Chamney wins European Team Championship in Hungary
Thomas Chamney crosses the line first to win valuable points for Ireland.
Thomas Chamney produced a commanding performance on Sunday last to claim victory for Ireland at the European Team Championships 1st League in Budapest, Hungary. Racing over 800m, he was one of just 3 individual winners as Ireland maintained 1st league status having been promoted to this level of competition just last year.
In a highly competitive race, Thomas ran with a cool head, sitting in the pack until 250m from the finish before cutting through the field to pull away to win the last 100m. Lithuania’s Vitalij Koslov lead from the gun in an honest pace but began to fade with the final straight left as Thomas, Holland’s Robert Lathowers and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Holusa made their dash for home but Tom had too much and held on to win in a time of 1:47.86 to Holusa’s 1:48.03 and Lathowers clinging on for third.
It was an important victory as Holusa is one of Europe’s top middle distance athletes at the moment, having placed 5th at the recent World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. Thomas was understandably satisfied with the win, “I felt great from the gun. I was boxed in at one point but remained patient and I knew space would open up. It did and I took full advantage. I’m delighted because some of those athletes I beat today are going to be in the mix in Barcelona and it’s always good to put yourself up against those guys and come out on top. And of course, I’m delighted to contribute maximum points to the team effort.”
Thomas’s next race will be the IAAF Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain on July 2 where he will again race over 800m. He is currently at altitude in the French Pyrenees preparing for this race and the upcoming European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.