Saturday June 17th
This was the First of 2 days for Dunboyne Juvenile Athletes at the Leinster Outdoors taking place in Tullamore. This venue is well known and enjoyed by our seasoned Juvenile Athletes. Both parents and coaches immediately erected tents and umbrellas but this time it was for shade and NOT rain. Although the warm weather and sun was welcomed and enjoyed, parents and coaches had the job of keeping the Athletes cool and hydrated on this fine day of 27 degrees.
First up nice and early was Sarah Nyhan in U/14 Shot Putt. Sarah is currently taking guidance from Dad Declan and following in the footsteps of brother Jack. As Sarah is gently introduced into the world of throwing we are seeing her performances improve time after time. Sarah finished in a very respectful position of 6th on Saturday and we are looking forward to seeing her continually improve next year.
Kate Griffin was up next in U/14 75m Hurdles. Immediately Kate was in a heat and up against the current national hurdles champion.Kate’s form has been improving immensely and she can hold her head up high as this is her 1st year of doing hurdles and we can say that her technique is absolutely brilliant. With a finishing time of 13.51 and 6th, we look forward to seeing Kate back next year with more improvement.
Cian Smith up next for the U/14 75M Hurdles and only 8 turned up so we were into a straight final. Cian as usual was first out of the blocks and lead the race from start to finish to claim Gold and first medal of the day. After 2 weeks of Football and finals he hadn’t fully prepared for this final and went in with low expectations but as always never fails to impress. 2 weeks hard work for Cian now for Nationals. Well done Cian and best of luck at the All Irelands.
Next up was our U/14 sprinters in the 200M of Rachel Norman, Lucy Eglington, Dervla McNicholas, Kala Ryan, Kate Griffin and Lorena Harrisson. No messing here as the girls prepared themselves for Heats & Finals with 32 girls looking to outdo each other across 4 heats. Some of these girls were touch and go if their coaches were allowing them to travel and compete meaning that this would be their 5th final in 7 days between Community Games, Primary School T&F Championships, and Primary School GAA Final (where Dunboyne AC 6th class girls completely dominated the match from start to finish showing true athleticism with a winning score of 9-7 to 0-0)
Competition was tough and only Dervla and Kala progressed through into the final taking the 7th & 8th spots of faster losers. It wasn’t to be Dunboyne’s day as in the final Kala against her will was wrongly forced into a Block by a Leinster official. This obviously put Kala off and didn’t see our girls in a podium finish. Well done to all these promising girls who will come back stronger next year. The 200m on the Saturday proved to be a great race preparation for Kala for the Sunday.
Kate Reilly was up for both the Tripple Jump and 200m in the U/16 girls. Kate arrived at 08:30, nice and early getting ready for Tripple Jump. As Kate patiently awaited to be called for her T.J. event eventually after 7 hours of waiting and what are the chances of it being called at the exact same time as her 200? Kate explained this to the TJ officials and quickly lined up in her 200m blocks. Katie finished the 200m in 6th place and quickly and immediately was forced to do 3 consecutive jumps to claim 2nd place and her silver medal. Kate was only 3cm off 1st place and one has to wonder if she was allowed prepare and get the appropriate rest between events and and jumps she would have definitely secured a gold medal. Anyway not to worry as Kate will show us when back nationals in a few weeks.
U/18 Boys saw Thomas Thorntan up in his for Tripple Jump, Long Jump and 100m Sprint. Thomas was superb and won Gold in Tripple Jump. A great win for Thomas and so delighted that he missed his Long Jump. Thomas lined up for his 100M and finished in a credible 6th place. We look forward to seeing Thomas back on the podium at nationals for Tripple Jump and his Long Jump. Yes even though he missed his Leinster Long Jump he can thank Fergal who pulled in a favour with Leinster Athletics and got him a LJ spot at Nationals.
Tadhg O’Muircheartaigh was up in the U/15 Javelin 500g. Again no bother to Tadhg who threw a massive 53.4m on his 2nd throw. This is very very impressive and seeing anyone throw like this is a pleasure to watch. Well done Tadhg, impressive as usual.
Doireann Ni Fhlatharta was up in the U/15 Girls 1500. Doireann lined up and took to the front in a pack of 4. Doireann determined as ever dominated and ran in the outside of lane 1. Away in the group of 4 at the the 1200 Mark Doireann made her move and broke away from the group of 4. There was no stopping her and Doireann sprinted across the finish line and claimed a well earned Gold. This was exceptionally impressive and brave from her seeing a massive time and PB of 4.53 for the 1500m. Unfortunately Doireann had some breathing difficulties which saw her require assistance from the medics and put on oxygen. This meant Doireanns coaches pulled her from her 800 taking place the following day. Needless to say Daddy wasn’t very popular on Fathers day but the correct decision protecting this young impressive developing Athlete.
Katie Greene was also up in the girls U/15 Girls 800. Katie has being doing fantastic this year and really continues to impress her coaches. Her work effort and determination are all paying off for her. Katie was strong in the girls 1500 as we saw the temperature reach 27 degrees as she got herself into a strong pack. Keeping herself together in this pack she kept it together and finished the race in a strong and impressive 8th place in a time of 5.30. Well done Katie, we look forward to seeing up on Wednesday at the Meath T&F League 1500.
Bonnie McFeat was up next in the girls U/16 1500. A long wait for Bonnie in the staggering heat but confidently as ever Bonnie lined up and ran excellently. Bonnie’s commitment and performance over the last year has been fantastic and she is continually improving. Well done Bonnie on a great race in very tough conditions. At this stage of the day the officials were acting as a water station during this 1500 on the home straight and I can honestly say, I have never in my life seen a water station on a track event. The conditions were extremely tough.
Sunday 18th June
Day 2 of 2 and if its even possible the weather is better. Back to the tents and umbrella’s fighting off the sun and out with the sun cream with Athletes chasing shade and downing water.
First up of the day was U/16 Beibhinn O’Muiretaireagh and also first to bring home a medal. Beibhinn under the close eye of brother Tadhg took to the Javelin like a natural and finished in 2nd place. Well done Beibhinn.
Jack Nyhan was up on U/18 Shot missing his number. After various comments from the officials jack put worries to his side and threw over 16M to secure a Gold medal. Jack will now train hard between now and Nationals and we are sure he will do just as great as ever.
Ross Lyons was up for his U/14 800m. The temperature was rising and the boys 800m caught us out by being brought forward and ran ahead of the girls. Its these little things than can throw Juvenile Athletes but Ross will learn from this and improve immensely. A bad run for Ross who struggled in the soaring temperatures. Ross will put this behind him and be back even stronger next year. We look forward to his races after a strong year and huge improvements.
Kala Ryan up next in the Girls U/14 800. A big race for Kala and up against her biggest rival from Ratoath. A race ran to perfection and a perfect timed move made at the 500m mark to take the lead just as Coach John battled through car troubles to witness Kala breeze over the finish line in 1st place and claim her Leinster Gold. A huge win for Kala with an impressive 2.22 in the 800m in 27 degrees. Well done Kala, we are delighted for you. Looking for to the All Ireland’s now.
Matthew Kiefer in the boys U/12 Long Jump. Matthew lined up in the heat with the huge numbers and chasing shade tried to stay out of the sun. A long wait for his jumps saw him outside the medals and it wasn’t to be for Matthew. We look forward to seeing Matthew back next year for his beloved Cross Country and tackle the track and Sand pit again. well done Matthew.
Victoria Knox was up in her U/16 250M long hurdles. A very tough and demanding event. Vickie had missed training for the past few weeks due to exams but gave it all and tried her best. Vickie has worked hard this year and is learning all about long hurdles. Always with a smile and finishing strongly in 6th place. Well done Vickie.
Abigail Knox was up next in the U/15 HJ. Abbey again has missed training due to injuries but never the less she powered through the HJ and jumped to a 3rd place with a 1.40M. Not a PB for Abbey but with some more training we will see her improve and looking forward to the All Irelands.
Philip Thornton was in the boys U/15 Shot and in his first year under Coachs Declan has made huge progression and impressive performances. Philip throwing the 4Kg threw over 14m to earn a brilliant silver medal and claim 2nd place on the podium. Well done Philip.
Back to our U/14 sprinters of Loreana Harrison, Lucy Eglington and Dervla McNicholas who were in huge numbers for the girls 80M. 4 heats and a weeks worth of finals this now being the 5th in 7 days for Lucy and unfortunately the girls didn’t get through the heat stages. Loreana and Dervla and were very close and finishing in 9th & 10th position. Lots and lots to come from these girls next year. Their dreaded Cross Country will be coming for them very soon.
Rachel Norman in the girls U/14 Long Jump patiently waited 5 hours to eventually get called up as the last event of the day. A tough one for Rachel who was warming up since 10am following the program. In the heat and warm sun, this long wait and warm weather seemed to suit Rachel who jumped 3 times and each of them a PB. This was a goal for Rachel and delighted with her new jumps, she was happy to head home with best friend Lucy and get their long awaited Ice Cream Cones. Well done Rachel, impressive and a fabulous performance.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/151447904@N02/albums/72157682267486584
Saturday
Individual Medals
1st – Cian Smith (75MH)
Tadhg O’Muircheartaigh (Javelin 500g)
Doireann Ni Fhlatharta (1500)
Thomas Thornton (TJ)
2nd – Kate Reilly (TJ)
Sunday
Individual Medals
1st – Kala Ryan (800)
Jack Nyham (Shot 5Kg)
2nd – Beibhinn O’Muiretaireagh (Jav)
Philip Thornton (Shot 4Kg)
3rd Abigail Knox (HJ)
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Fit4Youth News & Reports
