As the track and field season comes to a close, Olympian YAC’s athletes were right in the thick of the action over the past few weeks with various All Ireland competitions and medals were plenty.
Club notes:
Our mighty young Olympian’s recently contested Days 1, 2 and 3 of the All Ireland Track and Field Championships, held in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
Sean Mc Ginley competed within the U17 Boy’s 3,000m. After cruising to a Gold medal in this event in an extremely impressive 9mins01secs at the Ulster and N.Ireland Championships, this was the first time he competed at this distance at this level and as always, he competed with grit, determination and great heart.
The serious heat made it difficult conditions for all the distance runners on the day but Sean coped extremely well and walked away with a tremendously well-deserved Bronze medal to round off what has been a truly sensational season for him, adding yet another All Ireland medal to his ever-expanding collection of accolades.
Sean also competed well within the 1500m, placing 7th overall, no doubt his earlier exploits taking some of the sting out of the legs.
Fresh from his bronze medal in the U19 Boys Long Jump at the Ulster and N. Ireland Championships, Donal Hughes continued his great jumping form in this his last year at juvenile level, as he leapt out to an impressive 5.98m to brilliant 6th place. Donal has improved greatly this year, adding an incredible 50cm to his last years personal best, which was a fantastic way to bring a close to his season.
Lara Faul, who qualified for the All Ireland Championships by claiming Silver and Bronze medals within the U17 Girls Discus and Javelin at the Ulster and N. Ireland Championships, equipped herself brilliantly at this level to place 7th in the Discus and 10th in the Javelin respectively.
The ever-improving, Ciara Doherty, contested the U16 Girls 1500m having qualified for the first time ever for these championships. She ran out of her skin and was rewarded with an excellent new PB of 5mins07secs to place a wonderful 8th in a very highly competitive field.
Ellen O’ Donnell also competing at this level for the first time showed great technical ability and potential by throwing a new PB of 16.57m in the U14 Girl’s javelin to place a very creditable 12th.
Last but certainly not least, Oisin Teape, contested the U17 Boys 200m and 100m. He competed brilliantly to come 5th and 6th in his respective heats and also walked away with a terrific new PB within the 200m of 24.89secs, which is an impressive 0.5secs off his previous PB, which augers well for the future progress of this dedicated athlete who has only come into the sport recently.
SILVER LINING AT ALL IRELAND TRACK AND FIELD” B” CHAMPIONSHIPS
The club finished off the track and field season on a high at the recent All Ireland Track and Field B Championships held in Tullamore, Co. Offaly. This competition was for athletes who contested their respective provincial championships who did not make the top four in their respective events to qualify for the All Ireland A Championships. The small group of three athletes came home with not one but two Silver All Ireland medals.
The first of the medals was picked up by Bonnie Gillard in the u13 Girls 80m sprint. After qualifying from her heat as third-fastest qualifier, she was brimming with confidence and blasted out of the blocks to put the pressure on the rest of the field and powered her way to a fantastic PB of 11.2secs to claim a brilliant Silver medal.
Anna Russell, also ripped up the track in the u12 Girls 600m. From the gun she put herself in medal contention and did not let up one bit throughout the race; kicking around the top bend to the finish to put clear daylight between herself and the rest of the field and finished in a new PB time of 1min53secs and claim an excellent Silver medal.
Our last competitor of the day, Ellie Mc Michael nearly made it three medals out of three but unfortunately missed out on a bronze medal on countback in the u15 Girls High Jump. She can certainly hold her head high and be proud of herself as she did her very best and achieved a new PB of 1.35m, which you could not ask for any more.
WELL DONE / THANK YOU
Well done to all our athletes who competed magnificently and with great Olympian heart not just over the past few weekends, but throughout the whole season.
All the coaches could not be prouder of every single athlete who turns up to train and/ or compete.
Thank you to all the coaches and parents for all your support throughout the whole year.
TRAINING
The club will now be taking a break for the remainder of the summer and shall return on Tuesday the 3rd September. We hope that everyone enjoys the rest of their summer and we all look forward to the season ahead.
