Latest news with #MortonMile
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- 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.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Double delight for Louth's Ace AC as Lorcan Forde Dunne gets Olympic call and Eimear Cooney wins all-Ireland gold
The 17-year-old will compete in the 1500m, having met the qualifying time standard earlier this season. The EYOF is Europe's largest multi sport event for young athletes and the action gets under way on Monday next. Forde Dunne has been a member of Ace AC for many years and has competed regularly at local, provincial and national level since he was eight years of age. Last weekend he added to his list of achievements with a bronze medal in the All-Ireland U18 1500m in Tullamore. Due to large entry numbers, the event was split into two heats, with medals awarded on time, and Forde Dunne won the first heat in 4:03, which was the third fastest overall. He will now focus on preparations for the EYOF, where he will line up against Europe's top underage athletes. Also competing in the Ace colours last weekend was U19 athlete Eimear Cooney, who closed out her juvenile track career with two major performances. On Saturday evening she won bronze in the U20 Morton Mile at the Morton Games in Santry and less than 24 hours later she travelled to Tullamore and captured gold in the U19 1500m at the All-Ireland Championships. Cooney has medalled in every national final she entered this summer and now progresses to the senior ranks. Meanwhile, fellow Ace runner Daniella Adebola completed her final ever juvenile track race with a strong showing in the U19 200m at the All-Irelands. She ran a personal best of 25.74sec in the heats to qualify for the final, where she placed fifth in the country. Adebola has made steady progress all season, recording personal bests across multiple sprint distances. Overall, it's been yet another extraordinary few weeks for Ace AC, with national medals, personal bests and an Olympic selection, marking one of the club's most successful ever periods.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- 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.
