Byrne, Moore and O’Hagan lead stunning medal return

GLENMORE AC juvenile athletes were out in force on Sunday last as they welcomed the return of the track and field season at Bush PPS.

Molly Anne Moore and Marc Byrne got the day off to a winning start in the field events. They both topped the podium with two first place finishes in the U17 long jump competition, with Molly Anne jumping out of age.

The junior athletes enjoyed lots of sprint success. Emily O’Hagan stormed through the U8 60m heat, semi-final and final to win gold. Conor Gallagher and Archie Oliver put in some great runs in the boys’ U8 60m to claim second and third place respectively.

In the boys’ U11 competition, cousins Ethan Kane and Jamie Kane put the competition through their paces powering through their heats and semis. Ethan, ultimately, came out on top to win the final with Jamie finishing in a fantastic third place. Harry McArdle also claimed a third place podium finish in the U13 80m sprints – a great start to the season for Harry.

In the 100m sprint competitions, Glenmore AC athletes claimed three more medals. Gillian Tuohy stormed down the home straight in a very competitive U15 girls’ final to claim a silver medal for the club. Molly Anne Moore claimed her second medal of the day with a photo finish on the line of the U16 girls’ 100m to claim bronze. Marc Byrne finished the sprint medal haul to claim a second medal, a silver in the U17 boys’ 100m final.

It was back to the field events with lots more medals on offer. Emily O’Hagan added to her sprint success, taking her second gold medal of the day in the U8 turbo javelin competition. Ivan Kane also put on a fantastic display of throwing to claim a bronze medal in the boys’ U8 competition. Eabha McGrath also managed to bag herself a third place medal in the U11 turbo javelin competition. Caoimhe Galligan put on a great display of her throwing abilities to claim a very worthy silver medal in a very competitive U12 turbo competition.

Oscar Connolly made a welcome return to the shot putt circle, competing in the U16 boys’ competition. He had three good throws, enough to claim a silver medal. Marc Byrne finished off the day of throws, making it three medals from three competitions. He led from the first throw in the U18 boys’ shot putt competition, to claim another gold medal – a fantastic day’s performance from this talented athlete.

Ethan Kane and Lily McDonald finished up the field competitions with two more medals in long jump. They both put in some great jumps in a jam-packed competition, with Ethan finishing second in the U11 competition and Lily finishing third in the rain-drenched U9 event.

It was back to the track for the much anticipated distance races. Emily O’Hagan made it three gold medals from three races, winning the U8 300m race with ease. Conor Gallagher led the boys’ U8 300m race from start to finish to claim gold, with Archie Oliver hot on his heels to pocket the bronze medal – the second medal of the day for both of these boys.

Jamie Kane also claimed his second medal in the U11 600m race. He fought off some tough competition to finish in a very well-deserved third place. In the boys’ U12 600m race, Glenmore AC dominated the podium. Conor Finnegan practically sprinted around the 600m course to top the podium, with Aaron Finnegan claiming a fantastic third place spot on the podium in a very competitive race.

Two more Glenmore AC athletes were rewarded with podium finishes in the boys’ U13 600m, with Dylan Murphy and Toby Fleming claiming second and third places respectively. Perhaps the Glenmore AC performance of the day went to Meabh Walsh who led the U14 girls’ 800m race from start to finish, opening up a 150m gap between herself and the rest of the field to take a very well-deserved gold medal.

Patrick Oliver ran a very tactical race to see off some close competition in the boys’ U15 event, pocketing himself a silver medal for his troubles. Molly Anne Moore was the final Glenmore AC athlete on the track in the girls’ U16 800m. She claimed her third medal of the day, finishing the race in second place.

All in all a great day for Glenmore AC athletes. Huge well done to all our athletes, with many competing for the first time. We look forward to the Louth Championships in 4 weeks time. A special word of thanks to Louth Athletics for organising the Pre-Louth Championships and to all the club volunteers who helped make the competition a great success.