Notes August 22-10
KATE VEALE: SCINTILLATING IN SINGAPORE
The whole of Ballinroad, Dungarvan and West Waterford and indeed all those involved in athletics watched with abated breath last Saturday as young Kate Veale from Ballinroad donned the Irish singlet to perform in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. It was a most momentous occasion for young Kate who at the tender age of 16 was competing once again on the International stage in the 5,000 metres walk, an event in which she has excelled over and over again and in which she has firmly established herself as a major international athlete and incredibly she is still only a junior athlete. It’s no surprise to hear that she has been hailed as one of the most promising young athletes ever and her outstanding performance last Saturday amidst the top athletes in the world is testament to this. Kate began 2010 breaking record after record and this trend continued onto Bishan Stadium in Singapore where she produced a most amazing performance to finish fourth out of a top class field of athletes from all over the world and was most unlucky not to finish in a medal position. All the months of consistent and unwavering dedication to her training came to fruition with a performance that eclipsed all her previous outings as she once again claimed another new Junior Irish National record, knocking a whopping 15.3 seconds off the old record which Kate herself set a little while back. She started the race perfectly, concentrating on all the tactics she had practiced and honed so meticulously under the guidance of coach Jamie Costin, also of West Waterford and an Olympian athlete, and with 400 metres to go Kate was battling for bronze with the leader at that stage Ukraine’s Galchenko who looked likely to take gold and Russian Leontyeva silver. However, the fast finishing Italian Clemente and Mao of China both raced past the leaders with the Italian clinching first from the Chinese girl with Leontyeva just holding on for bronze by a second from Kate. She must be so thrilled to have performed so admirably at the highest level of athletics and it’s a sure sign of things to come in what will be a bright, promising and prosperous career for young Kate. Team manager Bernie Alcorn expressed her absolute delight with Kate’s performance in such humid conditions and said that Kate gave it 110% out there.
Athletics Ireland President Liam Hennessy said he was thrilled with Kate’s performance and offered the congratulations of all in athletics to the Dungarvan athlete. It was, he said, a huge boost to race walking in Ireland.
Kate is a credit to her parents James and Brid, her coach Jamie Costin, her school coach Brother Lennon and Mary Ashe of the juvenile club who were all present in Singapore to witness first hand her truly magnificent exhibition and the whole of West Waterford extends their heartiest congratulations to Kate and her family and we all look forward to hearing more of Kate in the future. Kate is a true ambassador for sport and athletics and so it was no surprise that she was selected to carry the Irish flag at the opening ceremony of the games, an honour bestowed on a most worthy, brilliant and outstanding athlete. She really is one of a kind. She has won numerous awards to date for all her achievements and won the Athletics Ireland “Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month” for June as she broke the Intermediate Schools record for the 2k walk by 20 seconds. She won the U17 3000m walk in a time of 13:16.19, bettering Ann Loughnane’s 2002 time of 14:01.42. At the Tailteann Games in Tullamore Kate continued her sequence of record breaking performances with another comprehensive win in the 3000m walk. Her winning time of 13:16.6 was a massive improvement on the record she herself set last year of 13:39.4. At the Woodie’s DIY Senior Track and Field Championships Kate was a clear winner of the 5000m walk. Her winning time of 22:52.90 was a new Irish junior record. Her achievements really are phenomenal and bearing all the traits and hallmarks of a great athlete, the sky is the limit for Kate. She is the pride of her county and country and beyond. Kate you were just super and well done to you, you are truly remarkable. Kate can now reflect on an absolutely thrilling season, having set the athletic world alight with her passion, spirit and enthusiasm for athletics.
Results of Girl’s 5,000 metres walk
1 CLEMENTE Anna ITA 22:27.38
2 MAO Yanxue CHN 22:29.42
3 LEONTYEVA Nadezda RUS 22:35.05
4 VEALE Kate lRL 22:36.97
5 CABALLERO Yanelli MEX 22:42.15
6 GALCHENKO Alima UKR 22:47.89
7 GARCIA Kimberly PER 23:17.04
8 STRMENOVA Katarina SVK 23:24.65
9 BUSTOS Ana ECU 23:43.81
10 THEODOROPOULOU Aikaterini GRE 23:44.38
11 G KACANOVA Diana LTU 24:36.76
12 DUKHOUNIK Volha BLR 25:09.48
13 KAUR Khushbir IND 25:30.27
14 VONGSUWAKUNTA Jantrapom THA 29:06.19
Ireland had another representative in the Youth Olympic Games in the form of Mark English of Letterkenny AC. Mark pulled off a thrilling performance in the heats to qualify for the final of the 1,000 metres run which was held last Sunday morning in the same Bishan Stadium.
Mark finished 8th in the 1,000 metres final which was held in very warm conditions of 35 degrees, the fast early pace was set by Sudanese athlete Abdelrahman who went through 400 metres in 53.70, with Geleto of Ethiopia going through 800m in 1.53.15. English moved to the front of the bunch at the 300 metres mark but when Geleto kicked for home at 200 he split the field apart, with the Letterkenny man unable to maintain contact. In the resulting bunch sprint to the line he finished eighth in a time of 2.24.95, just outside his best of 2:24.53. Geleto took gold in an impressive 2.19.94 with silver going to the fast finishing Driouch of Qatar 2.21.25 and Briton Charlie Grice got up for bronze in 2.21.85. While disappointed at not making the medals this has been a fantastic season for English and he can look forward to the future with confidence.
1 GELETO Mohammed ETH 2:19.54
2 DRIOUCH Hamza QAT 2:21.25
3 GRICE Chartie GBR 2:21.85
4 JORJO Chuchu ERI 2:22.00
5 CUNHA Joseilton BRA 2:24.14
6 MANSOUR Ahmed EGY 2:24.22
7 RUDOLF Zan SLO 2:24.24
8 ENGLISH Mark IRL 2:24.95
9 ABDELRAHMAN Elnazer SUO 2:29.79
10 MASCOLL Anthonio BAR 2:37.14
AMBER GARAGE RUNNING LEAGUE
All good things come to an end and so last Tuesday night in the grounds of the Friary College, the final night of the very popular Amber Garage Running League took place. It was a most enjoyable league with different winners every night and we were most fortunate once again to have glorious sunshine for the league. Now that the league is over we look forward to seeing you all once again in the Friary in a few weeks time for the next leagues which will keep you ticking over for the autumn and which will get you ready for the Winter League. Don’t forget to bring a friend or two with you as you keep up your fitness regime.
CAROLINE WAS JUST IN TIME
It was a race to the finishing line as the clocked ticked on and for week 8 of the league Caroline Lenihan was the sole individual to get it just right, hitting the line just as the clock beeped at 0.00, what way better way to finish the league than with a win, well done Caroline.
It was a battle all the way as just behind was Declan Hayes who was a mere 2 seconds outside his predicted time and a great supporter of all our races, Caitriona Kiely, was just 4 seconds slower than she anticipated that she would be. Karen Coleman too almost got it spot on and just 6 seconds faster would have seen her claim a win but nevertheless she will be happy to have been slower by such a small margin as will Maria Kennedy who was just 8 seconds slower. Liam Sandford who has proven time and time again what a good pacer he is was also in the shake up with his run that saw him finish just 10 seconds outside his time. It showed that practice makes perfect in that there were more people on the right side of the clock than on the wrong side, a total of 35 were on the right side and 25 on the wrong side so people were improving their pacing with each passing week.
YEV ALMOST NAILS IT
Commiserations go to Yev Chizhikov, who was so close to claiming a win at the Amber League. It’s a tough call to make over the final 400 metres or so when everybody is bunching and running so close together and you have to decide whether to stay with the group or pick up the pace or alternatively slow down as the others may well be going too fast and in the absence of any watches we all have to rely on our own internal watches to accurately predict and so Yev went for broke and unfortunately was just one second too fast than predicted, so close Yev! Regina Cunningham can also sympathise with Yev as she was just 2 seconds faster and Claire Murray was just 4 seconds too fast. Mark Cliffe who has been on both the wrong and the right side of the clock throughout the league finished up getting it almost right, just 7 seconds outside his time and he was followed home by Josie Harty who will be happy to learn that she was only 8 seconds out even if it was on the wrong side of the clock. We will have a full report of the overall tables in next week’s notes.
LEAGUE SPONSORS
Once again, the club would like to express its sincere gratitude to Pat and Marian Keane of the Amber Garage on the Youghal Road who sponsored the league once again this year. They have proved to be very supportive and committed sponsors and we thank them for their commitment to the club and local athletics. Pat and Marian also presented the prizes for the league in Ballinameela last Friday night and thanks to them for giving of their time on the night. We would like to ask you all to support our league sponsors whenever possible.
A full update on the overall tables and the prize giving will feature in next week’s notes.
LEAGUE ORGANISATION
It requires a lot of commitment, help and responsibility to hold all our leagues and we are so lucky to have such a reliable crew in the form of Shirley, Liam, Paschal, Michael and Tony who between them all take care of the entries, the finishing line and tunnel and taking the names. Thanks also to Ann Dunford who looked after the times and the weekly tables and the weekly updates, many thanks to all.
BALLINAMEELA 5 MILE ROAD RACE
REPEAT VICTORY FOR SANDIS AND CORINNA SETS NEW RECORD
The 2nd Annual Ballinameela G.A.A. club’s 5 mile road race witnessed increased entries and some very fast running in ideal weather conditions last Friday evening. The battle for overall victory commenced from the very start of the race with two runners very much in form at the moment, Sandis Bralitis and Philip Harty, having a great battle over the very flat course around Ballinameela. Both runners went through the first mile in 4.50 and their second mile was also sub 5 minute pace with the marker being reached at 9.49. Shortly after this Sandis opened up the slightest of gaps with three miles being reached at 15 minutes even and both runners were running flat out at this stage. Sandis reached the four mile mark in 20.09, twenty metres clear and he increased this to thirty by the finish where he was clocked at 25 minutes 11 seconds.
Ironically, the last 2 miles were the slowest in the race, which probably highlights the effort put in by both runners early on and the course record set by Sandis last year of 24.53 is safe for another twelve months at least. Having a fine run in third place was Kevin Kenneally on 28.08 while notable runs from the men on the night included Declan Power (28.53), David Cunningham (29.03), John Foley (29.43), Yevgeniy Chizikov (31.11), Ted O’ Leary (37.59), Pat Moore (41.07), and Vincent O’ Donovan (43.35) all West Waterford members along with the first three finishers in the race itself.
Men’s Age Category Winners:
O/40: Jim Baldwin (Waterford A.C.) 28.44
O/45: Denis McCarthy (East Cork) 28.58
O/50: Tom Moroney (West Waterford) 34.44
O/55: Joe Goug,h (West Waterford) 31.10
Junior: Declan Power (West Waterford) 28.53 Wheelchair Category: Jerry Forde (Blarney A.C.) 45.42
CORINNA WALSH SETS A NEW RECORD
Corinna Walsh reserved her best form for the last race of the season when she set a new course record for the ladies of 31.10 which was thirty seconds faster than when she won the same race in 2009. Fresh from her successes at the National Masters Track and Field Championships in Tullamore the weekend before, Corinna was in control throughout and in fact finished 16th overall. In second place was another high finisher overall in 22nd position Norma Wall in a time of 32.38. This was a good 1-2 for the local club with third place going to Waterford A.C.’s Diane Behan in 33.27. Notable lady performances came from Liz Nyhan (35.32), Marie Walsh (44.47), Jacqui Tobin (45.50) and West Waterford runners Karen Ryan (35.36), Ann Masey (42.24) and Amanda Mansfield (44.21).
Ladies Category Winners
O/35: Liz Nyhan (35.32)
O/40: Bridget Coffey (West Waterford) (36.03)
O/45: Josie Ui Chuirin (West Waterford) (37.02)
Junior: Tara Roche (West Waterford) (45.36)
Race Organisation
It’s hard to imagine it’s only the Ballinameela club’s second year organising a race as this was a top class effort overall including the sponsor, the course, the stewarding, the facilities in the community centre and the post race refreshments, which were very welcomed by everybody. We would also like to thank our own organisation team who at the end of a long summer season once again came up trumps on the night and can now enjoy a well deserved break until the winter league in November. Roll on 2011!
CLONMEL HALF MARATHON
The inaugural Clonmel Half Marathon took place on Sunday, August 15th and there was a significant club representation on the day, which was a considerably warm day, but nevertheless all were well pleased with their performances and now that many have conquered the distance of the half marathon they will now turn their attention to the full marathon. The race was won by Colin Merrit of Carraig na bhFear and in second place was our own Raivis Zakis who is training for the upcoming Munich Marathon. Raivis completed the course in 1.20.13 and in fourth place was club-mate Philip Harty in 1.22.06 and just behind Philip was another club representative Dzintars Klava. Trevor Mason also had a fine run, with the distance being no problem given all the long runs he has under his belt. Phyllis Flynn was the first lady home for West Waterford and she was third lady overall so well done to you Phyllis and another to claim a prize was Josie Ui Chuirrin who was the first lady over 45.
CLONMEL HALF MARATHON RESULTS
Raivis Zakis 1.20.13
Philip Harty 1.22.06
Dzintars Klava 1.22.42
Trevor Mason 1.30.11
Des Feeney 1.34.42
Phyllis Flynn 1.41.58
Martin Mullarkey 1.47.42
Paul Brunnock 1.48.02
Pat Earley 1.52.45
Joe Barry 1.53.04
Vincent Tutty 1.53.11
Michael Wade 1.54.02
Shane Power 1.56.24
Gerry O’ Connor 1.57.35
Liz Nyhan 1.57.52
Josie Ui Chuirrin 1.58.25
Michael Deegan 2.04.55
Trevor Walsh 2.04.58
Pat Morrissey 2.09.34
Jim Barry 2.10.14
Caitriona Kiely 2.13.25
Tomas Murphy 2.18.23
Rita Cronnolly 2.19.55
Mary Ryan 2.19.55
Anna Ballot 2.33.35
BALLYCOTTON SERIES CONCLUDES TOMORROW NIGHT
The fourth and final race of the ever-popular Ballycotton summer series takes place tomorrow night in the village of Ballycotton itself with the race getting underway at 7.30 pm. There has been unprecedented numbers taking part in these races so get there in plenty of time. As well as individual prizes for the race, prizes will also be awarded for the series, which will be based on each runner’s cumulative time for the four races.
ALAN EVERETT RACE THIS SUNDAY
The Alan Everett 5 mile race takes place this coming Sunday, August 29 at 12 noon. The race itself starts at the Saratoga in Woodstown and it’s also where the registration for the race takes place from 11 am onwards. The pre-entry fee is ten euros and you can pre-enter by logging onto the Waterford ac website. You may also enter on the day at a cost of 12 euros. For further information you may contact Michael Leechmere at 087 7866461.
RUNNING QUOTE
Spend at least some of your training time, and other parts of your day, concentrating on what you are doing in training and visualizing your success.