Veronica Burke of Ballinasloe and District AC took pride of place at the All Ireland Junior and u23 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Athlone on Sunday.
Burke won the junior ladies’ 3k walk by a big margin in a great time of 14.52, while also beating all the u-23 athletes.
Galway also secured three silver medals with Alanna Lally of GCH taking silver in the junior 800m - just pipped by Leevale’s European youth champion Louise Shanahan on the home straight. Sinead Touhy of Athenry followed suit in the u-23 high jump with a leap of 1.60m, and Sinead Treacy of Craughwell produced a superb 200m final run in 25.20 to secure the third silver medal of the day.
Craughwell AC sprinter Conor Duggan placed a fine fifth in the junior 60m sprint final, clocking 7.09, and the club’s distance runners also performed well, with Damien O’Boyle just missing a medal in the 1500m junior men’s event, finishing fourth in 4.08 in a strong field. Nicholas Sheehan and John Cormican both fought hard but just missed out on final slots at 800m and 400m respectively.
GCH’s Maebh Brannigan placed fifth in a competitive junior women’s 1500m, clocking 4.50, and clubmate Eleanor Whyte was also fifth in the u-23 400m. Cillin Greene of GCH ran well with a 23.33 200m, but missed out on a final place on time.
Coldwood four mile
Some 200 runners competed in the Coldwood four mile road race, in what is a major local school fundraiser. Mayo’s Robert Malseed took victory with a winning time of 22.09, putting him clear of Damien Larkin of Craughwell in second in 22.46, and Darren Murphy with 24.37 in third. Sinead Brody of GCH had a comfortable win in the women’s section with a time of 25.59, with ultra runner Ruthann Sheahan of Athenry second and Deirdre Brophy third.
Fixtures
The annual Maree 8KM Road Race with Amphibian King takes place in the scenic surrounds of Maree, Oranmore, Co Galway, on February 8 at 1pm.
This picturesque circuit, which has been measured to AI standards, will be chip timed, and has been approved by the Galway County Board. This run takes participants from the Maree Community Centre out on to Galway Bay, down the picturesque Tawin peninsula, and back to Maree Community Centre.
Entry is open on active.com and there are prizes for first and second senior men, first and second senior women, and first man and woman over 40.
This event will raise funds to develop local sporting facilities in Maree, and is organised by Maree Athletics Club in conjunction with the Maree Development Organisation.
Entry is €15 and is open to runners aged 16 years and older.
