Galway athletes had great success at the weekend’s National Senior Indoor Championships in Athlone IT Arena, taking three national titles.
The first Galway winner of the championships was up-and-coming race walker Veronica Burke of Ballinasloe and District who won the 3k walk, with an impressive 14.40, ahead of Siobhan Nash in second.
Cathriona Farrell of Craughwell claimed the high jump title with a huge 1.77m leap to win another national gold medal, while Sinead Touhy of Athenry took sixth with 1.55m.
On Sunday, a massive throw by Sean Breathnach of GCH, 17.42m in round four of the shot putt, saw him win Galway's third title. This was another PB and stadium record for the GCH man, and boosts his fifth place ranking on the Irish alltime list by a further 28cm on his last mark.
Also in action in Athlone was Conor Duggan of Craughwell AC, who made the semi-final of the 200m and narrowly missed out on being a final qualifier, with a time of 22.83, while clubmate Damian O'Boyle ran strongly in the heats of the 1500m to record a time of 4.04.25 which is a new junior record for the club. Niamh Hennelly of GCH continued her good run of form, clocking a time of 2.28 in a competitive 800m heat won by national champion Ciara Everard.
Kilconieron 5 mile road race
The Kilconieron 5 mile road race Sunday attracted some 170 runners and walkers on Sunday. The charity run, in aid of Athenry Cancer Care, was won by Matt Bidwell of GCH in 27.22 with Owen Byrne, also of GCH, second in 28.06, and Damien Larkin of Craughwell AC third in 28.20. Jane Anne Meehan of Athenry AC added another road race win to take the women’s section in 30.44, ahead of GCH athlete Sinead Brody and Deirdre Brophy of Athenry third.
Organised by Patrick Forde and Niall Callanan, this annual event has now raised nearly €35,000 for charity since 2009.
