International Roundup - Sunday July 17th 2016
Agonising fourth for McGrath and bittersweet result for McMahon
Athletics Ireland Report - Feidhlim Kelly
Kevin McGrath (Bohermeen) finished an agonising fourth in the boys’ 800m final in 1:50.51 on the final day of the European Youth Athletics Championships in Tbilisi while Christine McMahon (Ballymena & Antrim) had a bittersweet night in Heusden, Belgium.
Heusden 400mH
Christine McMahon finished second in the 400m hurdles in Heusden on Saturday night (July 16) in a big personal best of 56.06 seconds which was also an Olympic qualifying standard. Unfortunately it was past the IAAF deadline for selection. The final date for achieving an Olympic qualifying mark was last Monday, July 11th.
Video - Heusden Womens 400m Hurdles
European Youth Championships - Tbilisi
In Tbilisi, Kevin McGrath was in second for much of the race and on the shoulder of eventual winner George Mills (Great Britain) in 1:48.82 before fading in the final 50 metres. The Meath schoolboy’s aggressive tactics just fell short but he will have gained much from the experience.
Video of European Youth Championships - Finish of Mens 800m Final
European Youth Championships 2016 - Mens 800m Final
Daniel Ryan (Moycarkey Coolcroo) was in third place at one stage of the boys’ decathlon and was in contention after 7 events but just ran out of steam in the heat finishing 11th with 6752 points.
Sommer Lecky (Finn Valley) was 8th in the girls’ high jump final with a best of 1.70m. Emma O’Brien (Sli Cualann) was also in action on the final day finishing 12th in the girls 1500m final in 4:56.94.
Molly Scott
It was an excellent championships for the young Irish team with Gina Akpe-Moses (Blackrock Louth) and Molly Scott (St Laurence O’Toole) headlining with silver in the 100m in 11.80 and bronze in the 100m hurdles in 13.51 respectively. Akpe-Moses became the first Irish sprinter to win a 100m medal at any level in European Athletics competition.
Gina Akpe-Moses
Video - European Youth Championships - Womens 100m Final
Scott set two new Irish youth records – her 13.32 in the semi-final was the second fastest time of the championships. Alex Clarkin (Donore Harriers) was also in excellent hurdling form at the championships setting two new national youths records. He finished 8th in the 110m hurdles final in 14.14 – just outside his 13.96 record.
Some other highlights included:
· David McDonald (Menapians) was an excellent 7th in 10.83 in the boys’ 100m final,
· Brendan O'Donnell (Lifford Strabane) was 10th in the hammer final with 68.50m,
· Kate O’Connor (St Gerard’s Dundalk) and Shannon Sheehy (Cushinstown) finished 7th and 13th respectively in the heptathlon
· Bobby Crowley (St Laurence O’Toole) was 5th in 4:02.77 and Charlie O'Donovan (Leevale) 8th in 4:03.90 in the boys’ 1500m final.
SIAB Schools International
The Irish schools' team showed true grit at the SIAB Schools' International Track & Field meeting in Ashford (July 16) highlighted by Darragh McElhinney's exhillarating victory in the 1500m.
England took overall team victory with 519.5 points. Ireland were second with 340.5 points, Wales were third with 246 points and Scotland fourth with 230 points.
In the girls scoring England were on top with 266.5 points followede by Ireland on 180.5, Wales on 127 points and Scotland on 109 points. Miriam Daly was awarded the best Irish performance for the girls winning the 300m hurdles in 42.42, bronze in the 80m hurdles in 11.60 and bronze as part of the 4x300m relay in 2:44.50.
In the boys scoring, England topped the charts with 253 points, Ireland were second with 160 points, Scotland third with 121 points and Wales fourth with 119 points. James Kelly won best Irish performance for the boys with a victory in the shot put with 17.07m.
It was Darragh McElhinney who sparkled most in the heat of the Julie Rose Stadium. He epitomised the spirit of the schools team in a sensational race. The pace was 2:24 at 800m followed by a 59 second lap to 1200m and then a 43 second last 300m. He went to front with 600m to go with four runners going at it over the last 50m but McElhinney prevailed in 4:07.15.
