Week ending Saturday 27th April

European qualification standard for Jack O’Leary

Competing for Iona College at the Bryan Clay Invitational T&F Meeting at the Cougar Athletic Stadium in Azusa Pacific University, near Los Angeles in California last Thursday evening, Jack O’Leary finished an excellent eighth place in the 5,000m in a new personal best time of 14 minutes 11.96 seconds, which is inside the qualifying standard for the European u/23 T&F Championships in Gävle, Sweden in July. Congratulations to Jack on achieving the standard so early in the season; he can now give his full attention to his preparations to be in the best possible shape for July.

Mullingar athletes in the prizes in Mohill

Participants in the “Noel McManus Memorial” 5k and 10k on Good Friday morning enjoyed perfect very warm and sunny conditions and spectacular scenery as they wound their way around the rolling hills in the beautiful grounds of Lough Rynn Castle in Mohill, Co. Leitrim. Finishing the 5k in 22:06, Emer O’Hanlon placed eleventh overall of over 170 finishers to easily win her master category by a big margin. The longer 10k race attracted over 120 entrants and the best of the Mullingar group was the in-form Michelle Bohan, seventh overall and first woman in 42:16, followed by Joan Hickson (48:43) first in her master category, Michael O’Sullivan (51:17) first in his master category and Ann Hall (52:37) second in her master category, so all the Mullingar athletes took a prize home with them from Mohill!

Leinster T&F outdoor season approaches

The dates for the Leinster T&F have been published and details are on the notice board in the Clubhouse and on the Club and the Athletics Leinster websites. Important Juvenile fixtures and dates include Combined Events (25th May), sprint relays (26th May), u/9, u/10 and u/11 “Pairs” and some of the individual u/12 and u/13 T&F events (8th June), and the u/14 to u/19 T&F and the remaining u/12 and u/13 T&F (15th and 16th June). All entries are on-line and can only be made by the Club, so next week we’ll start distributing entry forms for the u/9, 10, 11 “Pairs” and the u/12 and 13 individual T&F, followed by the older age groups the week after, so keep an eye out for entry forms and the closing dates if you wish your child to compete. As always, the cost of entries is high, so check that you will be available on the day and only enter if you will actually compete.

For older members, the Leinster Junior T&F takes place on 25th May, and the Leinster Seniors and Masters T&F takes place on 2nd June. All entries are on-line and these athletes enter themselves, so watch for the final closing dates for entries.

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

PRO