Aoife takes Latvia by storm in sprints

AOIFE Cloke-Rochford (Bree) is the toast of Wexford athletics following her wonderful gold and silver medal-winning performances at the fifth C.S.I.T World Sports Games in Riga, Latvia, last week.

A member of the Athletics Leinster team, Aoife competed in the 100m and 200m races, her selection following on from her recent fine form both indoors and outdoors.

Her first event at the Zemgales Olimpiskais centre was the 100m. Aoife won her heat comfortably, doing just enough to take it.

In the final she looked majestic as she quickly took control of the race, storming home to take the gold in a new best time of 12.17s. This was a stunning performance from Aoife who, not withstanding the calibre of the opposition or the hot Latvian sun, looked completely at ease on the big stage.

There was little time for celebration as Aoife had less than 24 hours to recover and re-motivate herself for the heats of the 200m. She qualified with ease for the final in a time of 26.01s.

A couple of hours later she lined up in the final. Again she impressed, running a new outdoor best time of 25.18s to take a silver medal, just behind team-mate Sophie Becker.

A spokesperson for Bree A.C. said that the club is immensely proud of Aoife’s achievement. ‘She has been a model athlete throughout her under-age career and her continued success is testament to her commitment to the sport.’

This was Aoife’s second international trip, her first being the Celtic Games in 2016 when she was one of the gold medal-winning 4 x 100m relay team. On the strength of her performances in Riga, one can expect to see her pulling on the green singlet many times in the years ahead.

Athletics Leinster deserves praise for putting in place this new initiative, the purpose of which is to give young athletes competitive experience at international level.

Held every two years, the C.S.I.T. World Sports Games are based on the format of the ‘International Workers’ Olympiads’ of the 1920s and ‘30s. They feature athletes from a number of selected sports and from countries around the world. In total there are close to 8,000 participants. Further details are available at www.csit.tv.