Registered Cork Athletics Events Week Ending Sun Sept 4th 2016

Registered Cork Athletics Events for Week Ending Sunday September 4th 2016

This week's Registered Athletics Ireland Events

With the evenings drawing in, we have just one registered evening event this week, on Friday.

Monday August 29th, 20:30 - East Cork Division of Cork Athletics hold its AGM in the Two Mile Inn, Midleton.
Friday, September 2nd, 19:00 - Grange Fermoy AC's Annual 4 Mile Road Race
Sunday, September 4th, 11:00 - Kinsale RFC's 5 Mile Road Race

	20:30, Monday August 29th   East Cork Division's AGM, Two Mile Inn, Midleton
	Grange-Fermoy 4 Mile Road Race 19:30pm, Friday September 2nd 2016 Organised and hosted by Grange-Fermoy AC
	Kinsale 5 Mile Road Race 11:00am, Sunday September 4th 2016 Organised and hosted by Kinsale Rugby Club, in association with Riverstick-Kinsale AC

August 2016 Athlete Transfer Window has Closed

August 24th 2016 - Deadline Passed

The August 2016 transfer deadline for the return of fully completed transfer forms, Wednesday August 24th, has passed.  Any further Transfer Forms received after that date will NOT be accepted, except, only, Inter-County transfers which will have already been processed by the outgoing county.

The next transfer window will close on March 24th 2017

Late Forms

Late Forms are .....Late...and will NOT be accepted for this transfer window - NO EXCEPTIONS
 

March 2017 Transfers

Transfer forms may be downloaded  from the Athletics Ireland website.  

The Procedure on the form MUST be followed.

Completed forms should be give/posted to Cork AAI County Board Registrar, John Copithorne, Belgooley, Co. Cork.

• Do NOT call to John Copithorne's house or workplace.
• Do NOT send your form by Registered Post, Courier or other form of delivery, except the regular Post
• Do NOT send your completed form to Athletics Ireland HQ (Dublin), as this will severely affect delivery time, likely missing the deadline.

The Transfer Form must be signed in the following order

By the:
•   Member (in the case of a minor by the parent or guardian)
•   New Club
•   Outgoing Club
•   County Board (outgoing club)
•   County Boards (out of county club transfer)
•   County Boards (inter county transfer)

Incomplete, improperly or incorrectly completed forms will be rejected.

Notes:

• Athletes must be in good stead with the outgoing club, i.e. they must not owe any membership  fee, or other arrears, and all club property in their possession must have been returned
• Athletes whose membership of the outgoing club has lapsed by more than three years do not require a transfer, i.e. they are free to change clubs without going through the formal transfer process - they can be simply registered by the incoming club.

International Athletics Events August 2016

Upcoming International Athletics Events - August - September 2016

Now that our appetite for top class International Athletics has been whetted and honed during the Rio Olympics, we can look forward to more outstanding performances over the coming weeks.  Below is a list of upcoming events. The list will be added to as information on other meets is updated.

Diamond League website

Diamond League Livestreaming Link

Eurosport 2 TV Coverage

Registered Cork Athletics Events Week Ending Sun August 28th 2016

Registered Cork Athletics Events for Week Ending Sunday August 28th 2016

This week's Registered Athletics Ireland Events

With the evenings starting to draw in, the frenzy of evening races the we became accustomed to since late Spring is coming to a close.  We have just two registered evening events this week:

Thursday, 25th, 19:30, Ballycotton - Ballycotton 5 Mile Road Race - The last in the Ballycotton 5 Summer Series

Friday, 26th: 19:45, CIT Track - Cork Athletics Graded Leagues - Round 6 - Sponsored by John Buckley Sports - The final meet of this year's Leagues

On Sunday, 28th, there are two registered events, both at 10am, in two Locations:

10:00 Ballincollig Regional Park - Ballincollig AC Heritage Week 3k Road Race

10:00 Clonakilty - Clonakilty 10 Mile & 5k Road Races

Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 8 Report

Rio Olympics - Athletics Day 8

Friday August 14th 2016

Irish Athletes in Action Today

Day 8 Friday August 19

Live TV
RTE News Now - Sky Channel 578

Athletics Ireland Report - Friday August 18th

Report by Feidhlim Kelly

Heffernan a fine fifth at fifth Olympics

Robert Heffernan (Togher) finished a magnificent fifth in the 50km race walk in 3:43:55 in his fifth Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro today (August 19).

Heffernan initially crossed the line in sixth but Japan’s Hirooki Arai (third across the line) was subsequently disqualified due to a collision with Canada’s Evan Dunfee. Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny) broke into the top 20 with an excellent 18th in 3:53:59. Unfortunately Alex Wright (Leevale) was forced to withdraw mid-race due to a fluid intake problem.

“At 36-38km I thought I was going to win it,” said Heffernan afterwards. “I got bad cramps then but it’s still a magnificent performance. I’m still there or there abouts so you’ve to take the positives.

“This is the only day of the year that counts. Obviously I would have liked to have won a medal. I love training in the summer and I love training for these championships. It’s all about tunnel vision and getting ready for the big day.

“I’ve got such great support and messages from everyone on Facebook and Twitter and it helps when you’re working hard in that last 10 kilometres. I would have loved to have won a medal for them but it’s still a great performance.”

Heffernan has a remarkable Olympic record since making his debut in Sydney in 2000. He finished 8th in the 20km in Beijing in 2008, 9th in the 20km and third in the 50km in London 2012, and fifth in the 50km in Rio today.

His splits were as follows: 5km 22:39, 10km 44:48, 15km 1:06:53, 20km 1:29:05, 25km 1:51:12, 30km 2:13:02, 35km 2:34:55, 40km 2:57:18, and 45km 3:20:14.

Brendan Boyce was delighted with his top 20 performance and felt he got his race plan spot on. “I stuck to my race plan. I went off conservatively for the first 10km. I got in with a good group and it held together for about 25-35km and then people went into their own zones but I was always catching people.

“Physically my energy was good, my energy was good. My hip flexors got at me at 35km and cost me probably ten seconds per kilometre pace wise but I didn’t hit the wall. I’m delighted with how I’ve progressed.”  
You can watch video interviews on Athletics Ireland Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AthleticsIreland/

Splits

Official Results, including Live Splits

Rob Heffernan Videos

Rob & Marian Heffernan Interviewed by RTE Sport

Heffernan on the chase pic.twitter.com/WGvdIUs6zb

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 19, 2016

Rob Heffernan Interview

Brendan Boyce Interview

Start of 50k Racewalk

10k Splits

15k

20k Splits

25k

30k Splits

40k Splits

Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 6 Report

Rio Olympics - Athletics Ireland Day 5 Report

Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday August 16th 2016

Athletics Ireland report by Feidhlim Kelly

Everard gives her all in 800m heats

Ciara Everard (UCD) gave her all but ultimately finished 8th in heat 1 of the women’s 800m in 2:07.91.

Everard had a race against time after a ten week injury lay-off due to a navicular stress fracture. “I made the classic mistake of pushing too hard in Olympic year and got injured,” said the Kilkenny woman afterwards. “I was as positive as possible and got the most out of myself. I know I’m better than that.

“I love competing. It’s been a tough summer watching the Europeans from the sidelines. I was so up for it today even off limited preparation. It’s championships like this that gets you through the winter months. This is what it’s all about. I’m annoyed I wasn’t able to do myself justice but it is what it is.

“It’s been my first year training full-time. It’s all a learning curve and I feel I’ve learned a lot. In my mind mentally I feel I’ve come on a lot this year. I’ve had a lot of challenges and this year and I’ve learned to adapt to them. As an athlete you have to learn to adapt to situations and I look forward to doing myself justice in the future.”

Everard, a qualified physiotherapist, was full of praise for the Institute of Sport for getting to her on the start line in one piece.

“The institute have been absolutely fantastic,” she said. “The medical team there are an absolute credit to themselves. There’s world class facilities and world class service providers. They have been phenomenal. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. I really appreciate them. It’s about moving on from here now.” 

Schedules:

Thursday, August 18th, 13:30  - Rio Olympics - Athletics Day 7

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) goes in the Olympic 400m Hurdles final at 16:00 Irish time.  Thomas is third fastest of the finalists, and is Ireland's first Olympic sprint finalist since Bob Tisdall, in 1932

Thomas Barr's 400m Hurdles Semi-Final win

Full Olympic Athletics Schedule and Timetable

Athletics Ireland Reports

• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 5 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 4 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 3 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 2 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 1 Report

Ballycotton 5 Where It All Began

40th ANNUAL BALLYCOTTON ‘5’ (1977-2016)

August 11th, 1977… WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Guest Article By John Walshe

John O'Leary of Leevale AC, who, last night, ran in his 150th consecutive Ballycotton 5 Series Race, pictured with Donie and Kathleen O'Connell

Ballycotton 5 Mile Road Race 2016

In March of next year, the famous Ballycotton ‘10’ will celebrate its 40th birthday. But let us not forget the race that started it all, and without it it’s unlikely that road running in this region would have attained the huge popularity it now has.

       The date was Thursday August 11th 1977 and it was another age as far as road running was concerned. From January to August of that year, only six events on the road took place in the Cork region – the well-known Cork to Cobh ‘15’, two four-milers in Ballymore (where 26 ran), and Ballyhooly, a five-mile race in Mallow, a six-mile in Kildorrery (16 runners), and the popular relays around the Lough organised by St. Finbarr’s AC. 

       August 11th was a week after that Ballymore Festival race, and commitments had been received there from most of the runners to come to Ballycotton, including winner Ray Treacy. The work in organising the race had started some weeks before, with the local shops and business people being approached for donations. One of the few firms in the area at the time contributed five pounds, as did three of the businesses. Two more gave two pounds and one pound each, and even the 50p from another was appreciated. The total came to £28.50.

      Trophies and plaques were purchased as prizes, costing £29.75. Entry fee was either 20p or 30p, and no race numbers were issued. Instead, as each runner finished he was handed a card with his finishing position on it, and he then gave his name to the recorder. We say ‘he’ deliberately, for at that time no women ran such a long distance as five miles!

      The race started at the old Post Office (just above where the race now finishes), and the course was the same as is used at present, although the finish was outside the School Gate. As measuring techniques were not as advanced as nowadays, it was slightly short of five miles.

     Local interest was a mixture of curiosity and bemusement. Some people asked what a road race was – “is it a cycling race, or what?” When Phil McGrath and John Walshe went out to mark the road, one local person told them that County Council would object, as they considered painting on the road graffiti!

      First to enter was Michael Healy from Youghal, one of the top cross-country runners in Cork at the time. Tens of thousands of entries for a myriad of events have been received since, but Michael can take pride of place as the first runner to have ‘No. 1’ alongside his name in a Ballycotton race. BLE County Board Chairman, the late Paddy Hartnett, sent the 34 runners on their way. John Murray from Ballybraher (who has also passed away) was a spectator on that fine August evening and he was asked to act as lead car, which he duly did, accompanied by reporter Joe Duggan (also now deceased) from the ‘News and Star’.

       Michael Long of Leevale, along with his girlfriend Ellen, volunteered to time the runners. It is worth noting that virtually no races in those days did this, apart from maybe taking the winners’ time. In fact, in his newspaper report Joe Duggan stated that, “the time of all the competitors was taken, a rare feat in Cork in athletics.” At the finish line the numbered cards were handed out by Seamus Hartnett, there to se the race with his parents, and who would go on to be the area’s top runner in the years to come.

       The other locals involved were John Walshe and Dan Donovan (who both ran the race), along with Phil McGrath and his brother Fr Tom, home from England. At the prize-giving in the local hall the trophies were presented by the late Fr Bertie Troy, C.C., Ballycotton.

THE RACE…

The race itself saw Ray Treacy, then based in Cork and running for Leevale, wining easily in a time of 23:46, well ahead of Richie Crowley and Donie Walsh. As Joe Duggan’s report put it, “at four miles he was close on 500 yards ahead of the bunch and in parts was travelling at 14 miles an hour, timed on the speedometer of Mr John Murray’s car.”  In fact, both Richie and Donie could have been even further back as a herd of cows came out on the road (after Ray had passed) with over a mile to go and almost brought them to a standstill.

      In fourth position and first novice was Noel Shannon, while Liam O’Brien could only manage fifth on the night. Murt Coleman of Liffey Valley, who had ran internationally for Ireland in the marathon and Kevin Treacy from Loughrea, both working in the Cork area at the time, finished sixth and seventh respectively. In eight was another well-known marathoner, Jerry Murphy of Leevale.

      At the end of this article we publish the names of the 34 runners. Sadly, Dave Ainscough, Joe O’Flynn, Jerry Martin, Liam Horgan and Dan Donovan have passed away, but the remainder are still around and some still running, although their times (along with their hairstyles) have receded somewhat. A few have gone on to foreign lands and bigger things, such as winner Ray Treacy who is now Head Track Coach at Providence College in the USA.

THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED…

The following year, the race date was moved to June. Only 24 ran, with victory going to Richie Crowley. Of course that was his second local victory in 1978, as in March he had won the inaugural Ballycotton ‘10’. Ray Treacy returned to win in 1979 and the following year Liam O’Brien won the first of his 14 Ballycotton ‘5’ titles. 1981 saw Marcus O’Sullivan, later to become World Indoor Champion on three occasions, take the Ballycotton honours.

     In 1985, Liam O’Brien established the present course record of 23:41, but the previous year of ’84 was also special. Just four days after qualifying for that year’s LA Olympics when setting a new Irish 3000m steeplechase record at Crystal Palace, Liam showed his loyalty and commitment to the sport by turning out and winning yet another local race.

     At this stage the Ballycotton Summer Series, comprising of four races, was well established. Although the Ballycotton ‘5’ had been held in June since 1978, in 1985 it was decided to swap the August date with Shanagarry, as it seemed more appropriate to finish off the yearly proceedings where it had all started from.

     Women ran for the first time in 1979, with just two taking part, Ellen Whelan of Leevale and the winner, one Mary Dempsey from Youghal. She may be better known nowadays as Mary Sweeney and is still a regular prize-winner. Like Liam O’Brien, her enthusiasm and support of local events, as well as her love of the sport, is an example to all.

     Numbers taking part continued to increase, reaching 124 in 1982 and topping the 200 mark the year after. Of course in the past few years we have reached a new level with 500/600 now the norm for each of the Summer Series events. In 1993, 92 runners finished under the 30-minute barrier at Ballycotton and it is a reflection on present day standards that less than half that number (42) did so last year, although the number of participants had doubled.

THIRTY NINE YEARS ON…

Nobody involved in that first race could have imagined what lay ahead. The Dublin Marathon was still three years away, with London following six months later. Nowadays, the popularity of the Ballycotton ‘10’ is only too evident to all who try to enter and the numbers taking part in races – especially in the Cork area - along with the variety of events, is at an all-time high.

     A total of 190 five and ten mile races later, the statistics show in excess of 91,000 finishers. With the participation of international stars and Olympic medallists, it can be safely assumed that the Ballycotton events have now reached a global audience.

     August 1977 is also remembered for another very different reason entirely. Five days after that Ballycotton race, the world was shocked to hear of the sudden death of Elvis Presley. It was, one could say, the end of a legend; although of course his music still lives on.

     In its own small way, that Ballycotton race five days before was the catalyst of a movement which in the intervening years has also gained a legendary status, albeit of a very different nature.  

     The ‘King’ may be dead, but road running is certainly alive and well. However, it may never have transpired but for those pioneering men (below) who turned up in Ballycotton village to run five miles on an August evening all of 39 years ago. Yes, that’s WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.

 Results of the First Race - August 11th, 1977

Irish Rio Olympic Team Returns Home

Breakthrough Games for Irish Athletes

Athletics Ireland Release

- Feidhlim Kelly

Irish athletics had a breakthrough Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with a number of world class performances highlighted by Thomas Barr’s (Ferrybank) fantastic fourth place in the 400m hurdles underlining the development of the High Performance programme stewarded by Kevin Ankrom.

The team will arrive home this evening on Lufthansa flight LH980 scheduled for 17:10 at terminal 1 and we would love to see people welcome home our Olympians who competed with such distinction.  

Barr’s 47.97 clocking is truly world class territory – the last athlete not to medal running sub 48 was in Atlanta in 1996 by Sweden's Sven Nylander in 47.98 who also finished fourth. Until the final, only one athlete since 2013 had run under 48 seconds. The last time four athletes went under 48 seconds was fifteen years ago.
The Ferrybank athlete's time on the IAAF scoring table equates to a 9.92 100m, a 3:47 mile and a 2:06 marathon.

Robert Heffernan (Togher) finished a magnificent sixth in the 50km race walk in 3:43:55 in his sixth Olympic Games. This was the first Olympic Games since 1980 in Moscow that two men (Eamonn Coghlan and John Treacy) have come in the top 8 in their event.

Alongside Barr and Heffernan were a number of athletes who finished in the top 20. Mark English, Ciara Mageean (both UCD) and Sara Treacy (Dunboyne) were 17th overall in their respective 800m, 1500m and 3,000m steeplechase events. Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny) was 19th in the 50km race walk and Fionnuala McCormack (Kilcoole) was 20th in the marathon. McCormack's run was the best ever finish by an Irish woman in the Olympics.

The majority of Irish athletes exceeded expectation and Paul Pollock (Annadale Striders) with his time of 2:16:24 was the third fastest Irish man in the history of the Olympics in the marathon behind John Treacy and Jerry Kiernan.

In terms of qualification from the first round, it was the most successful Games since Atlanta in 1996. This provides a good barometer as historically Irish athletes have struggled to progress past the first round. It gives a platform for development and is a sign of the increasing depth and preparation at the top end.  

Of the 17 athletes 13 were making their Olympic debuts including three of our leading athletes Thomas Barr, Mark English and Ciara Mageean.

High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom said:

“The overall performance at Rio is one which reflects really positively on the athletes, their coaches and the AI support teams which worked hard to make Rio a success.  Since we launched the High Performance Plan following the London Games, we have expanded our investment in HP athletes to over 150 athletes in 2016 to broaden and strengthen the base for future years.   

“When I came to Ireland to take the position of HP Director, one of the biggest challenges was to create a support system for all HP athletes while trying to fill the gap which had developed over time, with young new athletes.  It was brilliant to see these young men and women display their talent and potential in their first Olympic Games.  This has been made possible by the support of Sport Ireland and through the funding raised by Athletics Ireland directly.”

“We have significantly progressed in many areas and have set a good platform for more success in the next two Olympic cycles.  There has been really positive progress through each championship culminating in an Olympic Games where the Irish athletics team produced one of its best ever overall performances.  While we were close to achieving medals the prospects for success in 2020 and 2024 is there to be built upon.”

Athletics Ireland Athletes Rio Olympic Results

Men’s 400m Hurdles - Thomas Barr (Ferrybank) heat 2nd 48.93; semi-final 1st 48.39; final 4th 47.97

Men’s 800m - Mark English (UCD) heat 3rd 1:46.40; semi-final 5th 1:45.93

Women’s 800m - Ciara Everard (UCD) heat 8th 2:07.91

Women’s 1500m - Ciara Mageean (UCD) heat 2nd 4:11.51; semi-final 11th 4:08.07

Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase - Sara Treacy (Dunboyne) heat 3 12th 9:46.24, final 17th 9:52.70; Kerry O’Flaherty (Newcastle) heat 1 14th 9:45.35; Michelle Finn (Leevale) heat 2 11th 9:49.45

Men’s Marathon - Paul Pollock (Annadale Striders) 32nd 2:16:24; Kevin Seaward (St Malachy’s) 64th 2:20:06; Mick Clohisey (Raheny Shamrock) 103rd 2:26:34

Women’s Marathon - Fionnuala McCormack (Kilcoole) 20th 2:31:22; Lizzie Lee (Leevale) 57th 2:39:57; Breege Connolly (North Belfast Harriers) 76th 2:44:41

20km walk - Alex Wright (Leevale) 46th 1:25:25

50km walk - Robert Heffernan (Togher) 6th 3:43:55; Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny) 19th 3:53:59; Alex Wright (Leevale) DNF

Women’s Pole Vault - Tori Pena (Finn Valley) Group B 14th 4.30m

Little Athletics Programme Autumn 2016

Little Athletics in Cork

Message from David Matthews,  Cork Athletics Regional Development Officer

On the back of what’s been a very successful Olympics for Ireland (and especially Cork), I have been inundated with requests and queries from Parents who would like to get their Children involved in Athletics. - That’s the good news.

For my own benefit, and in Order to offer the best advice to parents, I’m trying to put together a list of Clubs that have “active” Little Athletic Programmes.

Remembering that a Robust Little Athletic programme is a feeder to Juvenile Athletics.

Obviously I will direct parent to clubs within their locality, but not all clubs have Little Athletics Programmes in place.

I would appreciate it if you can confirm whether or not you have a Little Athletic Programme in Place.

If not, there will be an “Athletic Leader Course” in CIT, in  Sept/Oct (I’ll have all the Coach Ed programmes up on the Web by this day next week) which will provide Coaches with the necessary skill set to develop a Little Athletic Programme in your Club.

Athletics Ireland Little Athletics Programme Details

Athletics Ireland Little Athletics Video

Club Contacts

Finally, I can’t Stress the importance or ensuring that you’ve got the correct contact details on the Cork Athletics website, and to ensure the Fields are fully complete - Number/email etc.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this mail - I await your response re “Little Athletics Programme”

Onwards and upwards to the Cross Country season……

Regards

David Matthews, Regional Development Officer - Cork

Athletics Ireland, c/o Sports Department, Cork Institute of Technology, Rossa Avenue, Bishopstown, Cork

E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Tel: 087-0516430

Cork Athletics Webmaster Note

The Clubs page on the Cork Athletics website is among the most visited pages on the website - over 1,800 unique visitors to the page in the past month alone.  If YOUR club contact details and other information is incorrect or out of date, YOU are missing out!  All clubs were emailed on the subject, several times, in the past few months - the response from some clubs was great, but there was a deafening silence from most!

If you're not in.......

Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 10 Report

Rio Olympics - Athletics Day 10

Sunday August 21st 2016

Men's Marathon - Final Athletics Event of Rio Olympics

Irish Splits & Updates

It's lashing in Rio.  Hopefully the humidity is ok, so the marathon won't be a matter of atttition and survival, like last week's women's Marathon and the Race Walks. There were 155 starters, assuming that nobody dropped out before the 5k split.

Athletics Ireland Report

Feidhlim Kelly

Pollock Finishes Strongly to Place 32nd in Olympic Marathon

Paul Pollock (Annadale Striders) came through the field strongly to finish 32nd in a high quality Olympic men’s marathon in 2:16:24 to round out the athletics programme in Rio de Janeiro today (August 21).

Kevin Seaward (St Malachy’s) finished 64th in 2:20:06 while Mick Clohisey (Raheny Shamrock) was 103rd in 2:26:34.

Pollock was aiming for a top 20 performance in but was still reasonably pleased with his performance in wet and muggy conditions.  

“It was an ok performance,” said Pollock afterwards of the race won by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge in 2:08:44. “A top 20 performance was the first goal. I went out 30 seconds to a minute slower for the first half than the plan had been but the legs didn’t come around until the second half.” Pollock passed through halfway in 68:09 in 96th place and came through strongly in the second half gaining over 60 places.   

“I came through strongly in the second half and this should give me a good platform to produce an even better performance in the major championships. It’s been great to see the rise in the number of athletes get the marathon standards and I’m aiming for London (World Championships) in 2017.”

It was a battle of will, and skill, for Kevin Seaward and Mick Clohisey who were struggling in the coming into the race with various ailments. “I picked up some kind of a bug a few days beforehand,” said Seaward who battled on to place 64th. Equally Clohisey had some issues in the final build-up with a virus and foot infection but dug deep to finish. “It was tough out there. My family out supporting on the course got me through it.” Both were tired but proud Olympians afterwards.

Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 7 Report

Rio Olympics - Athletics Ireland Day 7 Report

Rio de Janeiro, Thursday August 18th 2016

Athletics Ireland report by Feidhlim Kelly

Fantastic Fourth for Thomas Barr

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank) put in the performance of his life to finish a fantastic fourth in the final of the 400m Hurdles at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in a new national record of 47.97 seconds today (August 18).

Barr was delighted with what was arguably the greatest Irish men’s track and field performance of the modern era.

“Aw lads, so close,” said a delighted Barr afterwards. “Close but no cigar this time round. I’m absolutely thrilled with what’s my first Olympics. 47 seconds, that really puts me on the map.”

Video - Thomas Barr talks to RTE Sport after the Race

Thomas Barr talks to RTÉ Sport after his fourth placed finish in the Olympic men's 400m hurdles final #rterio2016 https://t.co/C62RQKlZht

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 18, 2016

Video - Thomas Barr talks to Athletics Ireland after the Race

Barr’s 47.97 clocking is truly world class territory – the last athlete not to medal running sub 48 was in Atlanta in 1996 by Sweden's Sven Nylander in 47.98 who also finished fourth. Until today, only one athlete since 2013 has run under 48 seconds. The last time four athletes went under 48 seconds was fifteen years ago.

The Ferrybank athlete has struggled through much of the year with injuries but an 11 week block of training masterminded by his coaches Haley and Drew Harrison has paid dividends alongside his support team.

“It’s been absolutely immense,” he said. “It’s been a tough year. I’d like to thank everyone who has stood by me – especially in the tough times. My coaches Haley and Drew (Harrison) have gotten me into such good fitness – not just for one good race but for three good races and a new national record of 47 seconds.

“I’d like to give a big thanks to my physio Emma Gallivan and my friends and my housemates. For all the support for the last three or four days from the fans has been absolutely fantastic.”
Thomas Barr's races by numbers

48.93
48.39 NR
47.97 NR

Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 5 Report

Rio Olympics - Athletics Ireland Day 5 Report

Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday August 16th 2016

Athletics Ireland report by Feidhlim Kelly

Brilliant Barr Makes History in Rio

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank) became the first Irish athlete since Bob Tisdall in 1932 to make an Olympic sprint final after a breath taking performance to win his 400m Hurdles semi-final in a new national record of 48.39 seconds.

Thomas Barr Interviewed by David Gillick

“I’m shaking like a leaf. I’m delighted,” said an ecstatic Barr afterwards. “I went in really relaxed and I was able to track Karsten Warholm (Norway) on my outside. I know I’ve a really good finish. I’m not being cocky. I was smiling coming over that last hurdle.”

The Ferrybank star was in fourth place coming into the home straight but produced a sizzling finish to win his semi and go into the final as the third fastest qualifier.

“Anything is possible now,” he said. “I want to thank my coach Haley Harrison and Emma Gallivan (Athletics Ireland/Sport Ireland physio) for all the physio and pushing me on. I’ll rest up now and get ready for the final.”

The men’s 400m hurdles final takes place on Thursday (August 18) at 4pm Irish time – making it a midday start in Rio. Barr has been drawn in lane 4 for the final. Bob Tisdall also ran in the 400m Hurdles and won gold.

400m Hurdles Final

The final takes place tomorrow, Thursday, at 4pm Irish time. Barr has earned a great lane draw of Lane 4.

Pena Bows Out in Pole Vault Qualifying

Tori Pena (Finn Valley) was unable to qualify for the women’s Olympic pole vault final, after finishing 14th in Group B with a best of 4.30m (August 16).

Pena had a first time clearance at 4.15m, before advancing on to 4.30m, which she cleared on her second attempt. Unfortunately she had three failures at 4.45m.

The Finn Valley athlete has had an improved season on the international stage – she was close to qualifying for the European Championships final in Amsterdam in July. Today’s performance consolidated her progression. This was Pena’s second Olympics, having competed in London.

To date this has been Ireland’s most successful Olympics on the track since 1996, with four athletes progressing through the first round, including Sara Treacy (Dunboyne) making the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final. Mark English and Ciara Mageean (both UCD) made the 800m and 1500m semi-finals respectively. Thomas Barr (Ferrybank) is bidding to qualify for the final of the 400m hurdles tonight.

Schedules:

Tuesday, August 16th, 13:30  - Rio Olympics - Athletics Day 5

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) goes in the 400m Hurdles at 01:30am on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, August 17th, 13:30  - Rio Olympics - Athletics Day 6

Ciara Everard (UCD AC) goes in Round 1 of the Women's 800m at 14:55 Irish time

Full Olympic Athletics Schedule and Timetable

Athletics Ireland Reports

• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 4 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 3 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 2 Report
• Rio 2016 Athletics Ireland Day 1 Report