by Perri Williams
Clonliffe Harriers Cathal Doyle continued his recent good form as he claimed victory in tonight’s Morton Mile. Doyle showed yet another good turn of speed as he eased past American Sam Prakel to record 3:52.06, almost two and half seconds faster than he ran in Cork last Tuesday. Winning the iconic race has always been high on his agenda as an athlete “its always been my dream to win this race” he stated after his win. Despite feeling “terrible” in this and the last few races, the Clonliffe man was pragmatic stating “you just have to get the job done and grind through it”.
The men’s 5000m was a spectacular race with Amos Langat of Kenya clocking 13.12. The nineteen-year-old set a new meeting record and seasons best in the process. Ireland’s Nick Griggs continued with another record-breaking performance when he finished close to Legat in 13.13 to set a new Irish u23 record. His second record in just three days. “Three laps out it started to hurt, two laps out it started to twinge and then there was three of us. Langat went around and at that point I had to make a decision do I go and then I heard the crowd” said a delighted Griggs after the race. It was the roars of support from the home crowd that he attributed with the “kick” that made him go.
Another seasons best followed as Edmund Du Plessis (South Africa) ran 1.44.22 a second faster than his time on Tuesday in Cork and also taking down the meet record. Meet records were tumbling fast as this followed with Chane Vermeulen (South Africa) setting a meet record for the ladies 200m. It was good to see Ireland’s Katie Bergin back in action again after an injury sidelined her all season. Jordan Geist (USA) obliterated the Shot Putt record with a final round throw of 22.25.
Several of Irelands Olympic bound athletes were in action, many racing for the second time this week on home soil.
Sarah Lavin had another victory on home soil, following up on her win in Cork on Tuesday with another win over the 100m hurdles in Santry. Her 12.82 was just one tenth of a second faster than Cork and marks another consecutive sub 13 second run this season. Like Griggs she felt the support of the home crowd as she sped past her competitors who all “came into the race with big times”.
Sophie O’Sullivan had a much better race than in Cork earlier in the week, when she finished second to Great Britain’s Shannon Flockhart in 4.05. A few more weeks of solid training and racing will see further improvements from the Ballymore/Cobh athlete. Jack Raferty (Donore) who has been named on the 4x400m mixed relay finished third in the 400m with a time of 46.44.