O’Gibne strikes gold
THERE is no stopping Boyne AC athlete Ruarcan O’Gibne, who once again dominated the field as he took gold in the 1,500m Steeplechase in the Tailteann Games last weekend.
Held in the Morton Stadium in Santry this event brings together the All Ireland Intermediate School champions from across the country, all vying to compete for the opportunity to progress onto the International School Championships set to take place in Kent, London.
Although the clouds threatened rain, the day stayed fine and from early morning the athletes began to arrive en masse, with the top athletes from each of the four provinces set to compete against each other in over 40 events, with Leinster taking the overall winners trophy in both the girls and boys events.
The competition was fierce, and none more so than in the Intermediate 1,500m Steeplechase, where Ruarcan lined up alongside nine other competitors, each determined to qualify for the Irish team.
Ruarcan repeated his fine gold medal winning performance from the All Ireland Schools event in early June, taking an early commanding lead once again.
Some fantastic distance running and hurdling over the barriers saw him deservedly cross the line in first place, booking himself a spot on the Irish team who take on Wales, England and Scotland in the upcoming International competition.
The previous weekend saw the final days of the Athletics Leinster Championships take place, this time at a wet and windy Tullamore. While the Steeplechase seems to be the event of choice for Ruarcan at the moment, he took the opportunity on this occasion to compete over the 1,500m distance, without the barriers and water jump this time, securing a well earned silver medal for his efforts, in a time of 4.24.94.
Niamh Kelly made it a double on the winners podium, with a bronze in both her u19 Long Jump and 400m Hurdles.
Younger sister Kate took a well deserved silver in the u14 Shot Putt with a throw of 11.42m, she finished in a fine fifth place in the Javelin, and also competed well in the Long Jump.
Euan Canniffe had another succesful competition as he took silver in the u14 Javelin. With a fine throw of 32.67m, he was unlucky to just miss out on a medal in the 75m Hurdles and also competed well in the Shot Putt.
Killian McLoughlin continues to make a great return from injury, as he competed well in both the 200m and 1,500m race, as did clubmates Calum Sheedy in the 1,500m and Tom Cummins in the u15 200m and 800m events.
Eva Cummins and Lorcan Hughes both ran well in their respective u17 800m races, as did Zoe Shiels in the u18 200m.