Joanne Cuddihy continued her return to form with gold and silver performances down under. Competing in the New Zealand track and field championships in Christchurch at the weekend she took first place in the 400m and second in the 200m. Her times were 52.84 and 24.02 respectively.
Meanwhile the next generation of athletes were competing at the national juvenile Indoor Championships in Nenagh. Many local athletes scored with gold, silver, or bronze results. Among the high achievers were the sprinters with Cliodhna Manning and Louise Holmes, both KCH, winning the finals of their respective under 16 and under 19 sprints. KCH also had two silvers with Lorraine O’Shea, under 17, coming second in the 60m final and Mary Kate Lanigan, under 19, having a similar finish in the final of the 300m. Paul Manning, St Joseph’s, was another medal winner in the sprints with a second place in the under 14- 60m final. Another silver went to the St Joseph’s club with Jack Saunders jumping almost 13 metres to take the silver in the under 18 triple jump. High jump medals were won by Aoife Naddy, Gowran (gold ) under 13 and Sinead McDonagh, KCH, (bronze ) under 16. There was considerable success for the shot putters. Jack Manning, KCH, won silver under 13. John Joe Kelly, Brow Rangers, under 14, and Emma Fenlon, St Joseph’s, under 18, each won bronze. In the sprint hurdles Eoin Power, St Joseph’s, won gold under 17 and Christine O’Donnell, Gowran, won bronze under 13. John Murphy, Gowran, after a comfortable win in the 1,500m semi-final on Saturday finished third in the final on Sunday. In summary, very successful results from an All-Ireland final.
Next weekend sees the start of the outdoor track and field season as the St Senan’s club hosts its popular open track and field. There are events for juniors, seniors, and all juvenile ages from under eight upwards. The action takes place in the Kilmacow Sports Complex commencing at 1pm. Further information is available from Bill Lacey (051-885684 or 0868100299 ).
Fit4Life timing sessions
The March Fit4Life “timing session” took place on Thursday March 25, with most participants showing greatly improved performances. Top spots on the 2K course were set by John Galvin, Owena Kinsella, and Martina Prendergast.
Their respective times were 8 minutes 51 seconds, 9 minutes 8 seconds, and 9 minutes 50 seconds. For the 4K course Catherine Gutherie, Caoilte Malone, and Roseanne Murphy all came in under 18 minutes. Following the timing hi-viz vests, water bottles, and diaries were presented to all participants.
