More National medals for Mullingar Harriers athletes

The final day of the AAI National Juvenile Track and Field Championships were held last Sunday at a sunny and warm Tullamore and the very pleasant weather certainly seemed to bring the best out of the Mullingar athletes.Looking to add to the 800m title she won the previous week-end in Antrim, Elizabeth Carr took to the line in the Under 14 girls 1,500m as the pre-race favourite. The finish was close and exciting but Elizabeth had enough in reserve to win and take yet another national title. Of interest is that all three medallists have a Mullingar connection. Following Elizabeth in for the silver medal was Ciara Hewson from Le Cheile AC in Leixlip who has been training with Mullingar Harriers for the past few weeks and has clearly benefitted, and in third was Shauna Fagan of Leevale AC in Cork, whose father, Peter comes from Mullingar and was one of the first really good juvenile athlete to run with Mullingar Harriers.In the Under 14 boys 1,500m Shane Fitzsimons gave a reprise of the wonderful exhibition of determined front running he displayed in Antrim to take gold in a new personal best time which was only marginally outside the record. Shane now has an impressive collection of National titles in cross-country, indoor and outdoor championships and it is difficult to see who can mount a serious challenge to him in Ireland. Also competing was Thomas Lynn who was very unlucky to finish in fourth place, just outside the medals, but he still ran a terrific race despite having missed a couple of vital weeks training recently due to injury. A little more time to recover and there is little doubt but he would have taken a medal.Having missed the chance to compete at 800m in Antrim due to another commitment, Amie Giles was determined to perform well in the Under 16 girls 1,500m to finish off what has been a brilliant season for her. An early slow pace didn"t suit and it wasn"t long before Amie took the lead and began to draw the field out.At the bell for the last lap it was evident that Amie would win a medal but its colour was still undecided. At the finish she had to settle for silver but she was delighted with that and can now take a short well-earned rest. Another athlete recovering from injury, albeit much earlier in the season, is Thomas Fagan who narrowly missed out on a medal in Antrim but made no mistake in the Under 16 boys 1,500m in Tullamore where he ran a brilliant race to take silver to the delight of the Mullingar supporters.Jake Byrne was another athlete looking to add another National title to the 3,000m title won in Antrim and at the bell in the Under 17 boys 1,500m he attempted to take the lead but was held off in a terrific battle that lasted right through to the home straight where he had to settle for second place and give Mullingar its fifth medal of the afternoon. There was to be no medal for Shane Boggs in the Under 18 boys 1,500m where despite running more to form than in Antrim, he finished out of the medals but can now look forward to teaming up with Jake Byrne in the Schools International in Bedford this Saturday.Mullingar had just one sprinter in action in Tullamore as Aoife Hogan from Moate moved down to the 200m where she ran extremely well and finished fifth, just out of the medals. Aoife"s real talent is in the longer 300m and she can now look forward with great confidence to the National B Finals in August. Meanwhile, in the field events, Ciara Fogarty was competing in the Under 15 shot putt where she put together a good series to finish sixth, which is a terrific result in her first National final. Ciara clearly has a bright future ahead of her in athletics.Combining the performances over the three days of the National finals, Mullingar won a total of six gold and four silver medals and recorded two fourth, two fifth and a sixth place finish, in addition to many other very good performances, which is a marvellous testament to the hard work put in by the athletes and the great talent in the club at present.Sorry, Paul!Finally, it"s important to make a correction to last week"s notes where reference was made to the performance of Paul Daly in the 100m. Of course we meant newcomer, Paul Ryan, who was competing in his first All-Ireland in the Under 17 boys 100m where despite running a good race he didn"t advance to the final. Paul is only running with the club a few weeks having shown his talent with St. Finian"s College in schools athletics and looks a good prospect for next year with a good winter"s training behind him. Apologies to Paul for the mistake.Achill Half MarathonCongratulations to Eddie Newman who finished the Achill half marathon on Saturday, July 5 in 14th place overall out of nearly 1,000 finishers in a time of 1 hour 27 minutes and won a prize for third place in his master age category. Eddie is clearly made of stern stuff and didn"t seem too bothered by the appalling wind and rain on the day.AAI National T&F ChampionshipsThis coming week-end, several Club members will be in action at the AAI senior track and field championships in Santry. Olympic-bound Martin Fagan is entered in the 5,000m and 10,000m and will use the championships as part of his preparations for the marathon in the Beijing Olympics in August, Kevin Duggan is entered in the 100m and 200m and is hoping to further improve on his personal best times, Brendan Marshall should make an impact in the long jump, and Mark Christie is also expected to compete in the 1,500m.With the Olympic Games only a few weeks away, these championships provide the last opportunity to see most of Ireland"s Olympic athletes in action before they head to Beijing. We wish all the Mullingar athletes the very best of luck.Best wishes to Jake and ShaneFinally, everyone in Mullingar Harriers wishes the very best of luck to its latest young international athletes, Shane Boggs and Jake Byrne, when they compete on the Irish Schools team in the Schools International in Bedford, England this coming Saturday.Upcoming fixtures19th July. Schools T&F International, Bedford, England19th/20th July. AAI National Senior T&F, Santry23rd July. Dublin Graded Meeting, Irishtown26th July. AAI National u/13 to u/19 Inter-Club Relays, Tullamore30th July. Dublin Graded Meeting, Santry8th August. South O"Hanlon AC 4 Mile Road Race, Navan, 8pm8th August. Olympic Games Opening Ceremony9th August. AAI National Masters T&F, Tullamore10th August. AAI National Juvenile 'B' T&F Championships, Santry13th August. Castlepollard Road Race 8pm (juvenile races at 7pm)24th August. Longford Marathon, Half-Marathon & 4-Leg Marathon Relay RunTrainingTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and at Belvedere on Sunday mornings at 11am.Check the Club"s website at www.mullingarharriers.com for results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures.