DOYLE DELIGHTED
Clonliffe athlete edges to victory in a dramatic 1500m
THERE was no shortage of drama and thrills at the National Indoor Championships at the Sport Ireland Arena yesterday.
Clonliffe’s Cathal Doyle held off Nick Griggs in one of the great championship races in the men’s 1500m, with both athletes diving over the line in the weekend’s most dramatic track finish. Doyle ultimately got the nod in 3:49.11, with Griggs just four-hundreths of a second behind him.
‘It’s not the first dive I’ve had to do across the line, but it was worth it today,’ said Doyle. ‘I’m not sure if I would have taken the win without it, I’ve lost on a dive before so I wasn’t taking any chances. I knew Nick wasn’t going to be slowing down at the line so I’m delighted I was able to hang on against such a talented athlete.’
Carla Sweeney of Rathfarnham defended her 1500m title with a from-the-front performance to cross in 4:21.61, Ellie Hartnett and Lucy Homles completing the podium.
Leevale’s Louise Shanahan regained her 2022 800m title in 2:03.54, breaking Ciara Mageean’s 2016 championship record in the process. Shanahan was challenged by Georgie Hartigan for much of the race, before kicking clear to seal the title.
The men’s 800m went the way of Cian McPhillips (UCD AC), who claimed his first senior indoor track title in 1:52.79.
The 400m races were just as compelling, headlined by an impressive showing from Newport’s Sharlene Mawdsley, who crossed in 52.04 to pick up her first 400m indoor title.
Mawdsley, who finished ahead of relay teammate Sophie Becker, said: ‘I wanted to get to the break first and get out as fast as I could. I’m happy with the performance and the win was the goal this weekend.’
The men’s 400m gold went to Cillin Greene (Galway City Harriers) in 47.20, with David Ryan second and Brandon Arrey in third. The 60m sprints provided two very popular winners. Tallaght’s Israel Olatunde made it three senior indoor titles in a row, matching his three 100m outdoor titles. Olatunde warmed up through the rounds, posting 6.85 in the heats, 6.72 in the semi-final, before a gold medal run of 6.71.
Olatunde was pushed all the way in a final stacked with a host of emerging sprint talent. Bori Akinola followed Olatunde home in 6.76, with Sean Aigboboh 6.77 completing the podium.
Molly Scott won back the 60m title she had last held in 2019 to complete a very successful weekend, having taken silver in yesterday’s 60m hurdles behind Sarah Lavin.
Scott, continuing her return from a long-term injury, posted 7.36 to take gold ahead of defending champion Sarah Leahy and Mollie O’Reilly.
‘I got out of the blocks as hard as I could today and didn’t think about anyone else,’ said Scott.