Michelle Finn records another sub 9:50 time in 3000m Steeplechase race in Berlin

Michelle Finn of Leevale AC was in action in the womens 3000m steeplechase race at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin on Saturday evening (3rd Sept 2016) and recorded yet another sub 9:50 time. As you can see from the results below, the Cork woman recorded a time of 9m 47.51s. The other Irish contender in the race was Kerry O'Flaherty who finished in 10:10.57.

3000m Steeplechase Women
3 SEP 2016 / 19:10
Rank Name Nat Date of Birth Order Result
1 CHESPOL Celliphine Chepteek KEN 22 JUN 1998 9 9:25.49
2 KRAUSE Gesa Felicitas GER 3 AUG 1992 11 9:30.95
3 SHATALOVA Mariya UKR 3 MAR 1989 8 9:34.97
4 KIRUI Purity KEN 13 AUG 1991 10 9:39.80
5 SUSSMANN Jana GER 12 OCT 1990 2 9:41.05 PB
6 KOWAL Matylda POL 1 NOV 1989 3 9:46.46
7 FINN Michele IRL 16 NOV 1989 5 9:47.51
8 FENTE Birtukan ETH 18 JUN 1989 4 10:07.61
9 O´FLAHERTY Kerry IRL 15 JUL 1981 1 10:10.57

 

As the outdoor season draws to a close, it has been a great year so far for Michelle. These are her 3000m Steeplechase times this year ...

3000 m steeple
9:54.89   SB 1 Univ Ch Dublin 16 Apr
9:58.84   6 Hamburg 22 May
10:10.32   15  IFAM Oordegem 28 May
9:46.81   SB 1 National Championships Dublin 26 Jun
9:45.93   SB 4h1 European Championships Amsterdam 8 Jul
9:43.19   PB (82)  7 European Championships Amsterdam 10 Jul
9:49.45   11h2 Olympic Games Río de Janeiro 13 Aug

Her 9:54 time in April was practically a solo time trial. In May, it was 9:58 for in Hamburg. In June, she won the Irish National Championships in 9:46. In July, she ran 9:43 at the European Championships and in August, she ran 9:49 in the heat of the Olympics in Rio.

In case you're wondering just how fast 9:47 for 3000m is then it's 5m 15s per mile pace with numerous hurdles and water jumps to negotiate.

Cork athlete Michelle Finn finishes 7th in European 3000m Steeplechase final

Cork athlete Michelle Finn was the fastest of the three Irish women in the final of the 3000m steeplechase at the European Athletic Championships in Amsterdam today. After a very strong last lap, Michelle finished in 7th place in a new personal best time of 9m 43.19s. Sara Treacy was just behind in 7th with Kerry O'Flaherty in 12th. Just getting to a European final was a major achievement for the trio but finishing so high up is really something special.

Video of the race...


Interview with Will Downing...


Photo Credit : Kieran Carlin

Irish athletes through to finals in European Athletics Championships

Cork athlete Michelle Finn was in action today in the womens 3000m steeplchase race at the European Athletic Championships in Amsterdam. After staying out of trouble in the early stages, Michelle came though take fourth place in a seasons best time to qualify for the final on Sunday.

In the other heat, Sara Treacy and Kerry Flaherty both ran personal best times to get to the final as well.

The 3000m final is on Sunday at 3:15pm Irish time.

In the qualifying rounds of the womens 1500m, Ciara Mageean finished third to get through to the final on Sunday.

After getting boxed in during the race, she had a strong finish in the home straight.

Ciara who is from Portaferry in Co.Down is one of Ireland's best track athletes and the final of the 1500m is on Sunday at 3:45pm.

Michelle Finn from Cork on the left staying out of trouble in the women's 3000m Steeplechase

Will Downing interviews...

Ciara Mageean...


Michelle Finn...

Michelle Finn from Cork qualifies for 2016 Olympics in Rio

The Letterkenny International Track & Field Meeting in Donegal was held on Fri 10th of July. In the womens 3000m steeplechase race, no fewer than 3 Irish women were inside the qualifying time of 9m 45s for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. They were Kerry O'Flaherty, Michelle Finn and Sara Treacy.

Both Michelle and Kerry were also inside the qualifying standard of 9:44 for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing this year.

Michelle Finn is a member of Leevale AC in Cork and is a regular at local road races here. She was also a member of the Irish Cross Country team that won Bronze at the European Cross Country Championships in 2014. Her 3rd place time of 9:43.34 was also a PB and was a big improvement on her previous best of 9:49:00 set in May of this year.

Kerry O'Flaherty also recorded a new PB of 9:42.61 and her previous best was 9:51.64 set in June of 2015.


Sara Treacy was part of the Irish team that won Gold in the European Cross Country Championships in 2012. Her time of 9:44.14 was over 3 seconds faster than her previous best of 9:47.92 set in August of 2014.

From Letterkenny AC......"It was a night to remember for Irish womens athletics with the trio of Kerry O’Flaherty, Michelle Finn and Sara Treacy all securing qualification standards in the 3000m steeplechase for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games at the Letterkenny International Track & Field Meeting. O’Flaherty of Newcastle AC and Finn of Leevale AC also secured qualification standards for the World Athletics Championships in Beijing next month with times of 9:42.61 and 9:43.34 respectively. Dunboyne AC’s Treacy came agonisingly close to the World standard with 9:44.14, just 0.14 outside the standard."

Fast forward to ~50 secs...and again at 3:06...


Top Irish times in the 3000m steeplechase as of 11th July 2015

1 9:28.29    NR Roísín McGettigan 23 Aug 80 174/55 3    KBC-Nacht    Heusden    28 Jul 2007
2 9:37.60    Fionnuala Britton 24 Sep 84 158/45  5    adidas    New York NY    11 Jun 2011
3 9:42.91     Stephanie Reilly    23 Feb 78  7    adidas    New York NY    11 Jun 2011
4 9:42.61  Kerry O'Flaherty    15 Jul 81  2    Letterkenny    11 Jul 2015
5 9:43.34  Michele Finn    16 Dec 89  3    Letterkenny    11 Jul 2015
6 9:44.14 Sara Treacy    22 Jun 89 4        Letterkenny    11 Jul 2015
7 9:51.54     Una English        14 Aug 70  4    Spitzen    Luzern    16 Jul 2008

Former Steeplechase national champion Kieran Stack runs 1:03 in the Ballynonty 10m

For those of you who might remember some of the big names in Irish athletics back in the 80's and 90's, this might be of interest.

The Ballynonty 10 mile road race was held in Tipperary last Sunday the 27th of July and one of those taking part was Kieran Stack, one of the top steeplechase runners in his time. Running under North Cork AC, Kiernan was also the 2nd M50 home.
21    1:03:25    STACK, Kieran    North Cork AC    M50    06:20.4

Back in the late 80's, Kieran was one of the top steeplechase runners in the country having won the Irish national 3000m steeplechase title in 1989 and 1990. His PB of 8:29.60 set back in 1985 is still the third fastest on the Irish all time list.

3000 m steeplechase
1 8:24.09    Brendan Quinn 26 Jul 60 Bruxelles 30 Aug 1985
2 8:27.24    Liam O'Brien 11 Oct 54 London 24 Jun 1984
3 8:29.60    Kieran Stack 11 May 63 Austin TX 31 May 1985

He has also ran marathons in New York in 2:36 and in Boston in 2:32.

Focus On....Former Olympian Liam O'Brien

In the Sunday Independent dated 11th Dec 2011, there was a short article titled 'Where are they now' which looked back at the running career of Liam O'Brien of Midleton. While Liam retired from competitive running back in the 90's, he is still very much involved in the sport. Besides being technical director for the Cork City Sports, you will often find Liam behind the scenes at all of the East Cork and Ballycotton road races. Here is the article...

* * * * *

Former Olympic athlete Liam O'Brien won 11 national steeplechase titles over a 17-year period, but the Corkman believes that having such a long career was his greatest achievement in the sport. In many ways it was more special than being an Olympian.

O'Brien started running at a young age. His father worked at the Whitegate refinery and it was at their sports day that he first experienced the joy of athletics. In the mid-1960s, the Midleton Athletic Club was formed so O'Brien joined up and started to race competitively at juvenile level.

From there he went on to teacher training college in Limerick and his career prospered. He was always a middle-distance runner but at that time he was running shorter distances on the track, like the 400m and 800m. Then as he got older he started to compete in more long-distance events and those were the races that he performed best in, particularly the steeplechase.

"It's a very specific event. I found out pretty quickly I could beat people in the steeplechase that might often beat me on the flat. There is a little bit of technique involved in it; you're jumping up over barriers, landing and absorbing shock and I was just able to do it. It suited me," says O'Brien.

In 1977, the Corkman won his first national title and he went on to claim 10 more national titles, winning his last in 1994. In many ways that time was a golden era for Irish steeplechasers with the likes of Brendan Quinn, Kieran Stack and Joe Hartnett all competing in the event. A lot of the records that stand today were recorded back then. O'Brien also achieved success on the international stage. In 1984, he qualified for the Los Angeles Olympic Games and reached the semi-final. Three years later, he went to the World Championships in Rome.

Just over a year ago, he retired from teaching at Midleton CBS. However, he is still involved in athletics and orienteering at the school. O'Brien is also one of the organisers of the Munster Schools athletics and is technical director of Cork City Sports. From working with so many young athletes, the former Olympian thinks the future looks bright for Irish athletics.

Race notice...Doneraile 5 mile race - Sun 23rd Oct 2011

This new 5 mile race is coming up in Doneraile Park on Sunday the 23rd of October at 2pm. Organised in conjunction with Awbeg Athletic Club, it has an Athletics Ireland licence.

Please note registrations close at 1:30pm.  It is about a 600m walk to the start and so early and timely registration is critical.

Doneraile is centrally located in north Cork and is within easy reach of runners in Limerick, South Tipperary as well as Cork City.

The race has a number of unique features that set it apart from other races.

1) The setting...Doneraile Park which is an old country estate. At this time of year with the autumnal colours, it's a stunning spot to hold a race. Most of the course is within the confines of the park and is closed to traffic. It really is the jewel of North Cork and it's amazing how people don't even know about it.

2) The Steeplechase......Many people will not know that the original steeplechase actually took place in Doneraile. While the word 'steeplechase' today is associated with an olympic track event or a horse race, the very first steeplechase took place here in the 18th century......(Wikipedia...The first steeplechase is said to have been the result of a wager in 1752 between Cornelius O'Callaghan and Edmund Blake, racing four miles (6 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile, in Cork, Ireland.). Drawing on that tradition, the race will start at the Roman Catholic church in the town and finish outside the Church of Ireland church....i.e. steeple to steeple. There will also be token steeplechase jumps at each mile marker but these are completely optional. There is no advantage to be gained by jumping them but might be used by some of the slower runners doing it for fun ;o)

3) Relay event.....might be one for beginners? Teams of 3 people can take part also. The first person runs 2 miles with the 2 others doing 1.5 miles eace. Please note that last registration is at 1:30pm. Allow time for members of the team to get to the start and changeover points.

4) Discount for Fit4Life runners.....This event is supported by the Cork Local Sports Partnership and Fit4Life members will recieve 50% discount if they enter through Claire Hurley at  churley@corksports.ie

5) Golf.........For anyone wanting to make a day of it, the local Golf Course are offering discounted green fees for the 9 hole golf course...(€10 but must be booked in advance)

6) Juvenile races...While the main race is on, there will other shorter 800m and 1 mile races for juvenile runners...U12, U14 and U16. Entry is free but must be pre-entered.

In short, there is plenty there to make it a day out for the whole family instead of just turning up at a race and rushing away again. The entry fee is €12 and you can enter online at the organisers website......http://www.sportingdoneraile.com/

That site also has plenty of other info. A full preview will be posted here just before the race.

Here is a short video clip to give you a little taste of what the park is like...