Another All-Ireland Championship record for Maya Rus
Maya Rus (St Cocas) leaps to gold in the girls U12 Long Jump.
There was plenty of action across the county this weekend as athletes of all ages stepped on the track to compete for both club and county. In the Tailteann Games held at Carlow, Kyle Byrne-Ward (Newbridge) representing Leinster, took the 100m hurdles title and thus earned his place on the Irish team for the forthcoming SIAB International.
Meanwhile in Tullamore, there was exciting news as Maya Rus (St Coca’s) broke yet another championship record. Competing in the U12 60m, at the All-Irelands, Rus took gold in both the 60m and the long jump, her 60m being in record time.
Kildare had two county teams in the National League, the men’s team finished sixth and ladies one better with a fifth place, both qualifying for the national finals. At the National five-mile road race in the Phionex Park, David O’Connor (Celbridge) was second in the over 40s while Alexander Wallace (St Coca’s) won the Viking Half Marathon in Waterford.
The county B track and field cumulated for many young athletes what has been an exciting summer in athletics, with excellent performances and some promising results all around.
The World’s oldest games, the Tailteann Games, took place in Carlow last Saturday. Older than the Olympics, these ancient Irish Games were revived in the 20th century as a celebration of Irish Independence. While initially they featured a plethora of sporting events, these days they are confined to Track and Field. Specifically they are the gateway for an opportunity to don the Irish green vest with the first two athletes in each event being selected as part of the Irish team for the SIAB International to be held this year in Belfast.
Several Kildare athletes were representing Leinster in this inter-provincial competition. There was a superb performance from Kyle Byrne-Ward (Newbridge) to take gold in the 100m hurdles. This is the first competition this year that he was not competing alongside his clubmate Eoghan Gallagher, who was absent due to an injury. Byrne-Ward will now don the Irish vest as part of the Irish team that will be headed to Belfast for the SIAB international in a few weeks. There were three third placed finishers.
Senan Markey (Tir Mona) took bronze in the boys walk, just outside the selection for the Irish team. Sean O’Sullivan (Celbridge) fresh from his Leinster silver medal a week ago took bronze in the Long Jump with a best jump of 6.40m. Grace Garvey (Clane) also took bronze. Garvey threw 33.35 from her second round throw to finish 3rd in the javelin.
Rachel Keaney finished fifth in the Steeplechase, after taking an early lead. It was a very close competition where just a few seconds separated the athletes. It was a seventh place finish for Holly Kearns in the walk. Another athlete featuring in many competitions this year is Lorella Houlihan (Crookstown-Millview). Houlihan took ninth place in the high jump with a second time clearance of 1.50m. Her clubmate Florence Harte finished fourth in the triple jump just 10cm short of a bronze medal. Harte’s best jump of 10.80m came from her final jump. Suncroft’s Ella Hanlon took sixth in the discus, with Noah Treacy (Kildare AC) going one better in the javelin with his fifth placing.
It is National league time once again. The time of year when club and county teams are pitted against each other with the grand prize of the top two clubs making the European Club championships later this year. For Kildare it was a county entry in the ladies with Newbridge AC having a club team in the mens. The Kildare ladies finished a very creditable fifth place cumulating the same points as fourth placed Meath. Out in front it was Kerry, followed by Tipperary and then Galway.
One of the top performers for the Kildare ladies was Caoimhe Cronin (Le Cheile). Cronin topped the table in the 200m with a 25.04 performance easing towards the line with plenty to spare over Galway’s Laura-Ann Costello and Kerry’s Roisin Daly. Another top performing athlete was Holly Wright (Crookstown-Millview). As she has done on many an occasion, Wright topped the discus table with a throw of 42.65m, over 10m ahead of her nearest opponent; Niamh Madden (Tipperary).
Saoirse Kennedy (Celbridge) finished second in the 1500m walk in a season’s best of 7.38m. Eabha Brennan (Newbridge) has been steadily improving both her 400m and 800m times this year. Brennan ran 58.39 to finish third in the 400m, almost catching Clara Daly (Kerry) in the process. Brennan lined up again a short while later in the 800m where she finished fifth, the same placing achieved by Isabelle Heffernan (Clane) in the 100m, clocking a season’s best.
Vivien Fleischer (Celbridge) was one of the most active athletes on the day. She finished fifth in the 100m hurdles, before going on to take fourth place in the triple jump. Although the effort from the race just moments before may have taken its toll, with one valid jump being followed by three fouls. Something that is unusual for Fleischer. However, things turned for the better when the Fleischer finished third in the Long Jump. Finally the Celbridge athlete topped the day off with a sixth place in the high jump. Four events in one day is quiet an effort for any athlete. Her sister Lydia kept the family name familiar with her second placed effort in the javelin. Not an event the younger Fleischer is often associated with, but was happy to step in to keep the county momentum going.
There was a great team effort in the 4x400m with three clubs amongst the quartet. The team of Caoimhe Cronin (Le Cheile), Eabha Brennan and Elsa Browne (Newbridge) and Zofia Terzyk (St Coca’s) took fourth place behind Galway, Tipperary and Monaghan.
The Kildare men were also in action, in the sun drenched track of Tullamore. The men finished sixth overall with 81.5 points just marginally being Sligo and Meath. There were some positive overall performances.
Top performer for the men was JP Archbold who won the Long Jump. Archbold has already achieved the European U18 qualifying standard, with his 7.42m effort from last week’s Leinster Juvenile championships. Chasing that second standard he had everything to gain. However, despite his heroic 6.99m performance, the distance felt short of the 7.15m required. He will now seek a final opportunity within the next week.
Aiden Bayon (Celbridge) was back in his walking shoes after a hiatus of a year. Bayon finished second in the men’s 1500m walk behind Sligo’s Luke Fitzmaurice. Rory Ardiff (Le Cheile) finished second in the 400m hurdles with Kerry’s Ger Cremin crossing the line ahead of him. It was an eighth place finish for the Kildare 4x100m relay. The team consisting of three Le Cheile athletes; Keely Hogan, Ciara Connolly and Rory Ardiff. These were joined by Sean O’Sullivan (Celbridge).
The county’s 4x400m team faired a little better taking sixth place. Alexander Guther (Newbridge) stepped up for his senior debut with a fifth place finish in the 1,500m. A big occasion for the U17 athlete. Clubmate Toby Ruffer gained some valuable points as the Newbridge veteran competed in the 400m. That was a good effort considering he had just run a 5,000m where he finished sixth. Newbridge were once again to the forefront with Eoin Murphy having a good race to take fourth in the 800m.
Murphy took in the weight for distance to complete his days contribution. It was fourth place too for Cian Roche (Celbridge) in the steeplechase. The water jump providing an unusually welcome reprieve from the intense summer heat. It was a series of fourth places within the space of a few minutes as Lucas Smith (Naas) also took fourth in the Pole Vault. Smyth also went on to accumulate points in the high jump. The cycle of fourth place finishes was broken when Diarmuid Hickey took third in the shot put, one of just two athletes to have a full sequence of valid throws. He then finished fourth in the discus.
Keely Hogan was in action again, this time over both the 100m and 200m contributing valuable points towards the county effort. It was quiet a busy afternoon for the Le Cheile athlete with the 4x100m and 4x400m relays also on his list. The day cumulated with a javelin effort from Cian Roccho. Both ladies and men’s teams have no qualified for the national league final in August.
Maya Rus (St Coca’s) has done it again. On the back of her All-Ireland U12 Indoor double gold she has now achieved a double gold for the U12 outdoor track and field championships. The St Coca’s athlete won both the long jump and the 60m sprint. Winning her heat in 8.16 seconds Rus came into the final as the fastest qualifier. To boost she also broke the 13 year old championship record of 8.29 seconds. A record that was set back in 2013 by Niamh Foely of Limerick. Up against the best girls in Ireland in her age group she faced the final as nervous as any of them. From the gun, Rus powered down the track finishing five metres clear of the second placed athlete Emilia Bloom (Trim). As jubilant and gracious as ever, Rus hardly flinched when her time of 8.14 was yet another record. The St Coca’s athlete had broken the championship record twice for the same event. Later in the day Rus competed in the Long Jump. Her best jump came from the third round where a leap of 4.74cm was not only a personal best but enough to secure her a second gold medal. In just two months Maya Rus has secured four national titles and three Irish championship records. What a season.
Staying with the U12 age group, Ava Kelly (Naas AC) took bronze in the U12 turbo javelin. Kelly threw a massive 25.94m from her final throw, retaining her bronze medal position. For the boys Tim Barron (Newbridge) soared to 1.39m to win his first national track and field medal. Barron cleared all his jumps on his first attempt and secured 1.39m on his second. He recorded the same height as the winner (Ted Fitzpatrick of Longford) with Fitzpatrick clearing 1.39m on his first attempt.
The All-Ireland Pairs, or Children’s Games as it has recently become known as, is for athletes U9, U10 and U11, where times or distances are added from the competing “pair”. Several Kildare athletes qualified for this All-Ireland competition, with all giving an excellent account of themselves.
Naas AC were once again dominant in the turbo javelin. With several pairs making it through from Leinster, the boys and girls were intent on taking home national medals. This they did with style. The U10 girls Lucy Young and Orla McKenna were magnificent as their combined score resulted in a clear gold medal, well ahead of Erris AC and Bandon AC. In fact Orla’s throw of 18.74m was the second farthest in the competition, with Lucy finishing fourth overall. St Coca’s AC finished fifth and Naas B finished eighth. Javelin in this age group in Kildare is going to be hotly contested over the next few years. The Naas girls U11 pair of Erica Fitzpatrick and Laoise Ni Chonghaile took the silver medal in the turbo javelin with Erica’s throw of 19.58m the third best throw overall. The Naas girls produced another set of silver medals. In the girls U9 Evie Minihane and Lucy McCarthy teamed up well with Evie finishing third overall and Lucy eighth – combining well to take silver, their first ever All-Ireland medals.
Turbo Javelin medals were not just confined to Naas AC. In the boys U9 Suncroft AC took silver medals with Donnacha O’Dwyer and Liam Hanlon both throwing well to stave off the Milford (Donegal) pair by just 2cm.
There were a few fourth placings, the pairs that almost made it to the podium. None were closer to gaining a medal than the St Coca’s u10 60m pair of Sienna Carr and Rose Hurley. The girls were a tantalising one hundredth of a second from the bronze medal. Newbridge athletes Mason Malone and Gabriel Popoola finish fourth in the boys U9 60m just over one tenth of a second off the bronze medal.
Relay teams from St Coca’s, Crookstown Millview and Clane competed in the U9, 10, 11 and 12 age groups all doing very well but unfortunately not making the podium on this occasion.
Jake O’Regan (St Johns AC) and Heather Murphy (St Michaels AC) were the winners of the men’s and ladies Irish Runner National five-mile road race held in the Phoenix Park. Kildare had some athletes competing with David O’Connor (Celbridge) finishing 16th overall in a time of 26.58. O’Connor was the second over 40 athlete to cross the line, just two seconds behind the over 40 winner Anthony Doran (Clonliffe). Meanwhile in Waterford St Coca’s Sinead O’Rielly braved the intense summer heat to finish seventh lady in the Viking marathon. While former Suncroft AC athlete Alex Murphy took the ladies half marathon title in a time of 1.22.10. St Coca’s Alexander Wallace won the men’s half marathon in 1.09.40.
The County B track and field championships, the final in a series of juvenile championships for this summer, were held in Naas last Saturday. There were excellent numbers in all races with some promising performances to boost. The Fagan sisters Holly and Tara (St Coca’s) had excellent wins in their respective U14 and U12 600m races. The Kildare AC trio of Jessica Aladejana, Taislya Lyster and Lola O’Loughlin had a clean sweep of the U14 sprint. Aladejana also took silver in the U14 600m. It was a clean sweep for Naas AC in the boys U16 800m with Emmet Walsh taking gold from clubmates Jimmy Fairless and Ben Howell. Le Cheile’s Sean Campbell had a convincing win in the boys U12 600m. Kym Hanlon (Suncroft) produced a great turbo javelin effort from her third round throw to take the u10 title from her clubmate Emily Cousins. Finn Crosbie (Newbridge) looked a promising prospect in the boys U11 turbo javelin. Zach Corrigan (Crookstown-Millview) dipped across the line in the U11 boys 80m to take gold from Oisin Kealy (Naas). This may conclude the summer racing for some of these athletes, but there is plenty more juvenile athletics to come in the next four weeks for others.
