National Juvenile Championships, Tullamore

After a successful outing at the National B Championships on Saturday, the club’s athletes returned to Tullamore for Day 2 of the National Juvenile Championships. Joshua Crosby had a brilliant day when he took gold in the Boys U15 Shot Putt on Sunday. Joshua had an outstanding throw of 14.51m to seal the victory and set a new PB for himself. Adam Kelly just missed out on a medal in the the Boys U15 Triple Jump finsihing in 4th place. Adam’s jump of 10.04 saw him fall just short of a medal. In the girls U 18 Discus, Grace Heydon finished in 7th palce with a throw of 25.53m. The final competitior from the club was Finn Craig in the Boys U18 3000m. Finn finsihed in 6th place running 9:12. Well done to each of these athletes, their coaches and families. Medals are always very hard to come by at National Championships and hopefully with continued hard work and dedication these athletes will continue to progresss in the years to come.

SIAB Schools International, Wales

John Delaney made his International debut at the SIAB Schools International on Saturday in Wales. John finished 6th in the 400m in a time of 50.67s, and helped the Irish team to a 3rd place finish in the 4x400m relay. A fantastic achievement and hopefully the first of many outings in the Irish colours for this young athlete.

National Juvenile B T&F Championships, Tullamore

The National Juvenile B Track and Field Championships took place over the weekend in Tullamore. These Championships are perfect for developing athletes and are aimed at those athletes who haven’t won medals at the National Juvenile Championships. The club had a fantastic day on Saturday with over 20 athletes in action across a variety of events. There were great performances across the day with 12 athletes lucky enough to win medals. Overall the club won 3 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals. Harry Brennan had a brilliant day winning silver medals in both the High Jump and Long Jump. His teamate, Josh Delaney just missed out on a medal in the U13 High Jump finsihing in 4th place and 9th in the Long Jump.In the Girls U14 800m Laura Ayers ran a brilliant race to take gold. Lily O’ Neill safely qualified through the heat of her 80m sprint and backed this up in the final when she claimed the bronze medal in the U14 Girls 80m. Zoe Dunne finished in 2nd place in the U14 Long Jump. She was joined in the event by Leigha Kenny and Lily O Neill who jumped well. In the U 14 Boys Shot Putt Darragh Kennedy finished in the bronze medal position after some great throws. In the Girls U15 High Jump Jessica Lawlor also finished in 3rd place. Lily Brophy had a brilliant day in the U15 Girls Shot Putt when she took victory. Rachel Dooley finished in 3rd palce in the Gurls U16 Long Jump. We had two athletes in the Boys U16 High Jump. Kalem Buggy came 2nd place, taking the silver medal with Eoghan Mitchell just behind in 3rd place. Eoghan also went on to win the U16 Boys Shot Putt. We had a number of athletes who were unlucky to miss out on medals on the day but gained great experience and will develop as a result of this. Naoise Buckley ran in the U12 600m, Croíadh O Mara ran in the 60m Sprint and competed strongly in the Shot Putt. Aoife Lawlor was also in action in the U12 High and Long Jump. Callum Kenny competed well in heat 1 of the U12 600 while Rian Bradley ran in heat 1 of the sprint. In the U13 girls 80m there were three athletes from the club in action. Anna Kennedy, Sophie Dowling and Leah Kavanagh all represented teh club very well in each one of their heats. Sophie and Leah were also in action in the Long Jump while Keela McCArthy competed in the U13 Girls Shot Putt. Hannah Dagg was unlcuky in the U14 Girls Shot Putt finishing just outside the medals. Darragh Kennedy and James O Mara ran in the U14 Boys Sprint. James was back out in the Long Jump where he jumped consistently. Lily Brophy finished in 4th in the U15 100m heats. In the U16 Girls Rachel Dooley also finished 4th in her heats. Kalem Buggy who won a medal earlier in the High Jump was just outside the medals in the 800m finishing in 6th place. Well done to each of these athletes who will now finsih up for the season and take a break over the summer before returning for some cross country training.   

Fit4Life League

The final stage of the Fit4Life League took place on Wednesday last at the club grounds in Monavea. Cillian Dunne led the large field home and in doing so took the overall league victory, Ian Molly finished in 2nd place, John Dillon 3rd, Ken Archibald 4th and Declan Kelly in 5th palce. On the female side of the league Grace Reilly took the overall victory. Paula Guinan finished in 2nd, Maria Dunne 3rd Amy O’Rourke 4th and Sinead Kelly finished in 5th place overall. A huge thank you to each of the volunteers who ensure the Fit4Life League runs smoothly throughout the summer months. Also to Pop Up Races whose instant results really speed up the whole process. Finally to the athletes who continue to support the event year after year. While it benefits everybodies health and wellbeing the social side of the league is always a fantastic addittion for many. The cup of tea afterwards is always a great place to share race stories and many friendhsips have been fostered throughout the league. We look forward to next years event.