McDonnell strikes again
A number of Galway’s elite athletes travelled to Belgium last weekend for the IFAM meet, with great success.
Olympian Robert McDonnell of Galway City Harriers) was hugely impressive as he broke the National U23 Outdoor 200m Record with a time of 20.51 while competing at the event Saturday last . The 19-year-old takes the record from Steven Colvert (Crusaders AC) who set the record 10 years ago, and moves him up the all-time rankings to fourth spot.
McDonnell has had a stellar year so far in the 200m, with a top spot podium finish at each race he has competed in so far both indoor and outdoor, such as the Belfast Milers Meet in recent weeks where he set a previous PB of 20.61, as well as winning the Irish Senior Indoor 200m Championship title in February.
Sinead Treacy of Craughwell AC represented an Irish 400m quartet alongside Charlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker and Nessa Millet to take second place behind a Belgian select team in a time of 3:37). Treacy also clocked 56.41 individually to cap a great day for her.
Other NUIG athletes to compete included Sarah Quinn, Andrew Egan and Aaron Keane.
Galway 5k Series
Gerard Cuddy of GCH won the penultimate leg of the 2022 EY sponsored Galway 5k Series held in Athenry on Tuesday last in a time of 16.27, ahead of Adrian Grogan of Castlegar in second in 16.46 and Sean Burke of Tuam AC in third one second back.
Jane Ann Healy of GCH won the Ladies section in a personal best and fastest time of the series of 17.40, ahead of clubmate Catherine Thornton in 17.45, with Julie Bradshaw also of GCH in third spot in 18.45
The Galway 5k Series concludes this Tuesday in Clarenbridge, with the final leg organised by GCH
Galway County Championships
Two wonderful days of action were held at Dangan at the Galway County Juvenile Track and Field Championships held in summer sunshine last weekend.
Saturday’s action featured the U13 to U19 competitions, with Sunday’s event for U9-U12s, with both days yielding a huge attendance of competitors, coaches and supporters, all excellently organised by Galway County Board.
Saturdays highlights included Ava McKeon of GCH securing double gold over 100 and 400 Hurdles, as did Jade Moorhead of Craughwell AC over 200m and in High Jump, while in the U18 Boys events, Mathieu Madden of GCH, Evan Hallinan of Craughwell and Liam Shaw of Athenry AC also struck double gold.
At U17 level, Caoimhe Kilkenny won double sprint gold over 100m and 200m for Ballinasloe and District AC, while in the U16 Boys, Lamar Luciano also won the sprint double for Castlegar over 100 and 200.
Also, at U16 level, Amy Rose Kelly of South Galway, Danielle Moynihan of Tuam and Molly Smith of Loch Lurgan AC won multiple gold medals.
Declan O Connell of Craughwell was hugely impressive at U15 level, winning the 800m and 1500m double in two superb time., while in the Girls events, Angela Cielecka of GCH impressed with double sprint gold over 100m and 200m and Long Jump gold, while Conor Penney of Craughwell was another triple gold winning champion
Sundays events featured the U9-U11 paired competitions, with the top 3 pairs in each event progressing to Connacht championships in June, as well as the individual U12 events.
A huge entry of over 560 athletes saw superb competition take place over the six event programmes at U9-11 ages including Sprint, middle distance, Long Jump, Turbo Javelin and relay, with all Galway clubs among the medals on what was day to remember
All Ireland Schools Track and Field Championships
This weekend sees one of the highlights of the Irish Athletics season take centre stage, with the Irish Schools Track and Field Championships taking place Saturday next June 4th in Tullamore
Many of Galway’s top young stars will compete against the best in the country, including the likes of Liam Shaw of Athenry, David and Stephen Mannion of South Galway AC, Ella O Connor of GCH among others
Galway County Junior, Senior and Masters championships
The Galway County Junior, Senior and Masters championships take place over 3 days in June
Thursday 2nd June sees day one commence proceedings, with entry for club athletes on EntryforSport online and limited on the night entry. Competion starts from 7 pm, with the 100 and 110m Hurdles, 100m, 400m and 1500m on the track and field events including Shot Putt, Javelin and Long Jump
