On Sunday 5th March a number of our Masters athletes represented our club on the National stage in Athlone. Many were armed with Leinster medals secured in Abottstown last week and the strong team made the journey to the midlands in confident mood. There is no higher level of competition on the indoor track for Masters athletes and the competition, as per usual at national level, was fierce.
Michelle Pilkington-Street got the show on the road for the club in the shot put, putting in a really strong performance winning a bronze medal in a competition where the championship record was broken. Great throwing and congratulations Michelle.
Coach Paul Gannon was in the house to witness some of his athletes competing on the national stage for the first time.
In the 60m sprints Roisin Bell followed up her Leinster silver with a fantastic silver medal again after a scorching run in this really competitive category. Just six hundreds of a second separated the first two athletes here with Roisin comfortably clear of the third placed athlete in a PB time of 8.77. Well done Roisin on this impressive performance.
We also had Fiona Tobin in 60m action and she ran really well in her race, right up there throughout and finishing 5th just outside the medals. This was very good sprinting from Fiona on the national stage and just the beginning of what is to come from her. Rosemary Higgins was just behind Fiona and she ran very strongly and was competitive throughout and will be back on the outdoor track in the hunt for more medals after her strong performance here.
In the 200m Marie Tobin and Roisin Bell lined up for Dunboyne in their category. It proved to be an ultra-competitive race with fast times ran by all competitors. In the end Marie Tobin ran a blistering 29.08 to earn herself a fantastic Bronze medal. Roisin was only just behind after another strong run and narrowly missed out on a medal this time. This was great 200m running from our two athletes and congratulations to Marie on winning Bronze.
Fiona Tobin was also on 200m duty in her category and put in a very strong performance in what proved to be a very fast race. Fiona was right up there fighting throughout and finished outside the medals this time but battled all the way to the line.
Kay Gilmartin lined up for her 200m and flew around the track to claim a superb silver medal digging deep and finishing strong. Not long back to training after a bout of illness, Kay continued her good form to add this national medal to her rapidly expanding collection.
The 400m is always an exciting event to watch indoors. There is always a lot going on and so it proved again today. In an extremely tight race Marie Tobin pulled out a sensational 65.9 PB to win the national title. This shaved almost 2 seconds off her PB set in Abottstown just last week. A truly fantastic performance from Maria and surely a go at 800m is on the cards now!! Very well done Marie.
Kay Gilmartin was also running the 400m and she made it a double celebration by winning her category. Another national medal for Kay and for Dunboyne AC, in what was turning out to be a very good day for the club. Well done Kay on winning 2 more medals.
On the mens side, Nobby Smith was representing the club in the 60m. Nobby, who is a 60m specialist, had a Leinster Gold medal in his pocket from last week and was aiming to grab a national medal today. In this incredibly fast category Nobby blasted from the blocks and, in a blanket finish, clocked 7.76 and new PB . More importantly it was enough to net him a fantastic Silver medal after this super performance. Well done Nobby.
Keith Eglington was next up in the 200m. Keith was in a very tough category and ran a strong race, battling all the way to the line, but outside the medals on this occasion. Michael Cornyn also represented the club in the 200m and looking in great shape, he ran a cracking race to win a silver medal in a tight finish in a very quick time. Great running Michael.
Keith was out again in the 400m and he again found himself in a very tough field. Being competitive throughout he kept his form well on the home straight to finish outside the medals. Good running from Keith in an ultra-competitive race.
Not satisfied with his 200m silver medal, Michael Cornyn lined up for his 400m looking to add to his medal collection. He scorched around the 2 laps and easily won Gold with a very impressive 61.7 seconds run. This was a fantastic performance from Michael and continuing the fine recent form he has been showing over varying distances. Very well done Michael.
Phelim Glynn was running the classic 800m and 1,500m double today. His 800m race was a bit of a messy, tactical affair with Phelim experiencing a bit of trouble in running and getting boxed in somewhat. This meant he probably wasn’t best placed to attack when the time came. He finished outside the medals here but had his 1,500m to look forward to. Michael Cornyn was also running in the 800m and with lots of running in his legs today he still ran very well and only narrowly missed out on a bronze medal by just one tenth of a second.
Phelim lined up for his 1,500m in a big field that was always going to be very competitive. Up near the business end of proceedings throughout, Phelim ran a very strong race and comfortably won an impressive Silver medal. Great running from Phelim here.
This was another very impressive day at the office for Dunboyne AC. As the indoor season draws to a close we congratulate these great performances at national level and confidently look forward to an outdoor track season full of promise and expectation. Well done to all athletes who competed so well for our club at provincial and national level.
