Double delight for Boyne club

BOYNE AC athletes scooped gold and silver on a thrilling day three of the National Indoor Juvenile Championships in Athlone on Sunday.

In all, eight athletes from Boyne were in action, having all having qualified in the top four of their provincial competition.

First to the track, Danny Nugent ran a super 800m race but was unlucky to miss out on a place in the final, finishing 3rd in his heat. Tom Cummins ran well in his heat of the U-17 Boys 800m, as did sister Eva in the U-19 Girls race.

Tadgh Everitt Thompson ran a strong race in the Boys U-18 800m, as did Ruarcan O’Gibne, who ran a tactical heat to ensure his place in the final of the U-19 event.

The hurdles were the next track events to take place, allowing the middle distance runners a chance to rest before their finals.

Aaron Fennell ran well in his heat, qualifying for the final of the Boys U-13 60m hurdles, while in the Girls U-16 race Lili O’Connor ran well despite a bad nosebleed on the start line.

National outdoor champion Tara Meier sailed through her heat of the U-17 Girls hurdles in 8.91sec, crossing the line first to secure her place in the final.

With a short rest, Ruarcan O’Gibne was back on the track for the final of the U-19 Men’s 800m, and from the outset he ran with pure grit and determination.

Sitting comfortably on the shoulder of the leader for the first two laps, Ruarcan knew he had the strength to finish well, and at the bell he took the lead and a furious battle ensued, with the race leader now playing catch-up.

With just metres to go, the two were neck and neck, but the conservation of energy in the first 600m paid dividends for Ruarcan as his competitor could not sustain the momentum, leaving the Boyne athlete to grab the victory and the National title - all in a fantastic time of 1.57.92 which was a split second outside his PB time.

Aaron Fennell was then back in action for his 60m hurdle finals and another exciting battle ensued, with Aaron just missing out on a podium place, finishing in a very respectable fourth place and setting a new PB time of 9.93sec.

With barely a moment for the parents and coaches from Boyne to compose themselves, Tara Meier was the focus in the U-17 Girls hurdles final.

A great start from this talented young lady saw her glide comfortably over each hurdle, stride for stride with her nearest competitor, and on the line it took a photo-finish picture to separate the two, with Tara awarded the silver medal by a hair’s breath, and again setting a new PB time of 8.84sec.

Day two of the championships were held the previous weekend when Aaron Fennel competed in the U-13 shot putt, finishing fifth with a new PB of 10.21m. Killian Ekhator finished fourth overall in the final of the U-12 60m sprint, while Alex Devine was also fourth in his heat of the 60m sprint.