Galway Olympian Olive Loughane was the impressive winner of the Dublin Grand Prix of Race Walking in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday.
Competing in the women’s 20km event, Loughnane continued her recent march towards the podium at the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Berlin with a commanding victory over the Olympic bronze medallist Elisa Rigaudo to win in a seasons best of 1.30.57.
In a field in which athletes from 20 nations competed, Loughnane led from the gun, boosting her confidence ahead of the World Championships.
Galway athletes were also to the fore at the the Woodies DIY juvenile team competition in Templemore. Shane Jennings and Oisin McCormack of Ballinalsoe & District AC were the stars of the show when they teamed up to win both the u-9 boys 60m and 300m finals with a combined times of 14.96 and 1:48.14 respectively. In the 300m final they had Athenry duo Lee Brandon and Dean Treacy for company in the medal rostrum when they took the bronze medals in 1:51.63.
The u-10 girls 60m final also yielded strong Galway performances with Athenry’s Lisha Woods and Niamh Hannon taking gold in 19.50 and Sarah Fletcher and Emma Reynolds of Ballinasloe & District taking bronze in 19.91. GCH pair Roisin Flynn and Sarah McDonnell paired up to win silver in the u-11 girls 600m, while their clubmates Kelly Bronson and Liam Costello took bronze in the u11 boys 600m in 3:50.30
At the Schools Interprovincial Tara Hession of Taylors Hill was Galway’s top performer with a silver medal in the 300m.
Laura Shaughnessy of Loughrea AC was the Galway at the junior & u-23 championships when winning the junior 5,000m in an impressive 17:32, while Cathriona Farrell of Craughwell cleared 1.75 to equal her personal best when comfortably winning the junior girls’ high jump further vindicating her selection for the European Youth Championships to be held in Finland later this month. Sarah Finnegan, also of Craughwell, was another to impress with gold in the triple jump in a personal best 10.18m and frther gold in the 100m hurdles with 17.67.
Eanna O’Cathain of Galway City Harriers picked up the bronze medal in the junior men’s shot putt, while Rachel Finnegan of Craughwell AC claimed the bronze medal in the junior ladies’ 400m hurdles. Micheal Breathnach of GCH maintained a strong family tradition when he threw an impressive 49.97 to win silver in the u-23 javelin.
