We had many athletes competing over Track and Field with the highlight of the month being the National Track & Field Championships in Santry.
Special congratulations to Jodie McCann who came away with bronze in the women’s 1500m with a time of 4.09.54 and qualified for the European Championships in Birmingham in August.
Also in the 1500m women’s final was Niamh Carr who finished 6th in 4.14.41, with Lucy Holmes running a PB to place 9th with 4.19.56.
In the Men’s 1500m final – Ronan McMahon Staggs was always in the mix (leading for almost 3 laps) and finished 8th overall with 3.47.34, despite a tight hamstring prior to the race!
Going back to Day 1 of the National Seniors, on Saturday, we had plenty of athletes in action! First up in the 1500m heats was Elizabeth Gahan, who just missed out on a place in the final (1st 6 qualify), placing 7th with 4.25.33 (just outside her PB) while Roisin O’Reilly finished a place behind Elizabeth with 4.32.00. In the second heat, Jodie McCann cruised into the final, winning with 4.21.85, while Niamh Carr (4.22.20) and Lucy Holmes (4.23.50) easily qualified for the final. Edel Monaghan raced 4.33.30 (a seasonal best), but missed out on a place in the final.
In the Men’s 1500m heats – Ronan cruised into the final in Heat 4 with 3.52.56.
On Sunday, Faye Dervan and Orla Duffy kicked of club representation in the 5000m – with Faye clocking 16.04.62 and Orla 16.49.37 in a highly competitive race. Niamh Allen (Leevale AC) won the race in 15.26.54.
Next up on track was Chris McLoughlin in the C heat of the 5000m – finishing 8th overall with 16.23.08.
In the Men’s Discus final Teddy Gannon placed 5th in his first National Seniors with 45.42 – after a solid series of throws.
National U20 & U23 T&F Champs 2026 in Tullamore: Teddy Gannon took his first National U23 title in the Men’s Discus with a throw of 48.30m.
Chris McLouglin ran 16.12.62 in the U23 5000m while Isaiah ran a new PB of 4.13.81 in the Junior Men’s 1500m.
Elsewhere we had plenty of action both at home and overseas:
Fribourg International Meeting in Switzerland: Ronan McMahon Staggs placed 3rd
Pursuit 5000 meeting Stirling, Scotland:
Niamh Carr had a huge 800m PB of 2.04.03 while Faye clocked an impressive PB of 16.04.88 in the women’s 5k. (Photo credit: photosbyelliot.co.uk)
International Meeting Jose Antonio Pena in Ordizia, Spain: Jodie continued her impressive early season form with a new 1500m PB of 4.07.47
Meeting Lignano in Italy: Ronan raced 3.38.57 for the 1500m (seasonal best) on the Wednesday evening and a 3.55.93 for the mile at the Morton Games 2 days later!
Dublin Graded meeting 7 in Lucan:
In the Women’s 800m races, Elizabeth Gahan set another PB of 2.09.58 to place 3rd in her race, while Edel Monaghan raced 2.15.03 in her heat! Claire O’Connor placed 2nd overall in her category with 2.31.73. In the Men’s 800m races, Cuan raced an excellent 2.02.18 – a nice debut performance over the 2 laps!
In the 3000m races – Celtic DCH’s Caroline raced 12.10.40 for the distance with Aoife Donaghy close-by with 12.13.81.
AAI Games: Elizabeth Gahan continued her excellent track season with a winning performance of 4.26.12 in the Women’s 1500m, while Roisin O’Reilly raced 4.33.97 in the same race – great racing ladies!!
Night of Athletics Heusden-Zolder Meeting in Belgium: Jodie McCann raced 4.11.20 for 1500m
