Connacht Indoor championships
The Connacht Indoor Track and Field championships were held over two busy days in Athlone last weekend, with Day 1 featuring the U12-U14 competitions, and Sunday’s programme saw the U15 – U19, Seniors and Masters events take place. Among the highlights for Galway clubs included a double-double for Athenry duo Sean Doggett and Liam Shaw. Doggett dropped down in distance from his usual 800m and claimed gold on the double winning the U19 60m and 200m Connacht titles. Having now moved up to the senior wing of Athenry AC, Liam Shaw won both the Connacht senior Shot Putt and Weight for Distance events. Declan O Connell of Craughwell AC's wins over 800m and 1500m were one of the standouts from day two. O’Connell delivered a front-running masterclass in the U17 1500m – striding home to a fine 4:09 victory and later added the 800m title in 2.02. Galway City Harriers struck gold in the Senior Men’s 400m via a great run by Robert Urquhart. Alix Joyce crowned off a great Indoor season to date by winning the Connacht Senior 800m crown for Tuam AC. Kathryn Casserly of Castlegar AC continued to set the bar as she won the Connacht Senior Ladies 1500m title. Anthony Boyle of Craughwell won the Men’s 3000m title in 9.26
At U18 Boys Darragh Fahy of Loughrea AC won three Golds- in the 60m Long Jump a jump of 6.09m and in the Triple Jump. Clubmate and senior athlete Caoimhe Farrell won Gold in the 60m Hurdles and High Jump. Some of the Juvenile sprint highlights included double gold from Rachel Warde (60m, 60m hurdles) for Craughwell at U16 level. Sarah Hartnett won a Connacht double for Tuam AC with great wins in the U17 800m and 1500m. In the race walks, Tuam AC won multiple medals a testament to the strength in depth the group has
Craughwell high jumpers excelled, with Conor Penney in record-breaking form in the U17 Boys high jump, smashing the Connacht record with a 1.97m leap on his first attempt. Evan Hallinan continued his return from injury with a 1.85m clearance to take victory in the Senior Men’s high jump. Darragh Kelly added another high jump title for the club with victory in the U18 Boys event with a 1.80m clearance while Sean Liston did likewise in the U19 Boys high jump with a 1.65m clearance. And, Isabel Schukat had a 1.55m clearance to take the U18 Girls' high jump title. Also, in the field Jack Hession of Tuam AC leaped 6.54m to win the Connacht senior men’s Long jump title.
At Juvenile level Galway clubs had numerous medallists and qualifiers to National level across all disciplines, notably the race walks and sprints. Focus for the qualifiers now turns to preparations for the National Juvenile Indoors championships which will take place in Athlone on the 23rd of Mar and the 6th and 7th of April.
European U18 standards
Athletics Ireland has announced that 11 Irish athletes have already achieved the qualifying standard for the European Athletics U18 Championships in Slovakia in July. Included in the 11 are two Tuam athletes – Savanagh O’Callaghan and Matthew Newell, both in the Race Walk events. Selection announcements are expected in the coming months
Maree 8k
The annual Maree 8km run was held place in the surrounds of Maree, Oranmore, Co. Galway on Sunday, February 25th, with Abaas Edris (pictured) of Castlegar AC first home in 26.47. Next home in second place was Sean Mulryan in 27.34. GCH took first place in the Ladies, with Jane Ann Meehan first home in 31.34. Second was Sinead Egan, with Clare Rowe of GCH in third
Galway 5km Series
Pre-registration is open now on Eventmaster for the EY-sponsored 2024 Galway 5k Series. The series features 6 5k races over 6 Tuesdays across the county. The first race is in Abbeyknockmoy on April 23rd
