stay with the leading pair. Always under the vigilant eyes of the judges, John and Daniel turned in excellent performances to finish third and fourth respectively, John in 21:25.52, which is close to his best time for the distance, and Daniel in 22:24.92, once more well under the qualifying standard for the European u/18 T&F in Rieti (Italy), where he has already been selected to compete in mid-July, and showing great form in his final race in preparation for Rieti [GD].