Aoife Joyce selected for World Trophy

Congratulations to Aoife Joyce, who has been selected for the Irish team, following a tremendous performance at the trials last Sunday in Trooperstown. The World Mountain Running Trophy takes place in Switzerland on Saturday 16th September. Wishing Aoife and the rest of the team the very best of luck in this prestigious event.

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Club Championships

Badly attended is on way of describing the Club championships that took place last Thursday although enough fun was had by those that did show up to make up for those that didn't. Yours truly came out overal mens combined events winner only being defeated in the long jump by a very casual Patrick Saunders who leapt 5.03 from 60cm behind the board without a warmup....


As member of Crusaders League Final 3rd place winning 4x400m relay team I was always going to have an advantage over the Marathoners and hardcore hill runners in the 200m. After head official Jimmy O'Neil's suggestion of a handicap was rejected, a good start and a sharp eye over my shouulder brought me home ahead of Don who challenged late.

Again my official Crusaders Senior Mens League Final Javelin thrower status put the onus on challenger Alan O'Keefe to produce 'goods'. After initial 1st round worry when the gap was only 2 metres, and the shame of my second throw being described as having a 'big gay runup' by O'Rourke, my third throw of 38.87 (possibly a PB) brought me well clear of challenge.

In the 800m the possible outcomes were many. The line was toed gingerly by the 4 competing athletes, all none to thrilled about having to run the long/short (depending) distance. Alan O'Keefe lead out the 1st lap in 63 seconds. I kept a close watch but the prolonged middle distance pace lost O'Rourke and Don who at this stage were pining for a 5km road race. Feeling smooth and thinking of the clock I threw the gauntlet down (can't remember why I decided to carry it in the first place) and took the lead. I didn't shake O'Keefe but managed to stay ahead to finish in a seasons best/only time. O'Keefe pushed his 2:05 PB to the limit but the relatively slow first lap probably didn't help the cause.

The long jump turned out to be the ugliest event of all. After the 800m O'Keefe and I were dead-legged. Jacqui jumped out to distance almost beating her previous seasons best but as already mentioned Saunders, who was fresh thanks to the absence of coach Ryder, dominated the lactic-riddled runners.

The event was great fun and I will be back to defend next season and I will again beat all-comers (or should that be no-showers)!

Official Results
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200m
1. Hugo Leeney 26.5
2. Don 26.9
3. Alan 27.26
4. Shane O'Rourke 30.73
5. Jacqui 31.35

Javelin
1. Hugo Leeney 38.87
2. Alan 27.50
3. Shane O'Rourke 22.92
4. Don 19.60
5. Jacqui 11.94

800m
1. Hugo Leeney 2:03.9
2. Alan 2:06.2
3. Don 2:23.6
4. Shane O'Rourke 2:26.0

Long Jump (After the 800m! BAD IDEA)
1. Patrick Saunders 5.03m
2. Hugo 4.38m
3. Alan 4.13m
4. Jacqui 3.81m

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Club Championshhips 2007

Crusadesr AC club championships takes place tomorrow, Thursday 16th August from 6:30pm. All members are welcome. The competition will take the form of a small meet with events of various disciplines (sprints, distance, throws, jumps).

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Victory in Switzerland for Flemming

Steven Flemming won a long jump competition in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland over the weekend with a 7.22m effort. No progress on the Carlos O'Connell record of 7.63 yet but he must have a few competitions left so we wish him all the best.

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McDonald, Coghlan in Loughborough

In the 110m hurdles Peter Coghlan ran 14.15 in a heat and 14.06 (SB) to finish 6th. In what we understand to be a B race Ian McDonald won his final in 14.38 (+0.7 wind).

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Dissapointment for Chammers in WSG

There was only disappointment for Thomas Chamney in the world Student Games in Bangkok. In the semi-final he finished in 4th (3 automatic qualifiers) having lead with 50m to go. He was only hundredths of a second outside a fastest losers spot. In his own words he feels 'fried' after a very long season including his last American varsity outdoors and probably more races than any other Irish athlete.

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Kenny's Heroes

'Wash out' is probably the best way to describe the National Club League final that took place yesterday in Tullamore. Monsoon like rain fell on and off all day (moreso on) and seriously dampened athletes and officials efforts. Crusaders men competed in the premier division. It is 3 years since the men last won the competition. They came second 2 years ago and failed to qualify for the final last year so qualification in 8th place was itself an improvement. With the prospect of the return to club competition of many of the clubs elite competitors the possibility of a top 3 finish looked good. Unfortunately, as it worked out the team that traveled to Tullamore was well understrength. At the end of the day the team lay 7th between Tullamore in 8th and Menapians in 6th.

Positive aspects of the day include the appearance of young Topay Odelade in the 200m and 100m. Alan O'Keefe came out to run 16:14 in the 5000m, a good performace under torrential rain. Ruairi O'Briain put in a solid series in the vault, topping out at 4.60m to beat national champion Anthony McCreary for the second time this season. His comeback seems to be very much underway. Much missed hammer thrower George Eyres came out and took 6 throws breaking 50m with his 3rd throw (great to see him competing again). In the final event, the 4x400m, a team of Steven McDonald, Eoin Cummins, Simon Kenny and Hugo Leeney ran the fastest time of the year for a Crusaders team bringing the baton home in 3:30 and taking a creditable 3rd place.

North Down took the title for the third year in a row beating main rivals Clonliffe Harriers 117 to 113.5. Full results are available here.

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UCD Track

The subject of much gossip and speculation over the years the future of UCD track seems finally to have been decided & made public. UCD have recently awarded the contract for its Gateway Project to Ingenhoven Architects. In their design for the campus upgrade (best view is on their website here) there is no sign of the old tartan ring. Some say the college is planning a new track (6 lanes is the popular view) on the other side of the campus closer to the sports centre.

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Coghlan - Netherlands

Peter Coghlan won a 110m h race over the weekend in Keien, the Netherlands in 14.29 into a 0.4 headwind.

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Mens Team Qualify in Club League

Crusaders Senior men narrowly beat meath into 8th spot to qualify for the ESB National League final. Lying 9th going into round 2 there was a lot of pressure on the team that didn't qualify last year. The margin was just 1 point with Crusaders scoring 180 points over 2 rounds and Meath 179. The team are probably most grateful for the presence of Kevin Burke and Steven Flemming both who flew in from the UK for the competition. Peter Coghlan also lifted spirits, he competed in the 4x100m relay (and guested in the 110m H). New faces Sean Ryan and Maxime ??? also Contributed to the points tally in the Javelin and 4x100m respectively. Hopefully both will be available for the final. Competition was stiff at the top with Leevale, North Down and Menapians spanning just 5 points in the top 3 positions. Crusaders women did not qualify for the Division 1 final.Write the rest of the article here.

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