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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Anika Thompson and Eimear Maher in the medals for Ireland at Euro U-23 Athletics Championships
It means Ireland secured five medals in total at the championships, having won a total of 10 medals across its 14 previous editions. Spain's Maria Forero took 5,000m gold in convincing fashion in 15:43.44, with Germany's Vanessa Mikitenko next in 15:51.97, Thompson holding on gamely to win the battle for bronze, well clear of France's Julia David-Smith (16:00.62). 'I'm really happy,' said Thompson, who had won 10,000m gold on Friday. 'I love having a race where I give it my all and to be honest, that was one of the hardest I've run. Something that hurt me [after the 10K] was my lack of sleep, that's been really messed up, but I tried to control the things I could. 'Whether I win or lose, the greatest thing is that I'm healthy and anytime I get to hit the track healthy, I have a big smile on my face. I just have such pure joy for the sport. I love it. My goal today was to get double gold but I ended up with the bronze, and I'm pleased.' On Friday, the University of Oregon student had turned in a superb performance to win the 10,000m, breaking her own Irish U-23 record to clock 32:31.47. Thompson was raised in Oregon but qualifies to represent Ireland through her Cork grandparents, competing for Leevale AC in national events. Maher produced the run of her life to edge bronze in the women's 1500m, with gold going to Turkey's Dilek Kocak in 4:08.79 and silver to France's Adele Gay in 4:08.89, with Maher battling hard to hit the line in 4:09.54, three tenths of a second ahead of Britain's Mena Scatchard. 'I'm lost for words,' said the 21-year-old, who runs for Dundrum South Dublin. 'This was a big one. I'm absolutely delighted. I knew I was in the best shape of my life and I had to keep the cool and do what I did. I was vomiting before the heats, I was so nervous, but when the heats happened I was like, 'This isn't that big a deal. I worked for this, I want this.'' On Friday, Nicola Tuthill claimed silver in the hammer – the first ever medal for Ireland at this grade in a field event. The 21-year-old Cork athlete launched her leading throw of 70.90m in the fourth round, but had to settle for second behind Germany's Aileen Kuhn, who threw a PB of 72.53m. Nick Griggs won silver in the men's 5,000m final on Saturday, the 20-year-old Tyrone athlete clocking 13:45.80 behind Dutch star Niels Laros. Elsewhere, Rhasidat Adeleke clocked a season's best of 22.52 (-0.6m/s) to finish fourth over 200m at the London Diamond League, while Sarah Healy continued her fine form with a third-place finish in the mile in 4:16.25 and the Irish women's 4x100m quartet of Sarah Leahy, Lauren Roy, Ciara Neville and Sarah Lavin broke the national record with 43.73. Learn more 'I was just trying to stay in contention the whole time, trying to focus on getting out and not get left behind in the blocks, which I kind of did,' said Adeleke. 'I was working my way back, but I'll take it.' It was a step forward in what has been, for Adeleke, a mediocre season to date, the best of her three outings over 400m last month being the 50.42 she ran in Oslo, well down on her national record of 49.07. But her eyes remain fixed on the World Championships in September. 'Just making sure I can stay healthy and stay motivated and disciplined and just continue on the road to Tokyo,' she said of her goal for the coming weeks. 'It is about a month and a half away so just trying to make sure our eyes are focused on that, even though there's so many other things going on.' Mark English consolidated his recent good form with another fast clocking over 800m, the Donegal athlete finishing seventh in 1:44.07, a race won by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in 1:42.00. Elsewhere, Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) and Megan Ryan (Dundrum South Dublin) claimed the senior titles at the national 10-mile championships in the Phoenix Park, with Creech clocking 49:54 and Ryan 57:57.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Thompson and Maher win bronze at European U-23s
Anika Thompson and Eimear Maher capped a superb edition of the European U23 Championships for Ireland by winning bronze medals on the final day of action in Bergen, Norway on Sunday, with Thompson third in the women's 5,000m in 15:56.80 and Maher third over 1500m in 4:09.54. It means Ireland secured five medals in total at the championships, having won a total of 10 medals across its 14 previous editions. Spain's Maria Forero took 5000m gold in convincing fashion in 15:43.44, with Germany's Vanessa Mikitenko next in 15:51.97, Thompson holding on gamely to win the battle for bronze, well clear of France's Julia David-Smith (16:00.62). 'I'm really happy,' said Thompson, who had won 10,000m gold on Friday. 'I love having a race where I give it my all and to be honest, that was one of the hardest I've run. Something that hurt me (after the 10K) was my lack of sleep, that's been really messed up, but I tried to control the things I could. 'Whether I win or lose, the greatest thing is that I'm healthy and anytime I get to hit the track healthy, I have a big smile on my face. I just have such pure joy for the sport. I love it. My goal today was to get double gold but I ended up with the bronze, and I'm pleased.' On Friday, the University of Oregon student had turned in a superb performance to win the 10,000m, breaking her own Irish U23 record to clock 32:31.47. Thompson was raised in Oregon but qualifies to represent Ireland through her Cork grandparents, competing for Leevale AC in national events. Maher produced the run of her life to edge bronze in the women's 1500m, with gold going to Turkey's Dilek Kocak in 4:08.79 and silver to France's Adele Gay in 4:08.89, with Maher battling hard to hit the line in 4:09.54, three tenths of a second ahead of Britain's Mena Scatchard. 'I'm lost for words,' said the 21-year-old, who runs for Dundrum South Dublin. 'This was a big one. I'm absolutely delighted. I knew I was in the best shape of my life and I had to keep the cool and do what I did. I was vomiting before the heats, I was so nervous, but when the heats happened I was like, 'This isn't that big a deal. I worked for this, I want this." On Friday, Nicola Tuthill claimed silver in the hammer – the first ever medal for Ireland at this grade in a field event. The 21-year-old Cork athlete launched her leading throw of 70.90m in the fourth round, but had to settle for second behind Germany's Aileen Kuhn, who threw a PB of 72.53m. Nick Griggs won silver in the men's 5000m final on Saturday, the 20-year-old Tyrone athlete clocking 13:45.80 behind Dutch star Niels Laros. Elsewhere, Rhasidat Adeleke clocked a season's best of 22.52 (-0.6m/s) to finish fourth over 200m at the London Diamond League, while Sarah Healy continued her fine form with a third-place finish in the mile in 4:16.25 and the Irish women's 4x100m quartet of Sarah Leahy, Lauren Roy, Ciara Neville and Sarah Lavin broke the national record with 43.73. 'I was just trying to stay in contention the whole time, trying to focus on getting out and not get left behind in the blocks, which I kind of did,' said Adeleke. 'I was working my way back, but I'll take it.' It was a step forward in what has been, for Adeleke, a mediocre season to date, the best of her three outings over 400m last month being the 50.42 she ran in Oslo, well down on her national record of 49.07. But her eyes remain fixed on the World Championships in September. 'Just making sure I can stay healthy and stay motivated and disciplined and just continue on the road to Tokyo,' she said of her goal for the coming weeks. 'It is about a month and a half away so just trying to make sure our eyes are focused on that, even though there's so many other things going on.' Mark English consolidated his recent good form with another fast clocking over 800m, the Donegal athlete finishing seventh in 1:44.07, a race won by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in 1:42.00. Elsewhere, Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) and Megan Ryan (Dundrum South Dublin) claimed the senior titles at the national 10-mile championships in the Phoenix Park, with Creech clocking 49:54 and Ryan 57:57.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Anika Thompson strikes gold as Nicola Tuthill wins silver at European U-23 Championships
It was a dream second day for the Irish at the European U-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway on Friday, with Anika Thompson striking gold over 10,000m and Nicola Tuthill winning silver in the hammer throw. Thompson, a student at the University of Oregon, turned in a superb performance in the 25-lap event, breaking her Irish U-23 record by 23 seconds and hitting the line in 32:31.47, with Germany's Kira Weis (32:36.52) and Carolina Schafer (33:04.43) following her home. 'I'm overjoyed,' said Thompson. 'Track and field is a sport of process and hard work and every day, I gave 100% for moments like this. I'm so grateful for all my family, friends and coaches who support me. The plan was to feel it out, go by instincts. I trusted my gut and I knew I had every tactic in the bag.' Thompson played a patient game in the race, tracking Weis as the leader hit halfway in 16:16, with Thompson surging to the front with just over two laps to run. She cranked up the pace soon after and broke clear on the final lap, becoming just the second Irish gold medallist in the 28-year history of the championships after Sophie O'Sullivan in 2023. Thompson was raised in Oregon but qualifies to represent Ireland through her Cork grandparents, competing for Leevale AC in national events. The 22-year-old had finished 11th in the same race two years ago and it was a special kind of pride getting to stand atop the podium and hear Amhrán na bhFiann. 'I live in the United States but my whole family is in Ireland,' she said. 'I grew up going to Ireland every summer and it was a dream of mine to represent Ireland. So this really means a lot to me. My grandad (Dan Joe Kelleher) passed away last fall, my Granny Maria is over there from Cork and it is such an honour – I'm so grateful for her support. I grew up watching Sonia O'Sullivan, Ciara Mageean, Donie Walsh. It was always a dream of mine to represent Ireland at European Championships and hopefully others in the future.' It was the 12th Irish medal in the 15 editions of the championships to date and soon after, Tuthill earned number 13, winning silver in the hammer – the first ever medal for Ireland at this grade in a field event. The 21-year-old Cork athlete launched her leading throw of 70.90m in the fourth round, but had to settle for second behind Germany's Aileen Kuhn, who threw a PB of 72.53m. Bronze went to Valentina Savva of Cyprus with a national record of 70.22m. 'I'm delighted, second was where I was ranked and that's where I came,' said Tuthill. 'I'm always looking for a little bit more but these medals are so hard to come by so I'm delighted to get one. 'I'm not overly happy with my series of throws, I know there's more in me, but it's still another throw over 70 and in a major championship like this, where there's nerves and everything that comes with it, I'm delighted.' The UCD student became an Olympian in Paris last year and last month, she broke her own Irish U-23 record with 71.71m in Finland – behind only Eileen O'Keeffe's 73.21m on the Irish senior all-time list. She will be back in action next week at the World University Games in Germany. On Saturday, the leading Irish medal hope in Bergen is Nick Griggs, who races the 5000m final at 5.30pm Irish time. However, the Tyrone athlete will come up against Dutch star Niels Laros, who should cruise to victory having run a 3:45.94 mile to win in Eugene recently. Meanwhile, there will be strong Irish interest at the London Diamond League with Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Mark English all competing. Adeleke will hope to ignite her season after some sub-par outings over 400m in recent weeks, the Dubliner dropping down to 200m where the big favourite is her training partner, the Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred. Adeleke is the Irish 200m record holder via the 22.34 she ran in 2023, while her season's best is the 22.57 she ran in Florida back in April. Healy has been enjoying the best season of her career and she will have Ciara Mageean's national record of 4:14.58 in her sights when she lines up in the women's mile, where Olympic medallists Jess Hull of Australia and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia are the favourites. English will face a red-hot field in the 800m, the Donegal man enjoying a breakthrough season at the age of 32, having dipped under 1:44 for the first time when setting the national record of 1:43.92 to win in Hengelo last month. After a 1:43.98 clocking in Paris in his last outing four weeks ago, he has put in a block of altitude training and will be eyeing another Irish record in a field that includes Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and previous world champions Marco Arop and Donavan Brazier. Ireland will also have a team in the women's 4x100m, where the national record of 43.80, set at the 2018 Europeans in Berlin, could be under threat. London Diamond League: Live: BBC One, 1.15pm; Virgin Media Two, 2pm
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Anika Thompson strikes gold as Nicola Tuthill wins silver at European U-23 Championships
Thompson, a student at the University of Oregon, turned in a superb performance in the 25-lap event, breaking her Irish U-23 record by 23 seconds and hitting the line in 32:31.47, with Germany's Kira Weis (32:36.52) and Carolina Schafer (33:04.43) following her home. 'I'm overjoyed,' said Thompson. 'Track and field is a sport of process and hard work and every day, I gave 100pc for moments like this. I'm so grateful for all my family, friends and coaches who support me. The plan was to feel it out, go by instincts. I trusted my gut and I knew I had every tactic in the bag.' Thompson played a patient game in the race, tracking Weis as the leader hit halfway in 16:16, with Thompson surging to the front with just over two laps to run. She cranked up the pace soon after and broke clear on the final lap, becoming just the second Irish gold medallist in the 28-year history of the championships after Sophie O'Sullivan in 2023. Thompson was raised in Oregon but qualifies to represent Ireland through her Cork grandparents, competing for Leevale AC in national events. The 22-year-old had finished 11th in the same race two years ago and it was a special kind of pride getting to stand atop the podium and hear Amhrán na bhFiann. 'I live in the United States but my whole family is in Ireland,' she said. 'I grew up going to Ireland every summer and it was a dream of mine to represent Ireland. So this really means a lot to me. "My grandad (Dan Joe Kelleher) passed away last fall, my Granny Maria is over there from Cork and it is such an honour – I'm so grateful for her support. "I grew up watching Sonia O'Sullivan, Ciara Mageean, Donie Walsh. It was always a dream of mine to represent Ireland at European Championships and hopefully others in the future.' It was the 12th Irish medal in the 15 editions of the championships to date and soon after, Tuthill earned number 13, winning silver in the hammer – the first ever medal for Ireland at this grade in a field event. The 21-year-old Cork athlete launched her leading throw of 70.90m in the fourth round, but had to settle for second behind Germany's Aileen Kuhn, who threw a PB of 72.53m. Bronze went to Valentina Savva of Cyprus with a national record of 70.22m. 'I'm delighted, second was where I was ranked and that's where I came,' said Tuthill. 'I'm always looking for a little bit more but these medals are so hard to come by so I'm delighted to get one. 'I'm not overly happy with my series of throws, I know there's more in me, but it's still another throw over 70 and in a major championship like this, where there's nerves and everything that comes with it, I'm delighted.' The UCD student became an Olympian in Paris last year and last month, she broke her own Irish U-23 record with 71.71m in Finland – behind only Eileen O'Keeffe's 73.21m on the Irish senior all-time list. She will be back in action next week at the World University Games in Germany. On Saturday, the leading Irish medal hope in Bergen is Nick Griggs, who races the 5000m final at 5.30pm Irish time. However, the Tyrone athlete will come up against Dutch star Niels Laros, who should cruise to victory having run a 3:45.94 mile to win in Eugene recently. Meanwhile, there will be strong Irish interest at the London Diamond League with Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Mark English all competing. Adeleke will hope to ignite her season after some sub-par outings over 400m in recent weeks, the Dubliner dropping down to 200m where the big favourite is her training partner, the Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred. Adeleke is the Irish 200m record holder via the 22.34 she ran in 2023, while her season's best is the 22.57 she ran in Florida back in April. Healy has been enjoying the best season of her career and she will have Ciara Mageean's national record of 4:14.58 in her sights when she lines up in the women's mile, where Olympic medallists Jess Hull of Australia and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia are the favourites. English will face a red-hot field in the 800m, the Donegal man enjoying a breakthrough season at the age of 32, having dipped under 1:44 for the first time when setting the national record of 1:43.92 to win in Hengelo last month. After a 1:43.98 clocking in Paris in his last outing four weeks ago, he has put in a block of altitude training and will be eyeing another Irish record in a field that includes Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and previous world champions Marco Arop and Donavan Brazier. Ireland will also have a team in the women's 4x100m, where the national record of 43.80, set at the 2018 Europeans in Berlin, could be under threat.
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.
