Sarah Lavin brought the curtain down on a thrilling final day of the 151st edition of the 123.ie National Track and Field Championships (July 30th).
Lavin remarkably set three personal best performances on her way to Sunday’s 100m gold, made all the more remarkable having claimed the 100m hurdles title only 24 hours previous.
The Emerald AC star saved her best performance of the day for this evening’s sprint final, clocking a lifetime best of 11.53 to make her own bit of championship history. Lucy May Sleeman followed Lavin home for a superb silver in 11.85, while Mollie O’Reilly (Dundrum South Dublin AC) continued her run of ultra-consistent performances to claim bronze in 11.86.
An intriguing rematch between European U23 medallists Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) and Sarah Healy (UCD AC) was billed as potentially the race of the day, and it didn’t disappoint with Healy and O’Sullivan going toe-to-toe from the gun in a race that had the crown in Morton Stadium on their feet coming into the final lap.
Ultimately it was Healy who mustered a final finishing surge to break free of O’Sullivan in a hugely tactical affair to claim her third outdoor 1500m title in a time of 4:11.39. O’Sullivan crossed in 4:12.00 to all but secure her place at the upcoming World Championships.
Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) produced one of the performances of the day in the 400m final, cruising clear of a field which included the class of Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock), Roisin Harrison (Emerald AC), and Phil Healy (Bandon AC).
Mawdsley looked in control from the gun, crossing the finish in isolation in a time of 51.94 for her second outdoor 400m title. Becker was a clear second (53.10), with Harrison getting the better of Healy for third (53.93).
Louise Shanahan (Leevale) made it three national titles in a row with a trademark ‘sit and kick’ win in the women’s 800m. A winning time of 2:03.13 ensured Shanahan’s domination of the 800m national title continued, an impressive feat given the strength in depth across Irish 800m running. Jenna Bromell (Emerald AC) ran a brave race from the front for silver (2:05.16) with Georgie Hartigan (Dundrum South Dublin) picking up bronze (2:08.98).
Jessica Tappin (Clonliffe Harriers AC) stopped Kelly McGrory’s (Tír Chonaill AC) bid for three-in-a-row with a winning run of 57.20 in the 400mH final.
The 5,000m went the way of Ide Ni Dhomhnaill (West Limerick AC) who has continued her rapid rise over the last 12 months, adding gold today to last year’s national 10k title. The West Limerick AC athlete raced tactically superb, unleashing a race winning kick with 600m to cross in a winning time of 15.44.04. Roisin Flanagan (Finn Valley AC) battled bravely to regain second place on the run-in from Shona Heaslip (An Riocht).
