This week, Shauna Bocquet of Craughwell AC heard the fantastic news that she was selected on the Irish team for the Paris Paralympic Games.
To top it off, she raced in front of a packed 60,000 crowd at the London Diamond league on Saturday, setting a new personal best and an Irish record of 1:48.42 over the 800m distance.
European U18 Championships
Four Galway athletes competed for a very successful Irish team in the European U18 Championships in Slovakia last week.
Orlaith Mannion of South Galway sailed through her 100m Hurdles heats on Thursday, and then placed seventh in her hurdles semi-final in 13.98.
Conor Penney soared through the qualification round in the High Jump, with a best leap of 2.05 on his second attempt to qualify for the final last Sunday. Penney exited at 1.93m in the final for 12th overall in Europe.
Savanagh O'Callaghan of Tuam AC placed a fine 16th overall in the Ladies 5000m Race Walk. Matthew Newell, also of Tuam capped off the Galway performances with a magnificent seventh place in the Men’s 5000m Walk.
Irish Schools International
A strong International Team of Schools athletes travelled to the Carmarthen Athletics Track, Wales, on Saturday, July 20.
Ben Moran of Presentation Athenry, Daniel Sangodele of the Bish, Tom McHugh of Clifden CS, Angela Cielecka of Taylors Hill, Lucy Hounkponou of Colaiste Baile Chlair, Lauren Kilduff of Gort CS, and Niamh Madden of Portumna CS.
Lauren Kilduff excelled in the 300m Hurdles on her international debut, clinching silver in a fantastic time of 43.40. Ben Moran placed a fine fifth in the Long Jump, with 6.30 metres, while Niamh Madden of Portumna CS was seventh in the Shot Putt.
Angela Cielecka anchored her 4x100m team to third place in the Relay event. Earlier that day she was a fantastic fourth in her 100m race with a time of 12.17s. Lucy Hounkponou ran a great PB in the Hurdles for 11.91s and seventh place. Daniel Sangodele was sixth in the Triple Jump with a very good 12.68m best, following on from his 8th place in the Long Jump. Finally, Tom McHugh was a very impressive fifth overall in the Discus.
National Juvenile Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The second weekend of the National Juvenile Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held in Tullamore last weekend, with numerous Galway clubs securing silverware after two great days of competition.
Craughwell AC secured medals via their U17s Boys’ relay team. The boys raced to the National 4x100m title in a time of 44.66, with Joshua Whyte, Kai Watters, Toyosi George, Sean Hoade and Cian Brady. The U17 girls’ team were also victorious with Emma O’Donovan, Megan Devane, Aeveen Kelly and Rachel Warde showing excellent baton skills to win a fantastic silver in a time of 50.52. Declan O’Connell won a brilliant bronze in the U17 3000m, clocking an 8:55 personal best. Darragh Kelly made a triumphant return to the podium with bronze in the U18 High Jump, with a 1.80m clearance.
GCH won individual medals at the Juvenile B championships via U12 Long Jumper Emma Barry, who took gold, and later claimed bronze over the 60m sprint. In the U13 Long Jump Darcy Noel won gold also. In the U13 High Jump Benas Navickas won gold, while in the U12 60m, Mathis Cullinane Vaux claimed bronze.
In the Juvenile Relays, GCH secured three team medals, winning gold in the U18 Girls' 4x400m, silver in the U13 Boys' 4x100m, and bronze in the U19 Girls' 4x400m event.
International Angela Cielecka travelled back from Wales to become National sprint champion with a huge PB of 12.06, winning the U17 100m. Tom McHugh also excelled in the Discus, stretching his 43m first round throw to 44m plus in the final round, and securing his first National clubs gold. GCH won two further medals, as Shane McGovern delivered a new 400m PB of 51.45s to surge to second place in a wonderfully executed final, and Kevin Sangodele added the Under 15 Outdoor Triple Jump title to his Indoor success with a massive new PB of 11.41m.
South Galway AC secured silver via Sinéad Maher in the U19 Girls' 3,000m, while clubmate Ciarán Kelleher won a superb gold in the U16 Boys 3,000m Walk - leading from the gun.
Tuam AC had a great championship, with the highlights being a superb gold medal win for Danielle Moynihan, who won the U18 400m title in Tullamore in a new lifetime best of 58.21, and via Ciara Gilmore, who had the race of her life as she won the U18 3000m Race Walk title in 16.50.74.
In the U14 Girls' 2000m Race Walk, the Tuam AC trio of Cuisle O’Callaghan (gold ), Teagan Rooney (silver ) and Roisin Steede Duffy (bronze ) created history, as the Galway club became the first ever to have three athletes fill the podium of an event at these championships.
Loughrea AC athlete Darragh Fahy won yet another gold, this time in the All-Ireland U18 Triple Jump. Fahy has won gold in every competition he has participated in this year in the Triple jump. He set a new SB performance of 13.43 metres.
West Coast AC star sprinter Lemar Lucciano powered home in style to take the U18 100m Gold medal, to add to his National Indoor 60m title.
Noah Quinn of Loch Lurgan won gold in the U15 Boys' 800m National B finals Saturday last.
Seán Doggett of Athenry was a comfortable winner of the U19 400m final on Day 2 of the National Juvenile Championships, his final Juvenile outing.
Athenry won a bronze medal in the throws also, via newcomer Daniel Lumumba in the Shot Putt.
National 10 Mile race
Jamie Fallon of Craughwell AC won Bronze in the National Senior 10-mile Road Championships on Sunday in Phoenix Park, clocking a fine time of 51:12 on a tough course.
