National title for Ballymore’s Aisling
Aisling Lane from Ballymore won the the U23 3000-metre walk at the 123.ie National U20 and U23 Championships hosted by Tullamore Harriers AC last Saturday.
A member of Mullingar Harriers, Lane set a new championship record (CR) with a time of 13:54.98.
Having walked 13:57 and 13:55 (a Leinster record) in her last two 3,000m walk races, Aisling knew that she only needed one second faster to set a new CR, but breezy conditions and a rain soaked track made this a tougher challenge than anticipated.
Only one competitor managed to stay with her for the first lap but from then on Aisling moved to the front and it became a solo effort. Despite the conditions, she held form and technique throughout. At the bell for the last lap she needed a swift 1:45 lap to achieve her goal and with determination, she drove on hard over the final lap to cross the finish line first in 13:54.98.
It was a new personal best, a new CR by just one second, bettering the previous set 35 years ago in 1990, and mission accomplished for a delighted Aisling. This is also a Mullingar Harriers club record, so Aisling’s name is added another time to the list of club record holders. A PB, a CR and a club record – one second giving three happy results.
Lane's Mullingar Harriers colleague Diarmuid Fagan also claimed a national title, doing so in the U23 5,000m. In what was the final individual track race of the day, it started fast but quickly settled into a good rhythm. Fagan was leading the chasing pack behind the early leader, who had gone out hard and kept pushing on in the early laps. John Ryan of Mullingar Harriers was also a real medal prospect, tucked in nicely into the chasing pack.
Drawing on his racing experience, Diarmuid knew the leader’s pace was too strong, so he bided his time and slowly closed the gap. With six laps to go, Diarmuid took the lead and pressed on as the leading group began to break up and string out, but with Ryan keeping in touch. With 600m to go, Diarmuid pushed on and at the bell surged forward, quickly opening a big gap on the back straight that couldn’t be closed and he came home clear to win the national title. John finished fast behind in fourth, very disappointed not to realise his pre-race plans of winning a medal, but fourth at this level is an excellent result.
Overall, Ireland’s brightest young athletes lit up a blustery Tullamore, with a host records falling as the country’s rising stars staked their claim ahead of upcoming international championships.
Precious Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC) stole the sprint spotlight with a dominant double in the U20 100m and a CR of 23.66 in the 200m. Sean Doggett was the standout performer in a stacked men’s 400m final with the Athenry AC athlete securing gold in 47.08.
Nick Griggs (CNDR Track Club) made a triumphant return to national championship action to win the U23 800m (1:52.46), while Eimear Maher (DSD) set a CR in the U23 1500m (4:22.80). Matthew Newell (Tuam AC) stormed his way to gold in the U20 5000m walk in 20:43.96.
In the field, Thomas Williams (Shercock AC) continued his hammer dominance with a 65.30m (6kg) throw to take the U20 title, while Anna Gavigan (LSA AC) continued to impress, throwing a new U23 CR of 54.20m in the discus.
Impressing over the jumps were Aoife O’Sullivan (Liscarroll AC) who soared to a CR of 1.81m in the U23 high jump, while Conor Penney (Craughwell AC) added to his medal collection with a best leap of 2.08m, picking up gold in the U20 high jump competition.