Limerick athletics: Young stars shine at the National Juvenile Championships

THE weather Gods didn’t smile, as conditions were extremely wet throughout the fifth edition of the Michal Rejmer 10 Mile Road Race in Patrickswell last Sunday.

However the sun definitely shone for Conor O’Brien as the West Limerick man won a highly competitive race in a time of 53:22. Niall Shanahan of An Bru was second  this time in 54:10. Declan Guina of West Limerick was third in 54:20. 

First Dooneen man was Cillian Higgins fourth overall in 54:38 with Anthony Doran of Clonliffe  Harriers fifth in 56:19. Liam Dunne of the recently formed  Back 2 Boston was sixth in 57:41. M50 James McIntyre, Tulla AC 1:02:46, second M50 was Alex Kelly of Back 2 Boston in 1:03:00, M60 Colm O’Cathasaigh 1:09:49. Dooneen were first Men’s team with West Limerick second and Back 2 Boston third.

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Kealey Tideswell of Clonmel AC was the winner of the women’s race in a course record time of 1:00:31. 

She was followed in second by Tracey Johnson, (also first Dooneen lady) in a time of 1:07:52. 

Bilboa’s Pamela Kirby took the ‘bronze medal’ in 1:08:16. Ellen Cronin of Liffey Valley was fourth in 1:08:38 with Maeve Collins fifth in 1:08:54. F40 Siobhan O’Doherty (Borrisokane) in 1:08:50, F50 Roisin Doran Limerick Triathlon Club in 1:11:54, F55 Anne MacPhail in 1:14:55, F60 Martina Ryan in 1:35:54, F65 Susanne Ui Dhalaigh in 1:23:59.

Dooneen through Tracey Johnson, Liz Wilmot, Anne MacPhail and Karen Raine were first club from West Limerick in second.

There was a total of 290 finishers which was up on last year. Thanks to chief sponsors Holmes O’Malley Sexton Solicitors, Limerick Racecourse, run director Sinead McDermott  and the many marshals, volunteers  and all at Dooneen AC who made the event a success.

National Juvenile Indoor Championships

The National Juvenile Indoors took place in Athlone last weekend. 

Some highlights from a Limerick perspective included Leyna Halpin Colclough of West Limerick who threw 7.84m in the Girls U12 Shot earning her a national bronze medal. Killian Coman (Limerick AC) won the U15 Boy’s 800m in 2.06. Gyte Andrijauskaite (Dooneen AC) won silver in the U16 Girls Shot-put, throwing 11.96m. 

Darragh Whelan (Limerick AC) won the U16 Boys 800m in 1.57, breaking an 11-year-old championship record in the process.  Megan O’Shea (Dooneen AC) just missed out on the medals finishing fourth in the U18 girls 60m Hurdles. 

Tiernan Quaid (Dooneen AC) won the U12 Boys 60m, clocking 8.79 seconds. Caitlin Garvey (Dooneen AC) finished sixth in the U15 Girls Walk. Niamh Hynes finished fifth in the 400m final, running a pb in her heat. Emer Purtill (Dooneen AC) finished third in the U18 Girls Long Jump. Meabh Purtill (Dooneen AC) won silver in the U19 Girls Long Jump. 

Interclub Challenge

West Limerick AC are looking forward to welcoming Killarney Valley AC to Newcastle West on April 19 for their inaugural Inter Club Challenge. Cowpers Jewellers have kindly sponsored a trophy for this new event. The idea is to provide a fun and competitive outing for members ahead of the County Championships  in Newcastle West in May

Abroad

Dooneen’s Robert McCarthy ran the Ghent Marathon in Belgium in an excellent time of 3:33:41. Doonen’s Shona Keane ran the Berlin Half Marathon in a time of 1:21 in the German capital. 

Fixtures

The Limerick Run Series 10 Mile takes place on Sunday, April 19 in Castleconnell - enter through Eventmaster.