Muireann Mc Ginley got day 2 of the Nationals off to a successful start with a gold medal winning jump in the Pole vault under 19 with a jump of 2m 75 , just 5 cm off her PB. Next into action were our two 400m athletes Caoimhe Lynam and Finn Burke-Power. Caoimhe was fighting a heavy cold and battled hard all the way despite feeling awful, didnt make the final but wasnt too far off her pb. Finn ran a steady pace in his heat and qualified easily for his final. Despite being ranked 4th going into his final he ran a well paced race and came 3rd in a new pb of 52.21. Finn has worked very hard all year and really deserved his bronze medal.
In the sprints which were held in horrible conditions Alison Burke and Chloe Corcoran both made their final with Alison finishing a very good 4th and Chloe finished 6th both in very tough competitions. Alison Burke started off Day 3 with a good run in her heat of the 250m hurdles and qualified well for the final. Unfortunately she false started and was disqualified in the final. In the 1500m races Sean Donoghue ( under 14) ran a great race and finished 5th in 4mins 39secs. Evan Mc Millan ran 4mins 24secs in his heat of the 1500m under 18 and Alison Armstrong was 6th in the final of the 1500m under 19. Chloe Corcoran ran herself to a standstill in the final of the under 15 girls 200m running 26.43 in 6th place having run a pb of 26.36 earlier in her heat. Well done to everyone!
For next Summer athletes should remember to check the fixture lists on Athletics Ireland well in advance before booking Gaeltachts and holidays so that they wont miss important competitions.
Celtic DCH 