European Racewalking Grand Prix & International 2022, Poděbrady (2nd Apr)
Andrew Glennon – Youth (u/18) 5k race walk – Second place
It was a great weekend for the upcoming racewalkers of Mullingar Harriers at the Czech Republic’s European Racewalking Grand Prix and International in Poděbrady, which is part of World Athletic’s World Tour Gold Series of top international competitions. First on the start line on Saturday 2nd April was Aisling Lane in the Youth (u/18) Women 5k. The bitterly cold morning with traces of sleet are normally not conducive for fast times but speed was all that was on Aisling’s mind as she powered her way to a new big personal best time of 25:04 and more importantly inside the Athletics Ireland qualifying standard for the European u/18 Championships in Jerusalem in July. With a fourth place finish in a field of 28, Aisling can now look forward to going head-to-head again this Summer with many of these same competitors in Jerusalem.
As Andrew Glennon is already qualified for the European u/18 Championships over 10,000m he therefore opted for the shorter Youth Men 5k and what a blistering performance he produced to cross the line in 23:11, a 90 second personal best, to finish an excellent second place, well clear of third place and the rest of the field. It was fantastic to hear the fanfare as Andrew climbed onto the podium to hard earned applause. He can now focus his training on reproducing the same form in the 10,000m in Jerusalem.
Later in the afternoon it was the turn of the 74 elite senior men to toe the line in the star studded Senior Men 20k. With top athletes from five continents, this competition rightly claims its World Gold Tour status. Totally at ease in their company was Oisín Lane attempting his second ever 20k race walk and his first as a senior athlete. As a newcomer to this distance, Oisin carefully tested this new challenge with 5k splits of 22:04 and 21:56 to go through the 10k mark in exactly 44 minutes. He then followed this with ever increasing pace and splits of 21:48 and 21:18 and a final time of 87:06. His second 10k of 43:06 was effectively a personal best for 10k and incorporated a final kilometre of 4:07, a major confidence builder, and while finishing with relatively fresh legs, confirming that he has found his true racing distance for now. Well done to all three Harriers athletes for whom the club can feel rightly proud as they take on Europe and the World.
