Successful weekend for athletes
LAST weekend was a busy time for track and field athletes competing for Wicklow across the country. Saturday saw one of the show piece events for regional athletes across the country as Wicklow athletes competed in the Leinster Championships in Tullamore. Most Wicklow clubs amalgamated together and competed under the team name Slí Clualann although some athletes were there representing their individual clubs such as Kilcoole AC.
Both male and female athletes competed across three age categories which were Junior, Senior and Masters and all in all it was a huge weekend of success with Wicklow athletes coming home with a number of medals as well as personal PBs and a host of top performances.
The Junior event was an area where Wicklow were particularly strong this year. Junior events cater for athletes between the ages of 16 and 20. Teenager Troy Scully had a fantastic performance in the 3000m steeplechase and came home top of the podium in first place. Niamh Kearney was the pick of the crop of the women’s side of the Senior event as she set the track ablaze with a championship PB of 11 minutes 10 seconds to win the 3000m steeplechase on the women’s side.
Wicklow’s German born ath- lete Anna Lena Gena continued the haul of success as she took the 400m crown in a sub minute time of 58.41 seconds while Katie Conroy completed the trio of victories for the Wicklow women as she romped home to win the senior 800m in a time of 2 minutes 22 seconds.
Aoife Conroy added to the medal bucket on the day as she had a third place finish and a place on the podium in the 400m hurdles in a time of 67 seconds dead.
On the men’s side of the senior draw, Tim Gummell was best on the day for Wicklow as he finished second in the 1500m. Notable mention must also go to David Coyle who ran a stellar race which was just short of a podium finish as he came home in 6th place in the 400m.
Turning to the masters section, which is the competition for participants over 35 there was continued unprecedented success for Wicklow athletes. John Baldwin completed a memorable double as he won both the 800 and 1500m in the over 55 category while Carl Costello won the over 40 800m in a time of 2 minutes 32 seconds. He was running for Kilcoole AC.
There were three further podium finishes in the Master’s men category for Wicklow. Tony Gartland came in in 3rd in the 3km walk while TJ Doyle overcame the disappointment of just missing out on a medal in the shot put with a second place standing in the long jump. Jim Boland completed the trio and Slí Clualann’s medal haul as he came 2nd in the 1500m and 3rd in the 400m while just missing out on the 800m, a versatile athlete he is.
Overall it was a day of huge success and is a real indication of the hard work going on across athletic clubs in Wicklow. Well done to all athletes and coaches involved.
Finally, there is also a notable mention for the hugely talented pair Roisín Tracey of Ashford AC and Gráinne Macklin. Roisín was competing in the All Ireland schools 1500m steeplechase and came home in 2nd place to win the silver medal. A talented athlete who we are likely to hear more about in the future.
Gráinne partook in a triathlon in Athy and came home with a very respectable time and placing.