Last Saturday Aoife Martin represented Ireland in Wales in the SIAB’s Girls 3K Race Walk. She met up with the rest of the Irish team in Dublin Airport on Friday. The Race Started at a ferocious pace, with Ireland’s Robin Og leading the charge. Robin went through the first 400m in 1:44, Aoife went through in 1:51. Robin Og kept pushing throughout and had a comfortable lead at the halfway mark with Aoife in second place. Aoife held her position and kept building a gap from the third-placed athlete. Robin Og was never going to be caught with the early lead she built but Aoife stuck to her own race ensuring she would come home in second place and building the gap from the Welsh athlete. Aoife came home in 2nd place, giving Ireland 1st and 2nd on the podium.
Then on Sunday the All-Ireland Track and Field Championships Day 2 were held in Tullamore. Carraig Na BhFear Athletic Club had 3 Race Walkers that qualified – Anna Mullins and Robyn Maher in the girls U16 2km Walk and Aoife Martin Girls U17 3km Walk.
Aoife was the first race of the day at 10am which was very hard on her as her flight was delayed coming home which meant she had 4 hours sleep along with racing a 3km race the day before. Once again the race began at a very fast pace, Aoife looked tired and heavy on her feet. After 600m she was 5th place and 10m off the leading group. By 1km her splits were back on schedule, and she was with a group of girls chasing the leading walker. There were four chasing one, then three chasing one, then by 2K it was two chasing one and Aoife was one of the two in the chasing pack. Now she was in cruise control. Not looking tired but looking relaxed. Aoife and Lily worked well together and were closing the gap, but the gap was too large for the distance they had remaining. With 700m to go the leader was looking behind her. Also on the second last lap lily tried to challenge Aoife but Aoife was now confident and pushed on again, with 450m to go just before the bell, Aoife made her final move and injected the pace once again and had a gap and was now in second place on her own and pulling away all the time. Aoife finished 2nd, 6 secs off her her PB having walked for Ireland the previous day finishing 2nd . A fantastic successful weekend at the end of a long Season for Aoife.
Next for Carraig Na BhFear A.C. were Anna and Robyn, both wanting to show their ability racing at national level, they were ranked 8th and 10th coming into the race but were confident they are better than that. Again the race started very fast, and both looked comfortable and raced their own race and following their plan for the first half. Anna was in the third pack of the field and Robyn was in the chasing pack after the first km. With 800m to go Robyn was still in the chasing pack and covering any move others made, with 600m to go the pack began to split and Robyn was holding back and went with them but being mindful not to commit too early. With 200m to go Robyn was at the back of the chasing back but not letting up and putting in her performance of the year. Robyn came home in 4th position which shows what a great performance she produced on All-Ireland day.
Back to Anna, who is just coming back from a bad chest infection but again walking very well in the first half of the race. Anna looked more comfortable in the second half of the race and was now chasing down others and leaving others behind her. Looking comfortable with 600m to go Anna was on her own and chasing down girls in front of her. Anna finished in 7th place but put in a terrific performance having been sick during the last fortnight. Well done to All 3 girls, who are now looking forward to a break after a long season.
On Saturday 21st July there was National success for our Boys U19 team who won the silver medal in 3:35:50, that’s averaging under 53s a lap on average! This experienced team was Ruaidhri Boyle, Aidan Maher, Bobby O’Riordan, Luke and Michael Mullins. Congratulations!
Carraig Na BhFear AC had three teams in the National 4 x 100m relays with U14, U15 and U16 girls’ teams qualified, the clubs best return for some time. Our U14 girls’ team of Mary-Kate Dawson, Lily O’Keeffe, Amelia O’Donovan and Allie Philips finished 4th in their heat in a good time of 58:49. It was a 5th placing in their heat for the U15 girls’ team of Laila Olotu, Lucy Davis, Emma Johnson and Hannah Coffey. Lucy and Laila were in action again in the U16 girls relay with Jessica Akinkuolie and Jennifer Murphy finishing in 57.87. Well done to all these girls who ran well against teams of the highest standard in Ireland.
In the Juvenile ‘B’ Track and Field Championships there were some very strong performances. Lily O’Keefe finished 3rd in her heat of the U14 girls 80m sprint in a time of 11.94 but unfortunately did not progress to the final. Hannah Coffeys’ 1.35m best in the U14 girls High Jump placed her well up the field of athletes with Mary-Kate Dawson jumping a best of 1.15m. Mary-Kate had a fine jump of 3.90m in the U14 girls long jump competition. Emma Johnson and Allie Philips ran well in separate heats of the U14 girls 800m in times of 2:42:33 and 2:43:44 respectively.
On Sunday 22nd we had 3 competitors in action in Day 2 of the National U12-U19 Championships, all in the 400m. Caoimhe Gray-Walsh ran a PB time of 1:04:45 in heat 1 of the U17 girls 400m to finish 6th, not qualifying for the final but good progress from Caoimhe. Lucy Lynch was drawn in heat 1 of 3 in the U18 girls 400m which was the most competitive heat. Unfortunately a fast heat of 59.66 took its toll in the final as she finished in 4th place in 1:00:13 but a good series of races for Lucy. Ruaidhri Boyle ran 53:09 in heat 2 of the Boys U19 which was not enough to make the final in a super-competitive competition. Ruaidhri started well but his efforts on Saturday for the 4 x 400m team was still in his legs during the finish, Ruaidhri will be well placed for his favoured 400m hurdles finals next weekend.
Other News: BHAA Bord Gais Networks 5k. A bumper crowd of over 700 runners turned out for this race starting on the old Railway Line near the Marina, a fast course finishing at Blackrock Castle. The race start was less hectic than usual with starting pens for predicted finish times and there were excellent performances on the night. Fantastic running by Timmy Hawkins (16:26) with Peter Hawkins and Rian O’Luasa breaking through the 18-minute barrier in 17:41 and 17:50 respectively. Good running by Darragh O’Keeffe (18:27), Conor Kelly (19:17), Richard Hawkins (19:25), Siobhan Walsh (21:13), Jennifer Kearney (25:08) and Sinead Kearney (27:10), well done all club members competing! On Friday 19th July, Denise Maher had a good run in the Bob Burke 4-mile Road Race in Fermoy finishing in 41:24.
Look ahead: Following the East Cork Track Championships hosted by Carraig Na BhFear AC on Tuesday 23rd July, many of our athletes will be in action next weekend again in the National Outdoor Juvenile U13-19 Championships Day 3 in Tullamore and also in the National League Finals in Tullamore on Sunday 28th. Best of luck to all competing!
Report by Richard Hawkins and Martin Hurley.
Featured Image: Aoife Martin after winning silver for Ireland at the SIABs in Wales, by Jo Martin.