Ten out of Ten for West Waterford Athletes at Munster Championships under 14-19
The Munster Championships under 14-19 were held in Templemore Co Tipperary on Saturday and Sunday last. West Waterford had ten athletes competing over the two days and all ten were on the podium with five winning their first Munster medal. We were very lucky with the weather over the weekend as we escaped all the thunder and lighting and had had only one heavy shower on Sat that delayed the track events.
Gold for Isabellle Gaffney
First in action on the track on Saturday was Isabelle Gaffney in the girls under 14 800m. Isabelle has been running some very fast times over the last few weeks and last Saturday was no exception. The event was run over two heats with the placings decided on times. Then first heat was fast so there was no hanging around for Isabelle in the second head as she had to make all the running herself to finish in a time of 2.16.79 to claim the gold medal.
Silver for Noah Commins in the boys under 15 800m
Running his first Munster clubs 800m Noah Commins was in a very competitive final but he was well up with the pace throughout the race and came with a strong kick at the end to secure the silver medal in a fast 2.09.03. On Sunday Noah ran in the 1500m and was forced to take out the race as it started at a very slow pace. He was in a medal position up to the last 200m but was boxed in and had to check his stride which lost him valuable seconds. His fast finish secured him 4th place with only the width of a jersey separating 3rd and 4th.
Gold for Sophie, Eabha and Doireann in the Racewalking Events
Next up on the track were our racewalkers and West Waterford dominated the girls events taking three titles. First in action was Sophie Beresford in the girls under 14 2000m. This was Sophie’s first Munster Championships and she was not fazed by the occasion. She took off at a very fast pace but soon settled into a good rhythm and kept her form right to the end to win in a new personal best of 11.34.9.
Next up was Eabha Hickey in the girls under 17 who took gold in the girls under 17 walk in a time of 19.10 and overcoming last year’s winner Luisne de Faoite in the process. This was Eabha’s first gold having won silver and bronze over the last number of years.
Doireann Hickey added the under 18 title in 17.06 to her long list of accomplishments which include the under 14, 15, 16 and 17 Munster titles.
First and Second for Lily and Michalina in the under 15 Discus
While the walking events were taking place on the track our throwers were warming up in their events. Lily Burke had competed in the schools at this venue and was familiar with the cage and she started steadily but soon launched a personal best throw of 28m.37 to lead the competition. Michalina G oclik has only joined the club in the last few weeks and has made steady progress in both shot and discus. On Saturday she improved with every throw and added over 8m to her personal best to finish second with 25m26. Lily was unfortunate that all three of her events were all overlapping . She made it into the final eight in the long jump but had to forgo any further jumps to concentrate on the discus and then went straight to the hurdles where she made the final and finished in 5th place. On Sunday Michalina was back in action in the shot and finished in 4th place improving in each round and adding a metre to her personal best.
Gold for Saoirse Quinn in the under 18 Discus
In our final throwing event of the day Saoirse Quinn pulled out all the stops to throw over 30m for the second time ever. £0m is a ki9nd of milestone for ther girls discus so it isa big deal to conquer this mark.Her throw of 30m 93 was a new personal best by over 60cms. On Sunday in the hammer she threw 36.03 which secured her 4th place.
First Individual Track Medal for Fia de Paor
With storm clouds threatening it was back to the track for the girls under 16 3000m. Because the weather looked so ominous they ran under 16,17,18 and 19 girls races together so it was hard to keep track of who was in what race. Fia stuck to her task and dug in when she needed to to stay with the pace and finished in 3rd place with a new personal best of 11.08.80 and finished just before the rain poured down.
Eoghan O’Brien Sole Medal Winner On Sunday
On Sunday Eoghan O’Brien competed in the boys under 18 discus which was dominated by athletes from Waterford. Eoghan improved his personal best by over 3m to finish third with a throw of 29m.02 and was West Waterford only medal winner on the day.
Well done to all our athletes and their coaches on their performances over the weekend. All ten now qualify for the All Ireland which will be held over three days in July.
All Ireland Day 1 Sat July 8th
The following athletes will compete on Sat July 8th
Isabelle Gaffney and Noah Commins 800m
Lily Burke, Michalina Goclic, Saoirse Quinn and Eoghan O’Brien in the Discus all the other events will take place on the weekend of the 22/23rd of July
Munster B Championships in Templemore Next Sunday June 25th
The Munster B Championships will be held in Templemore on Sunday next June25th. Any athlete who competed in the A championships and did not win a medal and any athlete who was registered for the first time in 2023 may take part. If you are interested in taking part let me know asap as the entries close on Tues.
Tailteann Games Carlow Sat 24th June
Best of luck to Saoirse Quinn who represents Munster Schools in the Tailteann Inter Provincial in Carlow next Saturday.
