Top Irish racewalker Kate Veale wins Swiss 10k race walk Championships

Another Irish athlete on the podium last weekend was Kate Veale from Dungarvan who finished first at the Swiss national track 10k race walk championships.

Kate who is one of Ireland's top race walkers is also a regular at many of the road races here in Cork.

Report from West Waterford AC...  KATE VEALE WINS SWISS NATIONAL TRACK 10K RACE WALK CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Kate Veale who the previous week was 1st at the Dutch 10k national race walking championships held in Tilburg was in action again this weekend when she made the trip to Switzerland to compete at the Swiss national 10k championships and again she crossed the line first over a 10k distance this time on the track, the event was held in the town of Monthey near Geneva.

The following day Sunday twenty walkers also lined up for the uphill race between Epinassey (Saint-Maurice) and Mex over 8km.This event is a very old race going back years and quite a prestigious event on the Swiss race walking calendar and again Kate walked well to finish 1st here.

1 54 Veale Kate 1994 West Waterford A.C. / IRL 57'46''
2 56 Torma Anett 1984 GYAC / H 1:00'26''
3 52 Briere Dora 1959 CM Cour Lausanne 1:03'25'' Championne Suisse
4 55 Delahunt Eva 2001 Sligo A.C / IRL 1:07'51''
5 51 Polli Marie 1980 SAL Lugano 1:13'52'' Vice-championne CH
6 53 Anxionnat Claudine 1951 AVEC Pays de Bruyères /FR 1:21'25''
7 50 Baptiste Helene 1950 CM Yverdon-les-Bains 1:22'39'' 3ème Suisse

16 year journey for Dutch athlete Susan Kuijken...From Dream to Bronze

Now that the 2014 European Athletic Championships in Zurich are over, I have a lot of links, results and interviews of the Irish performances in this post.

As you would expect, this championship generated its fair share of video clips on the net including post race interviews. The most popular are usually for the big names in athletics as they expressed their joy or frustration at their respective performances.

One however stood out for me and it was the post race interview with the Dutch athlete Susan Kuijken. For her, it was the realisation of a dream instilled in her by her junior coach at the age of 12 that one day she would win a medal at a major championship. Last Saturday aged 28, she finished third in the 5000m to win a European Bronze medal to finish that 16 year journey.

In the interview below, she gives an emotional account of what that medal means to her and how she realised her dream...

Fionnuala Britton runs 4th fastest time Irish time ever for her first marathon

The European Championship marathon was held today in Zurich on what was a very tough looped course with a testing hill on each lap. The Irish team was comprised of 3 women.....Fionnuala Britton, Sarah Mulligan and Barbara Sanchez.

This was a debut marathon for Fionnuala Britton and she finished in 10th place overall in an impressive time of 2h 31m 46s. That's an excellent time for a tough course and shows that her future really lies now in the longer distance. That time puts her in 4th place on the Irish all time list...

1 2:22:23 Catriona McKiernan 1 Amsterdam 1 Nov 1998
2 2:28:07 Carey May 1 Osaka 27 Jan 1985
3 2:29:01 Sonia O'Sullivan 8 London 17 Apr 2005
4 2:31:46 Fionnuala Britton 10 Zurich 16 Aug 2014
5 2:32:56 Regina Joyce-Bonney 7 Scottsdale AZ     4 Dec 1982
6 2:33:28 Nicola Duncan 1 London 13 Apr 2014
7 2:33:59 Marie Davenport 16 New York NY 6 Nov 2005
8 2:34:49 Monica Joyce 2 Sacramento CA 2 Dec 1984

Post race interview...


Sarah Mulligan finished in 36th place in a time of 2h 42m 43s and Barbara Sanchez finished in 41st in 2h 43m 59s.

The Irish team finished 7th overall.

These are the 5k splits for each of the Irish athletes. You can see where they were strong and where they struggled...
Fionnuala Britton 5k 17:21...10k 17:19...15k 17:28...20k 18:00...25k 18:06...30k 18:26...35k 18:20...40k 18:47
Sarah Mulligan 5k 17:54...10k 18:29...15k 18:26...20k 18:18...25k 18:23...30k 19:18...35k 19:54...40k 22:21
Barbara Sanchez 5k 18:29...10k 18:18...15k 18:33...20k 19:20...25k 19:29...30k 19:59...35k 20:02...40k 20:51

One of the more unusual aspects of the marathon championship was the Estonian team which consisted of the Luik triplets.

Liina Luik 2:41:48, Leila Luik 2:45:59 and Lily Luik 2:48:49.

Photo Credit : James Veale of West Waterford AC

Mark English of Ireland wins European Bronze in Zurich

At the European Athletic Championships in Zurich this evening, Mark English from Donegal finished 3rd in the mens 800m final to take a bronze medal. It really was a magnificent performance from the 21 year old.

Here is the race video....


Here is a post race interview with Mark English from Will Downing...


What a great talent......and still only 21 years old.

Photo from James Veale of West Waterford AC

Top Irish hurdler Thomas Barr wins race in Switzerland and sets a new national record

Thomas Barr from Ferrybank AC in Waterford is just 21 years old and is one of the top 400m hurdlers in the country. Over the last two years, he has been making steady progress with his times getting gradually faster.

In July of 2013, he broke the 50 minute barrier for the first time at the European Under 23 Track and Field Championships in Finland. His time on that occasion put him second on the Irish All Time list...
1 49.73 Tom McGuirk 03.02.71 5 San Jose USA 01.06.96
2 49.78 Thomas Barr 24.07.92 3 Tampere FIN 12.07.13

At the end of May 2014, Thomas broke the 18 year old record of Tom McGuirk when he ran 49.61.

On Saturday the 14th of June 2014 at the EAP meet in Geneva, Switzerland, Thomas put in an amazing finish to win the 400m hurdle race. Not only did he take a big slice off his own national record but he beat William Rhys the reigning European champion in the process.

1. 22 Barr Thomas 92 Ferrybank AC IRL 48.90
2. 291 Williams Rhys 84 Grande-Bretagne GBR 48.95
3. 142 Hussein Kariem 89 LC Zürich SUI 49.08
4. 155 Königsmark Varg 92 SC Magdeburg GER 49.41
5. 513 Le Roux Wouter 86 Afrique du Sud RSA 49.54
6. 98 Fleischhauer Georg 88 Dresdner Sportclub 1898 GER 50.37
7. 261 Sumner Ben 83 Grande-Bretagne GBR 50.37
8. 25 Bellaabouss Fadil 86 Montbéliard Belfort Athlétisme FRA 52.18

As you can see from the video, he was in about 5th place with 100m to go. In the end, it was a case that he just wanted to win more than the rest and gave it everything. It probably explains why he took he improved his own personal best time by so much.

Thomas is in a brown top in lane 5...

Athletics Ireland announce selection standard for 2014 European Championships

Athletics Ireland have just announced the standards required to qualify for the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Switzerland in August 2014.

For most events, the qualifying period runs from the 1st of January to the 21st of July 2014. The athlete in most cases either has obtain one 'A' standard or if they are a named 'Development Athlete' then they need two 'B' performances.

The full info can be seen HERE

Tyson Gay wins the 100m in 9.79 in Lausanne

At the IAAF Diamond League Event in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday evening, Tyson Gay of the USA won the 100m race in an impressive 9.79 seconds. With just a matter of weeks to go now to the World Championships in Moscow, it looks as if Usain Bolt is going to have some serious competition.

Wind:+2.0
# ATHLETE NATION RESULT REACTION TIME
1 GAY Tyson USA 9.79 0.163
2 POWELL Asafa JAM 9.88 SB 0.148
3 RODGERS Michael USA 9.96 =SB 0.158
4 COLLINS Kim SKN 9.97 NR 0.216
5 ASHMEADE Nickel JAM 10.05 0.145
6 BAILEY COLE Kemar JAM 10.05 0.170
7 VICAUT Jimmy FRA 10.11 0.164 
8 THOMPSON Richard TRI 10.14 =SB 0.157

A total of 4 athletes broke the 10 second barrier although perhaps the 2.0 m/s tailwind and the fact it was at altitude may have been a factor here. Still though, the times are excellent. Asafa Powell who is often overshadowed by Bolt and Blake in terms of Jamaican performances is still one of the world's greatest sprinters. He has more sub 10 second results in the 100m than anyone else in the world.

Another one to note was Kim Collins....37 years old and still running sub 10 seconds despite having the slowest reaction time.

Irish racewalkers in action in Lugano, Switzerland...Sun 17th Mar 2013

A number of Irish athletes were in action on Sunday in the 20 km race at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Lugano, Switzerland.

In a field where 81 competitors finished, all of the Irish athletes finished in the top half with Rob Heffernan finishing 10th. Bredan Boyce who is based in Cork finished 35th while Cian McManamon from Co.Mayo finished 37th.

Lugano Trophy 2013 - (1) 20km maschile / Men

 posto nome                            anno naz squadra                                 tempo   ritardo    pett     media
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1. Wang Zhen                       1991 CHN PR CHINA                              1:19.08     -----   (101)      3.57
    2. Dmytrenko Ruslan                1986 UKR UKRAINE                               1:20.38      1.30   (119)      4.01
    3. Campion Kévin                   1988 FRA AFA FEYZIN-VENISSIEUX                 1:21.02      1.54   (183)      4.03
    4. Kovalenko Nazar                 1987 UKR UKRAINE                               1:21.10      2.02   (118)      4.03
    5. Palma Olivares Isaac Antonio    1990 MEX MEXICO                                1:21.13      2.05   (113)      4.03
    6. Nowak Lukasz                    1988 POL POLSKA                                1:21.17      2.09   (125)      4.03
    7. Xu Faguang                      1987 CHN PR CHINA                              1:21.35      2.27   (103)      4.04
    8. Gomez Cruz Pedro Daniel         1990 MEX MEXICO                                1:21.38      2.30   (114)      4.04
    9. Losev Ivan                      1986 UKR UKRAINE                               1:21.55      2.47   (120)      4.05
   10. Heffernan Robert                1978 IRL IRELAND                               1:21.59      2.51   (115)      4.05
   35. Boyce Brendan                   1986 IRL LETTERKENNY                           1:27.20      8.12   (116)      4.22
   37. McManamon Cian                  1991 IRL IRELAND                               1:27.35      8.27   (117)      4.22

Results format....Finishing time...Time behind winner...Race Number...Avg time per km

Yohan Blake runs 9.69s in Lausanne...

Last Thursday evening (23rd Aug 2012) at the IAAF Diamond League meeting at Lausanne in Switzerland, Yohan Blake of Jamaica became only the third man ever to run under 9.7 seconds in the mens 100m. His time of 9.69 seconds equaled the time of Tyson Gay although Gay did have a slight following wind in his favour.


Fastest five 100m times ever...
1      9.58       +0.9    Usain Bolt   JAM     21.08.86    Berlin      16.08.2009
2      9.63       +1.5    Usain Bolt   JAM     21.08.86    London    05.08.2012
3      9.69       ±0.0    Usain Bolt    JAM     21.08.86   Beijing    16.08.2008
3      9.69       +2.0    Tyson Gay    USA     09.08.82   Shanghai    20.09.2009
3      9.69       -0.1    Yohan Blake  JAM     26.12.89   Lausanne    23.08.2012

The only person to have run faster was of course Usain Bolt. It's an amazing time considering that the 9.8 second barrier was only broken for the first time back in 1999 by Maurice Greene of the USA and Blake's time is a full one tenth of a second faster.

At the same meeting, Usain Bolt won the 200m in 19.58 seconds. While this is well slower than his world record time of 19.19 and his London Olympic time of 19.32, only three men have ever run faster than this.

It's reported that it now costs organisers $150,000 for the likes of Yohan Blake to take part in a Diamond League race. Bolt is supposed to cost twice as much.

Irish Racewalking results from last weekend...Sun 18th Mar 2012

Some of the the top Irish race walkers took part in the Lugano Trophy in Switzerland last weekend in some wet conditions.

In the Womens Under 20 race over 10kms, Kate Veale of West Waterford AC finished in 1st place in a time of 47:01, almost three minutes ahead of her nearest rival. In 4th place, Emma Prenderville of Farranfore Maine Valley AC in Kerry finished in 51:32. Emma had finished in 3rd place in 2011 with 50:50.

In the mens 20k race, Rob Heffernan of Togher AC finished in a time of 1:20:39. In previous years, Rob finished in 1:20:54 in 2011 and 1:20:44 in 2010 so he's in a good shape at the moment as he prepares for the Olympics in London.

In the womens 20k race, Olive Loughnane of Athenry AC finished in 10th place with 1:32:26.

In the Mens Under 20 race over 10kms, James Treanor of Shercock AC finished in 5th place with 45:08.

The full results can be seen HERE

The next major race walking competition is on Saturday, the 25th of March in Dudince, Slovakia. In it, Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) and Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) will be hoping for a qualification time of sub 3:59:00 for 50 kms for the London Olympics. Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) will also be taking part but has already qualified for London having recorded a personal best of 3.57.58 last September

Postscript......Results from the 50km race walkers Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in Dudince, Slovakia. Both athletes were trying for the Olympic 'A' standard time of 3:59. Jamie Costin dropped out at 32 kms and Colin Griffin was disqualified 10km later after a third warning flag. Brendan Boyce achieved the 'A' standard for the second time in six months by taking six seconds off his personal best time of 3:57:58.

Robert Heffernan finishes 5th in Swiss 20km race-walking event - Sun 20th Mar 2011

Rob Heffernan of Togher AC got his season off to a solid start by finishing 5th in a high class 20 kms race in Lugano, Switzerland last Sunday. The race was won by Chinese athlete Wang Chin with Rob finishing as the top European in a very impressive 80 minutes 53 seconds, his fastest ever opening to a season over the 20kms distance.

When interviewed after the race, Rob commented...."Initially I was quite disappointed to get beaten, but on reflection its a good opening to the season, and of course its an Olympic qualifying time, so its handy to have that out of the way"

Men
1 Zhen Wang (China) 1:18:36
2 Yafei Zhu (China) 1:18:37
3 Ding Chen (China) 1:19:38
4 Hassanine Sebei (Tunisia) 1:20:19
5 Robert Heffernan (Ireland) 1:20:53
6 Nazar Kovalenko (Ukraine) 1:21:33
7 Petr Trofimov (Russia) 1:21:47
8 Bertrand Moulinet (France) 1:21:49

The full results can be seen HERE