Latest news with #Coscoran
Irish Independent
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Drogheda has plenty to cheer as talented duo Coscoran and Donnelly sparkle at the Morton Games
Two-time Olympian Coscoran, who is from Balbriggan but attended St Mary's DS and still runs in the colours of Star of the Sea AC in Julianstown, emerged triumphant in the Morton Mile as he set a meeting record. The 29-year-old finished in a time of 3:51.12, with Cathal Doyle (3:51.26) and Darragh McElhinney (3:51.99) both running personal bests as they completed the podium placings. Coscoran's time was six seconds faster than he achieved when he won the same race in 2022, and his steady progress was highlighted in May of this year when he placed second overall in the long distance events at the Miami Grand Slam Track meet to earn a €44,000 payday. Coscoran will vouch that the willingness to step away from the shore and enter the deepest of waters is sometimes what separates a national class athlete from a solid club runner. And so Tadhg Donnelly of Drogheda & District AC duly lined up for his race at the Morton Games on Friday night. His head must have been buzzing as the Starter called the athletes to the line for the Albie Thomas Memorial 5000m. The dilemma facing Donnelly was quite simple. A quality field packed full of international-class athletes, many with personal best times up to 30 seconds faster than Donnelly, made his task a daunting one, especially in front of his home crowd so to speak. To hang back from the expected pace risked being left behind, whereas going with the pack risked imploding mid-race if logic were to win out on the day. But cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Donnelly was up for the fight in spades. An opening lap of 63 seconds had the field stretched out and the next 11 and a half laps were all about the pain that comes with hard, sustained pace running. Going through the first mile in an eye-opening four minutes and 16 seconds, the pack were on for a projected 13:20 time, which isn't far off world-class running. Despite the searing heat, with the mercury showing close on 26 degrees, Donnelly hung in and passed through two miles in about 8:42, much to the delight of the large group of supporters in attendance. Going out on the last mile, with the pack well strung out, the lactic acid began to build up in Donnelly's legs, but he wasn't for giving in and dug deep into the well of pain that few runners have ever experienced. Chasing hard over the last two laps, Donnelly crossed the line in 10th place in a new outdoor personal best time of 13:52, in a race that was won in a blistering 13:18. Less than 36 hours later Donnelly was back on the track and won the Men's Irish Life Dublin Race Series Fingal 10K in Swords, in a time of 29:48. He will soon return to America to resume his studies, and on last Friday's showing a sub 13:40 5,000m run is within reach if the conditions and race profile were to align.
RTÉ News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Andrew Coscoran sets meeting record on way to Morton Mile win
Andrew Coscoran emerged triumphant in the Morton Mile as he set a meeting record in Santry on Friday. The two-time Olympian finished in a time of 3:51.12 ahead of Cathal Doyle, whose 3:51.26 was a personal best. Darragh McElhinney came in third with a PB of his own in 3:51.99. But it was Balbriggan native and Star of the Sea AC athlete Coscoran who stole the show with the stadium and meeting record. "My last 200, and particularly the last 100 was really strong. It's always good to be competitive in races and to be able to finish fast and taking a win is always nice," he told Athletics Ireland following his second win at the event, having previously won in 2022 with a time of 3.57.09. In May, Coscoran to earn a $50,000 (€44,200) payday.
Irish Independent
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Andrew Coscoran and Sharlene Mawdsley turn in strong performances at Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia
Andrew Coscoran and Sharlene Mawdsley turned in strong performances at the third edition of Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia on Sunday evening, with Coscoran finishing fourth in the 3000m in 8:02.17 and Mawdsley finishing seventh over 200m in 23.24, leaving her with a sixth-place finish overall in the long sprints category. In a slow race in the men's 3000m, where 2000m was reached in just 5:40, the gears began to shift on the penultimate lap and Coscoran positioned himself perfectly, poised to strike, but simply didn't have the gears down the home straight to match the surge of USA's Nico Young, who took victory in 8:01.03 after a 53-second last lap. Coscoran had pocketed $50,000 at the last Grand Slam Track meeting in Miami after finishing second overall in the long-distance category, which comprised the 3000m and 5000m. But the 5000m was dropped from the programme for the Philadelphia meeting, the event shortened from three days to two. With the prize money also halved, he earned $12,500 for his fourth-place finish. Mawdsley earned $15,000 for her sixth-place finish in the long sprints category, with victory going to Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino. On Saturday, Mawdsley finished fifth in the 400m in a season's best of 51.12, a race won by Paulino in 49.12, with Olympic silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain crossing the line second but later disqualified for a lane infringement. Meanwhile, Chris Jeuken and Evelyn Twomey claimed decisive victories at the Cork City Marathon on Sunday morning, clocking 2:18:55 and 2:54:30 respectively to both win by several minutes. Leevale's Niamh Allen turned in the performance of the day to win the women's half marathon, the 30-year-old clocking a big personal best of 1:10:06, which brought her home almost 10 minutes clear of the runner-up. Jake O'Regan of St. John's AC won the men's half marathon in 1:06:51. Fearghal Curtin turned in a commanding display to win the men's 10K, the Youghal athlete dominating the race from the outset and winning in 29:46. There was a podium sweep for Leevale AC in the women's 10K, where Hannah Steeds won in 34:51 with 2016 Olympian Lizzie Lee second in 35:30. The day was marred by tragedy, however, after it was confirmed that a woman in her 20s, who had participated in the half marathon, died after becoming unwell at the finishing line on Patrick's Street at around 1pm. At the VHI Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin, Kilkenny's Grace Richardson followed in the footsteps of her older sister Aoibhe – a winner in 2018 – and led home the 28,000-strong field, hitting the finish in 34:17 with Claire Fagan of Mullingar second in 34:25 and Jessica Craig third in 34:55. At the All Ireland Schools Championships in Tullamore on Saturday, Seán Doggett of Coláiste an Éachréidh underlined his vast potential when clocking a superb championship record of 47.22 to win the senior boys' 400m, breaking Brian Gregan's mark of 47.66 which had stood since 2008. The best race of the championships was likely the intermediate girls' 3000m, which involved a last-lap duel between Emma Hickey (St. Marys New Ross) and Freya Renton (Sacred Heart Westport). ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Hickey struck for home with half a lap left and clocked a blazing 9:28.14 to take 21 seconds off the championship record, with Renton clocking 9:33.87 in second. Later in the day, they clashed over 1500m, with Renton turning the tables and winning in 4:30.59. The senior 100m titles went to Cillian Doherty (Belvedere College) in 10.86 and Elena O'Sullivan (Regina Mundi Cork) in 11.96, while Ben Skyes (Grosvenor GS Belfast) was an especially impressive winner of the intermediate boys' 100m in 10.72. European U18 champion Thomas Williams (Colaiste Dun an Ri Kingscourt) dominated the senior boys' hammer throw with a best of 62.30m. On Friday night, Séamus Clarke (St. Muredach's College Ballina) broke Colin Griffin's 25-year-old record in the senior boys 3000m walk, clocking 11:57.47. Cillian Gleeson (Coláiste Chíaráin Leixlip) made a bold, brave effort to try to break the most fabled schools record on the books – John Treacy's senior boys' 5000m record of 14:17.0 from 1974 – but came up just short, clocking 14:19.66. Elsewhere, Cian Crampton broke the Irish U-20 discus record at the Pickering Memorial International in Loughborough, throwing 58.32m. Looking ahead, Mark English will be back in action in Quercia, Italy on Monday evening, three days on from breaking his Irish 800m record to win at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where he clocked 1:44.34.
Irish Examiner
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Strong performances from Coscoran and Mawdsley at the Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia
Andrew Coscoran and Sharlene Mawdsley turned in strong performances at the third edition of Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia on Sunday evening, with Coscoran finishing fourth in the 3000m in 8:02.17 and Mawdsley finishing seventh over 200m in 23.24, leaving her with a sixth-place finish overall in the long sprints category. In a slow race in the men's 3000m, where 2000m was reached in just 5:40, the gears began to shift on the penultimate lap and Coscoran positioned himself perfectly, poised to strike, but simply didn't have the gears down the home straight to match the surge of USA's Nico Young, who took victory in 8:01.03 after a 53-second last lap. Coscoran had pocketed $50,000 at the last Grand Slam Track meeting in Miami after finishing second overall in the long-distance category, which comprised the 3000m and 5000m. But the 5000m was dropped from the programme for the Philadelphia meeting, the event shortened from three days to two. With the prize money also halved, he earned $12,500 for his fourth-place finish. Mawdsley earned $15,000 for her sixth-place finish in the long sprints category, with victory going to Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino. On Saturday, Mawdsley finished fifth in the 400m in a season's best of 51.12, a race won by Paulino in 49.12, with Olympic silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain crossing the line second but later disqualified for a lane infringement. CORK MARATHON: Chris Jeuken from Derg AC who was the first man to pass the finish line. Pic. Darragh Kane Meanwhile, Chris Jeuken and Evelyn Twomey claimed decisive victories at the Cork City Marathon on Sunday morning, clocking 2:18:55 and 2:54:30 respectively to both win by several minutes. Leevale's Niamh Allen turned in the performance of the day to win the women's half marathon, the 30-year-old clocking a big personal best of 1:10:06, which brought her home almost 10 minutes clear of the runner-up. Jake O'Regan of St. John's AC won the men's half marathon in 1:06:51. CORK MARATHON: Evelyn Twomey from Dublin who was the first woman to pass the finish line. Pic. Darragh Kane Fearghal Curtin turned in a commanding display to win the men's 10K, the Youghal athlete dominating the race from the outset and winning in 29:46. There was a podium sweep for Leevale AC in the women's 10K, where Hannah Steeds won in 34:51 with 2016 Olympian Lizzie Lee second in 35:30. The day was marred by tragedy, however, after it was confirmed that a woman in her 20s, who had participated in the half marathon, died after becoming unwell at the finishing line on Patrick's Street at around 1pm. At the VHI Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin, Kilkenny's Grace Richardson followed in the footsteps of her older sister Aoibhe – a winner in 2018 – and led home the 28,000-strong field, hitting the finish in 34:17 with Claire Fagan of Mullingar second in 34:25 and Jessica Craig third in 34:55. WOMENS MINI MARATHON: Race winner Grace Richardson from Kilkenny City Harriers, centre, pictured with Claire Fagan of Mullingar Harriers who finished second, left, and Jessica Craig North Down AC who finished third. For further information please log on to At the All Ireland Schools Championships in Tullamore on Saturday, Seán Doggett of Coláiste an Éachréidh underlined his vast potential when clocking a superb championship record of 47.22 to win the senior boys' 400m, breaking Brian Gregan's mark of 47.66 which had stood since 2008. The best race of the championships was likely the intermediate girls' 3000m, which involved a last-lap duel between Emma Hickey (St. Marys New Ross) and Freya Renton (Sacred Heart Westport). Hickey struck for home with half a lap left and clocked a blazing 9:28.14 to take 21 seconds off the championship record, with Renton clocking 9:33.87 in second. Later in the day, they clashed over 1500m, with Renton turning the tables and winning in 4:30.59. The senior 100m titles went to Cillian Doherty (Belvedere College) in 10.86 and Elena O'Sullivan (Regina Mundi Cork) in 11.96, while Ben Skyes (Grosvenor GS Belfast) was an especially impressive winner of the intermediate boys' 100m in 10.72. European U18 champion Thomas Williams (Colaiste Dun an Ri Kingscourt) dominated the senior boys' hammer throw with a best of 62.30m. On Friday night, Séamus Clarke (St. Muredach's College Ballina) broke Colin Griffin's 25-year-old record in the senior boys 3000m walk, clocking 11:57.47. Cillian Gleeson (Coláiste Chíaráin Leixlip) made a bold, brave effort to try to break the most fabled schools record on the books – John Treacy's senior boys' 5000m record of 14:17.0 from 1974 – but came up just short, clocking 14:19.66. Elsewhere, Cian Crampton broke the Irish U-20 discus record at the Pickering Memorial International in Loughborough, throwing 58.32m. Looking ahead, Mark English will be back in action in Quercia, Italy on Monday evening, three days on from breaking his Irish 800m record to win at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where he clocked 1:44.34.
Irish Independent
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Andrew Coscoran secures big payday with runner-up finish at Grand Slam Track in Miami
After winning the 3000m on Friday, Coscoran sat atop the points standings and was in the mix for the top prize of $100,000, but the 5000m was always going to be a trickier challenge, facing US star Grant Fisher, the indoor 5000m world record holder who won two Olympic medals in Paris last year. Coscoran, the Irish mile and 1500m record holder, had utilised his speed to outkick Fisher in a slow 3000m race on Friday night but in the longer event, Fisher ensured it would be a proper test of strength and injected a big surge with just over three laps to run. That carried him clear of the field and Coscoran opted out of chasing, knowing he would secure second place overall if he finished in the top four. 'I was like, 'What do I want to do?'' Coscoran told Athletics Weekly. ''Do I want to go and win it? But you're up against the likes of Grant Fisher and his 5K PB is over 20 seconds faster than mine so it's like, 'If he decides to start running hard, I've got to make a decision about whether to let him go.' I knew fourth place was enough and once he made a move early, it was an easy decision to make.' Fisher hit the line in 13:40.12 with US athlete Cooper Teare second in 13:46.25 and Coscoran third in 13:46.30, having run a blazing 11.77 seconds for his last 100m – by far the quickest in the race. 'It was a tough race, it's definitely an area I'm quite inexperienced in but I thought it went well,' said Coscoran, who will race another 5000m at the Track Fest in Los Angeles on 24 May. He will hope to secure qualification there for the World Championships in Tokyo, where he could potentially double in the 1500m and 5000m. 'I think my speed is something I worked really hard on the last couple of months and it's in a really, really good place,' he said. 'My endurance is strong, but it's probably not as strong as my speed at the moment, so it's the next thing to work on.' Grand Slam Track is the new professional series co-founded by US star Michael Johnson, with prize money that dwarfs that of the Diamond League. The series features four 'racers' in each event category, who compete at every meet, and four 'challengers', with Coscoran receiving a call-up as the latter. After his strong showing in Miami, he said he hopes to receive an invite for the remaining Grand Slam Track events this year in Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).
