AAI Junior & u/23 Indoors 2018 (28th Jan)
PHOTOS BELOW
Medal winning start to the Indoor Season for Mullingar
The 60m sprinters were first into action at the AAI Junior and u/23 Indoor Championships in Athlone IT on Sunday 28th January. It was great to see two Mullingar women in the 60m u/23 race, which was a straight final, and it was even better to see Vicky Harris power from the blocks and lead from gun to tape to win the title, with Maimouna Fane storming through the field behind to snatch the bronze medal right on the line in a very close finish. Awa Fane qualified well from her heat of the Junior 60m, dipping nicely under 8 seconds and in the final she ran faster again but finished out of the medal places, though set down an early marker for the juvenile indoor season ahead.
Mullingar race walkers continue to make their mark thanks to the expert coaching by Michael Lane. In the Junior Women 3,000m walk, Sarah Glennon raced to a fine 3rd place, with young Jennifer Fidgeon giving a spirited performance only a few places behind. Sarah is underage for two more years and Jennifer for another three, so no doubt they’ll both be challenging for honours over the next few years. Rachel Glennon stuck to her task in the u/23 women 3,000m walk and was rewarded with a silver medal for her efforts. Race walker of the day was Oisin Lane who took the early lead in the Junior Men 3,000m walk and with a blistering final lap pulled clear of his long time pursuer to win by a distance in a new PB of 13:01.10. Oisin is underage for three more years, so his sights will be on retaining the title a few more times.
The sprinters returned to the track for the 200m where Vicky Harris and Maimouna Fane qualified from their heats of the u/23 200m, Awa Fane qualified from her heat of the Junior 200m but Patrick Leydon was unlucky to miss a place in the final of the Junior 200m despite a strong performance in his heat. Come final time, Awa didn’t let the occasion overawe her and coming off the final bend into the home straight was in contention for the bronze medal but disaster struck when she stumbled close to the finish, ending her race early with a few scrapes and cuts, but thankfully doing no permanent damage to herself. Bitterly disappointed and wondering what if, Awa will have learned much from her first foray into the junior ranks. Maimouna was forced to withdraw from the u/23 final with a foot injury but Vicky powered around the tight indoor bends to win the silver medal to add to her 60m gold and round off an excellent day for the Mullingar sprinters.
Aoife Darby competed in the Junior 800m and in a thrilling race was unlucky to finish 4th, just out of the medal places. Aoife in underage for two more years, so has plenty of time to make amends. Declan Brady kept himself in contention in his heat of the 800m u/23 but was edged out of a place in the final on the last lap despite a great effort. Andrew Daly ran his first ever 800m when he lined up in his heat of the Junior 800m. The race was run at a very fast pace and it was certainly a baptism of fire for Andrew but he raced well and was unlucky not to advance to the final. No problem for Colin Smith as he qualified from his heat and in the final was in contention for the title until the final sprint on the home straight where he was edged into 3rd place in a close run race.
Congratulations to the dozen Mullingar athletes who competed with great determination, winning seven medals between them and they can look forward with confidence to further indoor competition in the coming weeks and months.
