More superb performances
Ray Flynn was enthused by a number of recent excellent displays from Sligo athletes
ANOTHER busy athletics week has just ended and we’ve had another decent week of Sligo performances. In fact, world-class is the correct word to use for the run of north Sligo athlete Christopher O’Donnell in the Czech Republic last Tuesday afternoon.
Chris continues on his upward curve of form as the season continues on the road to the Olympic Games in Tokyo at the end of July.
He ran a superb 45.86 seconds for 400 metres to finish second in a high-class race. In doing so he broke the 46-second barrier for this distance and set a lifetime best.
The performance propels him to seventh on the Irish all-time list but, more importantly, puts him into contention for an individual place in the 400 metres in Tokyo.
In last weekend’s Athletics Ireland Junior and U-23 Championships, bronze was the predominant colour of the medals won by Sligo athletes. Lauren Cadden, returning from injury, ran a good race to win a bronze medal in the U-23 Women 200 metres final. Elizabeth Tighe will be delighted with her bronze medal in the Junior Women 100 metres Hurdles decider, while race walker Ruth Monaghan picked up a bronze Junior Women 3,000 metres Walk and fellow race walker Eva Delahunt filled a similar position in the U-23 Women 3,000 metres Walk.
Other notable Sligo performances at a sun-drenched Morton Stadium, Santry, came from Tireragh AC’s Shane Mooney, who was fourth in the U-23 Men 200 metres final and fifth in the U-23 Men 100 metres showdown.
Erin Taheny was another sprinter who finished fifth in a national final – her position was in the Junior Women 200 metres category.
On Friday evening we saw a return to action on the track at IT Sligo for the county Juvenile Relay Championships, a meet which had a good turnout from all clubs in the county.
Well done to Sligo County Athletics Board for getting this competition up and running after the recent lockdown.
This weekend we have the biggest weekend on the domestic athletics calendar with the Athletics Ireland National Senior Championships taking place in Santry’s Morton Stadium.
Sligo interest will be huge with Christopher O’Donnell leading the charge for medals. The Grange star will be defending his 400 metres crown – which will be no easy task – and, in the process, will be looking for Olympic points to enable him to run the 400 metres in Tokyo. Good luck to him in that quest.
Other Sligo athletes hoping to make the podium will be Lauren Cadden, Finley Daly and Ruth Monaghan. John Travers will also be defending his 1500 metres title, while another Sligo-based athlete Jake O’Regan will have his eyes set on a 10,000 metres medal. It promises to be a weekend to remember and RTÉ will have extensive coverage.