On Saturday June 16th a number of Irish athletes competed in the fast-paced three hour long ‘Soundtrack: Track and Field Meet’ in Tubingen, Germany. Of the nine events held, the 1500m, 800m and high jump gathered all the Irish attention. Ireland's Sarah Healy continued her jaw-dropping form and smashed the 1500m National Youth record for the third time in three weeks.
In flying form, the talented athlete ran a time of 4:09.25, making Sarah the fastest European U18 in 32 years. In 1986, Ana Padurean of Romania clocked a time of 4:06.02. Sarah's mind-blowing time puts her 10th on the all-time Irish Senior list and this result is also a European A Standard qualifying time. Ciara Mageean was also racing in the very competitive event finishing in 4th position in 4:06.70, her fastest 1500m in almost a year.
This caps off a brilliant week for Healy as on Wednesday at the British Millers Club Meeting in Watford, she recorded a 800m PB as she ran 2,06.30. Claire Mooney, former UCD Graduate Sports Scholar was also competing in this race and took the silver medal home with a time of 2:04.23. It's exciting to see Claire back on Irish soil and great to see her as part of a strong Irish panel of athletes.
On Saturday in Tubingen, Claire Mooney competed in the 800m and ran a PB with a time of 2:02.82 placing 9th. Christina Hering of Germany won the 800m event in 2:00.48. All eyes now will be on the Belfast International Women’s 800m event on June 26th with the mouthwatering prospect of seeing Claire Mooney, Ciara Mageean, Alana Lally and Sarah Healy in the same race.
South of the border in Marseille, France, Phil Healy competed in the 400m Meeting d'Athlétisme de Marseille. Up against talented and decorated athletes, Healy held her focus and placed 4th behind American superstar Allyson Felix by just 0.3 seconds in a time of 52.35. A brilliant opportunity and experience for the Irish athlete.
Women's 400m Meeting d'Athlétisme de Marseille
1. Libania Grenot 🇮🇹 51.51
2. Drayton Shakes 🇬🇧 51.97
3. Allyson Felix 🇺🇸 52.01@lsabre_Avenger @TnFjunkie @JustSportsTweet #Trackandfield pic.twitter.com/iUNtStXZWk— Miska (@M1ZKA) June 16, 2018
Across the water, Bedford, England hosted the England Athletics U23 and U20 Championships. Finn Valley’s high jumper Sommer Lecky took gold in the U20 high jump with 1.84m, a PB for Lecky. This was also a World Junior Qualifying Standard jump.
Michaela Walsh broke the Irish U23 record and topped the podium again in the hammer throw as she produced a distance of 64.22m. This marked a brilliant week for Irish throwing as Paralympic superstar Niamh McCarthy smashed the European F41 Discus Record beating her own record by over 3 metres in the Paris Grand Prix with a mark of 32.67m. With this kind of form, Niamh will be targeting European Gold in August.
Finally, after winning her semi-final heat, Ciara Neville took silver in the U20 100m final running 11.7 seconds. Kristal Awuah took home gold with a time of 11.5s. Attention will turn to the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland from 10-15 July.
Kristal Awuah pulls away and takes the Gold in a time of 11.51, Ciara Neville gets silver U20w 100m #EAChamps pic.twitter.com/2g4fKzaJ4p
— England Athletics (@EnglandAthletic) June 16, 2018
