Irish team announced for the European Cross Country Championships

The Irish team was announced yesterday for the European Cross Country Championships in Chia, Italy on December 11th and includes a number of athletes from Cork.

In the Senior men's section, Mark Hanrahan secured selection with his 3rd place finish in the

Senior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Mark Christie Mullingar Harriers A.C.  Jerry Kiernan
2 Mick Clohisey Raheny Shamrock A.C.  Dick Hooper
3 Mark Hanrahan  Leevale A.C. Martin McCarthy
4 Liam Brady  Tullamore Harriers A.C.    Paul McNamara
5 Paul Pollock Annadale Striders A.C.    Andy Hobdell
6 Kevin Dooney Raheny Shamrock A.C. Jerry Kiernan

Junior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
3 Darragh McElhinney    Bantry A.C.    Steve Macklin
4 Fearghal Curtain    Youghal A.C.    Noel Curtin
6 Charlie O'Donovan    Leevale A.C.    Ken Nason/Michelle O'Donovan

In the Senior women's section, Michelle Finn from Cork and Shona Heaslip and Laura Crowe from Kerry were selected.

Senior Women....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Shona Heaslip    An Riocht A.C.  Niamh O'Sullivan
2 Kerry O'Flaherty    Newcastle & District A.C. Richard Rogers
3 Ciara Mageean    U.C.D. A.C. Jerry Kiernan
4 Fionnuala McCormack  Kilcoole A.C.   
5 Laura Crowe    An Riocht A.C. Donie Walsh
6 Michelle Finn    Leevale A.C.  Donie Walsh

L-R...Kerry O'Flaherty, Shona Heaslip, Ciara Mageean, Laura Crowe and Michelle Finn

Irish team wins bronze at European Cross Championships in Bulgaria

The Irish senior womens team finished 3rd at the European Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria on Sunday the 14th of December 2014. The team finished on 87 points, just one ahead of France on 88.

L-R Siobhan O'Doherty, Sarah Treacy, Annmarie McGlynn, Michelle Finn, Laura Crowe and Fionnuala Britton

While Fionnuala Britton finished in 6th place, Sara Treacy and Michelle Finn finished a lot higher than their form might have suggested to held the Irish team secure bronze. In the end, it was all down to mere seconds. Sara Treacy was just 2 seconds ahead of a Spanish athlete while Michelle Finn of Leevale AC in Cork had the same time as a Danish athlete but finished just ahead of her.....fractions of a second but all important. The fourth scoring member of the team was the captain Annmarie McGlynn. Siobhan O'Doherty of Borrisokane AC in Tipp and Laura Crowe of An Rioght AC in Kerry made up the 6 in the bronze medal team.

The results of the senior womens race can be seen HERE

Full results of all race HERE

Post race interview of Fionnuala Britton...


The highlights are available to watch on the RTE player service for 3 weeks HERE

Photos...
1) James Veale of West Waterford AC has a large number of photos on the WWAC website....Junior men & women... U23 men & women... Senior men & women...

Photos from James Veale of West Waterford AC

Golf Classic to fund atheltes from Kerry for Rio Olympic bid

An Ríocht Athletic Club are organising a Golf Classic in Castleisland on Wednesday the 11th of June with the aim of raising funds to help two athletes from Kerry reach the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Laura Crowe who runs with An Ríocht AC runs over 800m/1500m and has shown a huge improvement in the last year.

Denis Finnegan who is also from Kerry and now competes with Leevale AC is a national triple jump champion.

More details can be found on this PDF document.

Laura Crowe and Paul Robinson at Boston Mile Race...

As part of the build-up to the Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association held an invitational mile for elite athletes last Saturday. In the womens race, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC finished in 5th place in a time of 4:46.1

1. Morgan Uceny (USA) 4:44.0
2. Heather Kampf (USA) 4:44.3
3. Brie Felnagle (USA) 4:44.8
4. Sara Hall (USA) 4:45.9
5. Laura Crowe (IRL) 4:46.1
6. Chelsea Reilly (USA) 4:46.6
7. Violah Lagat (KEN) 4:48.0

In the mens event, Paul Robinson of St.Coca's AC finished an impressive second place only to be out-kicked by the 2008 Olympic 1500m Silver medalist Nick Willis from New Zealand in what was a tactical race.

1. Nick Willis (NZL) 4:11.3
2. Paul Robinson (IRL) 4:12.0
3. Leo Manzano (USA) 4:13.3
4. Chris O’Hare (GBR) 4:13.6
5. De’Sean Turner (USA) 4:14.5
6. Rob Finnerty (USA) 4:15.2
7. Criag Miller (USA) 4:22.2

Irish results from the IAAF World Challenge in Melbourne, Australia...Sat 22nd Mar 2014

Both Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC and Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC were both in action in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday in the IAAF World Challenge.

In the mens 5000m, Mark broke the 14 minute barrier to set a new personal best time of 13:58.03.

Womens 1500m
    POS    ATHLETE    COUNTRY    MARK   
1    Mercy CHERONO    KENKEN     4:08.57   
2    Zoe BUCKMAN    AUSAUS     4:09.59   
3    Bridey DELANEY    AUSAUS     4:10.35   
4    Melissa DUNCAN    AUSAUS     4:13.73   
5    Jenny BLUNDELL    AUSAUS     4:13.89   
6    Nikki HAMBLIN    NZLNZL     4:14.19   
7    Kaila MCKNIGHT    AUSAUS     4:14.63   
8    Heidi GREGSON    AUSAUS     4:14.75   
9    Laura CROWE    IRLIRL     4:18.87   
10    Camille BUSCOMB    NZLNZL     4:18.88   
11    Lucy VAN DALEN    NZLNZL     4:20.18   
12    Anna LAMAN    AUSAUS     4:23.30

Mens 5000m
    POS    ATHLETE    COUNTRY    MARK   
1    Isiah Kiplangat KOECH    KENKEN     13:29.05   
2    Ben ST.LAWRENCE    AUSAUS     13:46.17   
3    Malcolm HICKS    NZLNZL     13:47.21   
4    Brenton ROWE    AUTAUT     13:51.46   
5    Liam ADAMS    AUSAUS     13:56.50   
6    Mark HANRAHAN    IRLIRL     13:58.03   
7    Mitchel BROWN    AUSAUS     13:59.10   
8    Christopher HAMER    AUSAUS     14:01.95   
9    Brandon HARGREAVES    AUSAUS     14:10.16   
10    Brady THRELFALL    AUSAUS     14:29.05   
11    Matthew COX    AUSAUS     14:29.54

Laura Crowe & Mark Hanrahan in track races in New Zealand

Over the weekend, both Laura Crowe of An Riocht AC and Mark Hanrahan from Leevale AC were in action at the International Track Meet in Christchurch, New Zealand.

2014 International  Track Meeting - 22/02/2014  Rawhiti Domain & Christs College Upper Field         
Women 800 Metre Run                                                    
  1 Angela Smit               SR CANU                   2:07.52
  2 Laura Crowe                  Ireland                2:08.23
  3 Nikki Hamblin                Auckland               2:09.47
  4 Ariana Harper                Wellington             2:15.42
  5 Flora Brocherie           SR CANU                   2:16.64
  6 Pippa Trevella            19 CANU                   2:17.39

2014 International  Track Meeting - 22/02/2014  Rawhiti Domain & Christs College Upper Field         
Men 3000 Metre Run NZ Champs                                                 
  1 Ben St Lawrence              Australia              8:03.02
  2 Mark Hanrahan                Ireland                8:20.77
  3 Daniel Balchin            SR NBOL                   8:22.19
  4 Callan Moody              SR NBOL                   8:30.00
  5 Hamish Carson                Wellington             8:32.47
  6 Jonathan Jackson             Auckland               8:34.51
  7 Matt Harris                  Wellington             8:37.50
  8 Evan Cooper                  Wellington             8:38.22
  9 Rowan Hooper                 Wellington             8:43.83
 10 Craig Eustace             40 Christchurch Avon      8:49.72
 11 Stephen Lett                 Auckland               8:51.14
 12 Ben Musson                19 Papanui Toc H          8:52.71
 13 Tony Payne                   Auckland               8:54.88
 14 Cameron Avery             17 Christchurch Avon      9:07.91
 15 Dallas Wichman            SR Sumner                 9:13.37
 16 Alexander Gorrie          SR CANU                   9:16.39

Strangely enough, it seems as if all the races were held on a grass track. I presume the softer surface might make times a little bit slower??

Irish athletes in action in Tasmania...1st Feb 2014

Three Irish athletes were in action at the Brigg Athletics Classic in Hobart, Tasmania on Saturday the 1st of February.

In the womens 1500m, Laura Crowe of An Riocht AC finished in third place in a time of 4:13.84. This is down a bit on her personal best of 4:11.49 which she set two weeks ago.

Women 1500 Metres Open
1 Melissa Duncan 90 VICTORIA 4:10.20...$750
2 Zoe Buckman 88 VIS 4:10.49...$350
3 Laura Crowe 87 IRELAND 4:13.84...$150
4 Madeline Heiner 87 NEW SOUTH WALES 4:14.74
5 Bridey Delaney 89 NEW SOUTH WALES 4:15.26
6 Brittany McGowan 91 QUEENSLAND 4:19.86
7 Kate Spencer 95 NEW SOUTH WALES 4:21.26
8 Jenny Blundell 94 NEW SOUTH WALES 4:21.88
9 Eliza Curnow 92 VIS 4:25.18
10 Coreena Cleland 89 VICTORIA 4:25.46
11 Paige Graham 89 SOUTH AUSTRALIA 4:26.37
12 Milly Clark 89 NEW SOUTH WALES 4:26.88
13 Gen LaCaze 89 QUEENSLAND 4:29.21
14 Julia Minucci 96 EASTERN SUBURBS 4:37.52
15 Madeliene Murphy 97 NORTH WEST AC 4:42.21
16 Tessa Johns 97 EASTERN SUBURBS 4:49.55

In the mens 5000m, Paul Robinson of St.Coca's AC set a new personal best time of  13:54.34
Men 5000 Metres Open
1 Ben St Lawrence 81 NSWIS 13:31.56...$750
2 Liam Adams 86 VICTORIA 13:45.35...$350
3 Brenton Rowe 87 AUSTRIA 13:47.96...$150
4 Malcolm Hicks 87 NEW ZEALAND 13:52.43
5 Paul Robinson 91 IRELAND 13:54.34
6 Olle Wallerang 85 SWEDEN 14:02.47
7 Mark Hanrahan 85 IRELAND 14:05.82
8 Harry Summers 90 NEW SOUTH WALES 14:09.44
9 Mikke Ekvall 89 SWEDEN 14:09.62
10 Morgan McDonald 96 NEW SOUTH WALES 14:15.78
11 Brady Threlfall 87 VICTORIA 14:19.55
12 Nick Wightman 85 VICTORIA 14:22.51
13 Toby Rayner 86 VICTORIA 14:23.54
14 Anthony Aloisio 92 VICTORIA 14:25.97
15 Jack Rayner 95 VICTORIA 14:31.43
16 James Connor 92 NEW SOUTH WALES 14:38.66
17 Hugh Williams 92 NEW SOUTH WALES 14:50.27
18 Josh Harris 90 VICTORIA 14:55.45
19 Jack Davies 95 VICTORIA 14:59.74

Irish athletics round up from the weekend...Sat 18th & Sun 19th Jan 2014

Sun 19th...At the Reykjavik International Games in Iceland, Rose-Anne Galligan of Ireland finished in second place in the womens indoor 800m in a time of 2:03:69. This was just outside the 2:03:00 needed to qualify for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships which takes place in Sopot Poland in March.

Rose-Anne has a personal best of 2:00.58 for 800m outdoors which she set in London last July.

800 m   
Athletes    Nationality    Date    Time   
1    Aníta Hinriksdóttir    ISL    13 Jan 96    2:01.81
2    Rose-Anne Galligan    IRL    9 Dec 87    2:03.69
3    Aline Krebs    GER    5 Sep 88    2:06.24

Video of the race HERE

Sun 19th...At the Munster Indoor Athletic Championships in Nenagh, Co.Tipperary, Sinead O'Connor of Leevale AC won the womens 3000m in a time of 10:18.10. James Grufferty of Leevale AC won the mens 3000m title in a time of 9:04.93.

The track results are HERE and the field results are HERE

Sat 18th Jan...At the Hunter Track Classic in Glendale, Australia, several Irish athletes were in action.

In the mens 3,000m, Paul Robinson of St.Coca's AC finished second while Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC finished fourth.

Hunter Track Classic 2014 - 18/01/2014. Athletics Australia National Series. Hunter Sports Centre, Glendale                    
Men 3000 Metre Run
  1 Batt, Kevin               23 Nsw                    7:57.11       
  2 Robinson, Paul            23 Ireland                7:58.56       
  3 Wright, Joshua            23 Nswis                  8:05.13       
  4 Hanrahan, Mark            29 Ireland                8:05.73       
  5 Saunders, Philo           38 Act                    8:09.40       
  6 Hansen, James             21 Nsw                    8:11.38       
  7 Fawthorpe, Tom            24 Vic                    8:17.78       
  8 McDonald, Morgan          18 Nsw                    8:20.21       
  9 Hunter, Charlie           18 Nswis                  8:20.34       
 10 Connor, James             22 Nsw                    8:21.46       
 11 Cox, Matthew              24 Nsw                    8:22.42       
 12 Roeger, Michael           26 Sasi                   8:24.53       
 13 Gebreselassie, Dejen      21 Nsw                    8:39.20       
 14 Walters, Guy              20 Nsw                    8:40.49       
 15 Williams, Hugh            22 Nsw                    8:40.85  

In the womens 1500m, Laura Crowe of An Riocht AC finished in third spot in a time of 4:11.49, an improvement on her previous personal best of 4:12.06 which was set in Italy last September.
Women 1500 Metre Run
  1 McKnight, Kaila     28 Vis                    4:09.87 CGB         
  2 Duncan, Melissa     24 Vic                    4:09.98 CGB         
  3 Crowe, Laura        27 Ireland                4:11.49             
  4 Hetherington, Kell  25 Vis                    4:14.11             
  5 Laman, Anna         19 Nsw                    4:19.55             
  6 Wellings, Eliose    32 Nsw                    4:22.23             
  7 Delaney, Bridey     25 Nsw                    4:22.81             
  8 Powell, Courtney    19 Vic                    4:23.39             
  9 Powell, Laura       15 Vic                    4:24.99             
 10 Davies, Rose        15 Nsw                    4:31.52             
 11 Lord, Arianna       17 Nzl                    4:31.68             
 12 Augustine, Emily    17 Nsw                    4:33.17             
 13 Witchard, Melinda   28 Nsw                    4:36.42

Sat 18th Jan...At the guest mile at the Athlone indoor track, John Travers of Donore Harriers can close to the 4 minute mark.

Place Heat Posn Elite Mile Club Time
1 F 1 John Travers Donore Harriers AC / AIT AC 4:01.47
2 F 2 Danny Mooney Letterkenny AC 4:02.88
3 F 3 Joe Warne Doheny AC / DCU AC 4:04.06
4 F 4 John Coghlan MSB AC / DCU AC 4:10.65
5 F 5 Emmet Dunleavy Sligo AC 4:12.10
6 F 6 Richard Owens Sli Cualainn AC / UCD AC 4:13.97
7 F 7 Kevin Kelly St. Coca’s 4:26.46

Race video...

Sat 18th Jan...At the Scottish Open Athletics indoor meet in Glasgow, Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC ran 24:01 in the 200m, not far outside her PB of 23:58. In the Long Jump, Kelly jumped 6.26 metres.

200m...2 24.01 Kelly Proper SEN    W Ferrybank/Ireland 23.58

LJ...1 6.26 Kelly Proper     SEN    W Ferrybank/Ireland 6.48

Laura Crowe runs 4:38 mile at the Great North City Games

At the Great North City Games in Newcastle, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC finished 8th in the mile race in a time of 4:38.36. This now places Laura as the 16th fastest Irish woman on the all time list.

13:18 | Womens Bupa Great North 1 Mile
Pos    Name    Country/Club    Performance       
1    MORGAN UCENY    USA    4:33.97       
2    LAURA WEIGHTMAN    GBR    4:34.63       
3    HANNAH ENGLAND    GBR    4:35.12       
4    EMMA JACKSON    GBR    4:35.34       
5    SUSAN KUIJKEN    NED    4:35.81       
6    HELLEN OBIRI    KEN    4:35.86       
7    MILCAH CHEMOS    KEN    4:36.66       
8    LAURA CROWE    IRE    4:38.36       
9    CHARLENE THOMAS    GBR    4:42.32       
10    EILISH MCCOLGAN    GBR    4:43.02       
11    ZOE BUCKMAN    AUS    4:49.05       
12    SARAH MCDONALD    GBR    4:50.90       
13    JENNY MEADOWS    GBR    4:56.17

The current Irish mile record is held by Sonia O'Sullivan with a time of 4:17.25 which was set back in 1994.

Irish athletes Paul Robinson, Mark Englsh and Laura Crowe in European races this weekend

On Friday evening the 6th of September, Paul Robinson finished 3rd in the mens 'B' 800m race at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels, Belgium. His time of 1:46.06 was only 0.2 seconds his personal best.

800m B race in Brussels
1 JOHNSON Brandon USA 1:45.45
2 CRONJE Johan RSA 1:45.85
3 ROBINSON Paul IRL 1:46.06
4 RIMMER Michael GBR 1:46.19
5 MANZANO Leonel USA 1:46.31
6 JAMAA Samir MAR 1:46.70
7 BENEDETTI Giordano ITA 1:48.15
8 VAN DEN BROECK Jan BEL 1:49.43
9 BALHAN Pierre BEL 1:50.30

On Sunday the 8th of September at the IAAF Challenge in Rieti, Italy, both Paul Robinson and Mark English were in action. In the mens 800m race, Mark English finished 4th in an impressive time of 1:44.89, just five one-hundredths of a second slower than his personal best.

Rieti IAAF World Challenge (ITA)...07-08.09.2013 - B
800m MEN :
1.    Musaeb Abdulrahman BALLA    (QAT    )    1:43.93 PB
2.    Edwin Kiplagat MELI    (KEN)     1:44.49    SB
3.    Brandon JOHNSON    (USA)     1:44.55   
4.    Mark ENGLISH    (IRL)     1:44.89   
5.    Tamás KAZI    (HUN)     1:45.37    PB
6.    Michael RIMMER    (GBR)     1:46.09   
7.    James EICHBERGER    (MEX)     1:47.07   

In the mens 1500m race, Paul Robinson set a new personal best time of 3:35.22. This was over 2 seconds faster than his previous best of 3:37.66 which was set in Belfast last June. That is a huge jump in terms of performance which moves Paul from 16th to 6th on the Irish all time list. Just to put it in perspective, Eamonn Coghlan is now 8th on that list.

1500m MEN :
1.    Silas KIPLAGAT    (KEN)     3:30.13    SB
2.    Johan CRONJE    (RSA)     3:31.93    PB
3.    Mohamed MOUSTAOUI    (MAR    )    3:32.08    SB
4.    Nick WILLIS    (NZL)     3:32.57    SB
5.    Augustine Kiprono CHOGE    (KEN)     3:33.21    SB
6.    David TORRENCE    (USA)     3:33.23    PB
7.    Krzysztof ŻEBROWSKI    (POL)     3:35.07    PB
8.    Paul ROBINSON    (IRL)     3:35.22    PB
9.    Zane ROBERTSON    (NZL)     3:35.45    PB
10.    Jonathan Kiplimo SAWE    (KEN)     3:40.83   
11.    Abdellah HAIDANE    (ITA)     3:41.96    SB
12.    Miles BATTY    (USA)     3:45.75   
13.    Leonel MANZANO    (USA)     3:48.83    

In the womens 800m race, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC set a new personal best time of 2:00.93, a big jump up from her previous best time of 2:02.63 which was set in Dublin in July. This new time now moves Laura from 8th to 4th on the Irish all time list.

  
800m WOMEN :
1.    Caster SEMENYA    (RSA)     1:58.92    SB
2.    Nelly JEPKOSGEI    (KEN)     1:59.40    PB
3.    Nataliya LUPU    (UKR)     1:59.52   
4.    Hannah ENGLAND    (GBR)     2:00.39    SB
5.    Zoe BUCKMAN    (AUS)     2:00.93    PB
6.    Laura CROWE    (IRL)     2:00.93    PB
7.    Anna ROSTKOWSKA    (POL)     2:01.34    SB
8.    Renata PLIŚ    (POL)     2:01.48    SB
9.    Mary KURIA    (KEN)     2:01.90   
10.    Lea WALLACE    (USA)     2:03.13     

With the track season now coming to a close, Both Laura Crowe and Rose-Ann Galligan have both come with a second of breaking the two minute barrier. Will 2014 be the year when the first Irish woman goes sub two??

Irish athletes in action in Padova, Italy...Sun 1st Sept 2013

At the Citta di Padova meet in Italy on Sunday, three Irish athletes were in action. Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC set a new personal best time of 4m 12.06s in the womens 1500m when she finished in 4th place. Her previous best was 4:12.25 which she set back in June in Manchester.

In the mens 400m, Brian Gregan was 5th in 46.48 and Paul Robinson was 7th in 1:48.05 in the 800m

Padova (Italy), 1.9.2013 -27th Meeting Città di Padova-
1500m
1 Elena Korobkina (rus) 4:11.42;
2 Emily Infeld (usa) 4:11.51;
3 Margherita Magnani 4:11.56;
4 Laura Crowe (irl) 4:12.06;
5 Violah Lagat (ken) 4:12.94;
6 Lea Wallace (usa) 4:13.33;
7 Dureti Edao (eth) (96) 4:15.91;
8 Sonja Roman (slo) 4:17.45;
9 Beverly Ramos (pur) 4:19.82;

400m
1 LaShawn Merritt (usa) 45.18;
2 Rusheen McDonald (jam) 45.56;
3 Matteo Galvan 45.57;
4 Manteo Mitchell (usa) 45.96;
5 Brian Gregan (irl) 46.48; (PB 45.53)
6 Isalbet Juarez 46.90;
7 Michele Tricca 47.50;

800m
1 Giordano Benedetti (ita) 1:46.93;
2 Antoine Gakeme (bdi) 1:47.06;
3 Erik Sowinski (usa) 1:47.31;
4 Andrew Wheating (usa) 1:47.33;
5 Tamás Kazi (hun) 1:47.38;
6 Sammy Kirongo (ken) (94) 1:47.40;
7 Paul Robinson (irl) 1:48.05;  (PB 1:45.86)
8 David Torrance (usa) 1:48.20;

Laura Crowe of An Riocht AC runs PB time at Diamond League event in Norway...

In the womens 800m race at the IAAF Diamond League Meeting at the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday evening, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC finished 7th in a new personal best time of 2:02.69. To even be selected to compete in such a prestigious event as a European Diamond League is an honour in itself but to then take two seconds off your previous PB is really outstanding.

#    ATHLETE    NATION    RESULT
1 POISTOGOVA Yekaterina RUS 1:59.39 SB
2 LUPU Nataliya UKR 1:59.59 SB
3 JEPKOSGEI Janeth KEN 2:00.09
4 MAGISO Fantu ETH 2:00.25
5 JEPKOSGEI Nelly KEN 2:00.52
6 CHEBET Winny KEN 2:01.21
7 CROWE Laura IRL 2:02.69 PB
8 MOH Clarisse FRA 2:03.54 SB
9 MASNÁ Lenka CZE 2:04.33
BALCIUNAITÉ Eglé LTU DNF

Intermediate times:
400mBalciunaité, Eglé (LTU)56.19
600m Jepkosgei, Nelly (KEN)1:28.09

Laura was also the winner of the recent Cork BHAA John Buckley Sports 5k race where she set a course record of 16:16.