Great results at the Avondhu Championships
It’s been a busy time for Fanahan McSweeney AC of late. Hot off the Indoor Championships in Athlone and closer to home, the Avondhu Championships were held in MTU last Saturday. A large contingent of our athletes, coaches and supporters were in attendance ready to show their north Cork neighbours that they meant business.
Our group of approximately sixty athletes were well represented in various events on the day. In the boys U8, Liam O’Rourke took gold in the 200m. In U9 boys, Ross Thornton, Paddy Barron and Dylan Kenny came in first, second and third in the long jump. Ross took gold again in the 60m and turbo javelin, with Dylan right behind him in the sprint, and James Hegarty coming in third place in the turbo javelin. In the U10 boys Thomas Burke won gold in the long jump, Niall Towey the silver and Hugo Sarsfield the bronze.
Eoghan Finn won gold in the turbo javelin. In the U11 boys events Darragh Crowley won the long jump, the shot putt, the turbo javelin and got silver in the 60m sprint. Aaron Horgan came third in the long jump, second in the shot putt and turbo javelin, and joint third in the 60m. In boys U12, Killian O’Grady got bronze in the shot putt and Mikey Hurley hit gold in the turbo javelin. Michael Quirke came first place in the 80m sprint and third in the turbo javelin. His cousin Charlie O’Brien came third in the long jump. It was a hat trick in the boys U13 events starting with the long jump, with David Towey coming first, followed by Sean Riordan and Eoin Toland. In the shot putt the order was changed with Sean in the gold position, followed by David and Eoin. In the 80m, it was Sean, Eoin and David and in the 600m, it was Sean, David and Eoin. A massive day of competition for these lads who were joined by Michael Quirke to win the U13 relay also. Fintan O’Grady took gold in the U14 shot putt.
Girl power was on display on the day too. In girls U9, Lucy Thornton got silver in the long jump, with clubmate Cara Hutchinson coming in bronze. The trio of Saoirse Horgan, Cara Hutchinson and Lucy Thornton came in one, two and three in the U9 sprint. Saoirse also won the 300m and got bronze in the turbo javelin. In U10 girls, Aoibh McCarthy jumped for the gold in the long jump and got bronze in the 60m and the 500m. Zoe O’Connor sprinted to first place in the 60m and Faye Clifford threw her best javelin to get third place. Molly Thornton won the shot putt, long jump, and 60m in the girls U11 events.
Clubmates Suin Dingivan and Beth Hegarty took second and third in the long jump, Aoife Hutchinson bronze in the 60m, and Eva Horgan won gold in the turbo javelin. In the U12 girls Ava Thornton won gold in the 60m sprint and Jane Horgan came third in the U13 80m. In the U14 long jump and shot putt Cara Burke dominated, winning double gold. Orla MacCallum also won double on the individual events of long jump and shot putt in U16, with Katie Linehan getting the gold in the 100m sprint and silver in the long jump. Vanessa Burke came in bronze medal position in the long jump, giving Fanahan McSweeney AC another hat trick of the competition. There was also relay success for the U10 boys (second and third), U12 boys (first and second), U14 boys (first), U10 girls (first), U12 girls (first and second), and U16 girls (first). Although we only listed the medal winners, there were many other fine athletes competing last Saturday. A huge thank you to the Avondhu Athletics Committee for their hard work in running a busy and enjoyable day.
A few hardy souls who didn’t empty the tank on Saturday took the road east on Sunday to Ferrybank AC open day. Ferrybank is a well established athletic club in Waterford City, well known as the club of Olympian Thomas Barr. Four U13 boys, Sean Riordan, Oran Hegarty, Eoin Toland and David Towey took on the Déise and showed some rebel power. Sean took gold in the shot putt, middle distance and relay. Oran took bronze in the shot putt and gold in the relay. Eoin took bronze in the sprint and relay gold, and David silver in the high jump (up a year) and gold in the relay. A great day was reported by all and invaluable race experience.
Fanahan McSweeney AC is taking a well-earned rest for the Easter break. Wishing all of our athletes and their families a wonderful Easter!