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Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Ireland's Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley take centre stage at European Athletics Team Championships
Raftery became just the second Irishman in history to break 45 seconds for 400m when clocking 44.98 to finish fourth in the men's race, while Mawdsley made a hugely impressive return to racing – the Tipperary sprinter clocking a season's best of 50.93 to finish third in the women's race. Their performances helped Ireland climb to fifth at the halfway stage, their tally of 192 points putting them within touching distance of the top three in division two: Norway (228), Belgium (226.5) and Slovenia (214.5). The top three nations will gain promotion to the first division on Sunday evening, with the bottom three relegated. The Irish didn't have any winners on day one and while Raftery might not have accrued the most points, his run was the standout individual showing, as the 24-year-old Dubliner hacked a massive chunk off his previous best of 45.75 to move second on the Irish all-time list behind David Gillick's national record of 44.77. 'I can't believe that,' he said. 'I don't have the words. I was coming in thinking if I ran 45.5, I'd be delighted.' Raftery has been working under coaches Gerard O'Donnell and Aideen Sinnott at the Dublin Sprint Club and having gone to the Paris Olympics as a substitue for the mixed relay, he's now in a great position to make the Tokyo World Championships as an individual as his time is just shy of the automatic standard of 44.85. Mawdsley, running her first race since the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia in late May, turned in an excellent showing to dip under 51 seconds for the first time this year, not far off the PB of 50.71 she ran at the Paris Olympics. The race was won by Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova in 50.76. 'I don't even know how I made it around,' said Mawdsley, who was running her first race since the death of her father Thomas (Tucker) in early June. 'A season's best is great. It's a shame I didn't come first, I would have loved the top points.' Mawdsley said she is uncertain of her plans for the coming weeks, adding: 'Today was just about getting out there and doing my family proud.' The action closed with a huge performance by the Irish in the men's 4x100m where Michael Farrelly, Sean Aigboboh, Marcus Lawler and Israel Olatunde broke the national record for the second time in eight days, clocking 38.88 to win their heat and finish second overall. 'It's a great run,' said Lawler. 'There's a lot of effort gone into this over the years. We're all delighted.' Bori Akinola had to withdraw from that race after sustaining an injury in the 100m, where he finished fourth in his heat, and eighth overall, clocking 10.62 into a 2.2m/s headwind. The Irish 4x100m women's team of Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Lauren Roy and Sarah Lavin clocked 43.97 to win their heat and finish third overall. Brian Fay secured a runner-up finish in the men's 5000m, the Dubliner showing his vast range of gears on the last lap of a tactical race, clocking 13:56.07 to finish a close second to Belgium's Isaac Kimeli (13:55.70). Shane Bracken had an impressive run in the men's 1500m, the Mayo man finishing a close third in 3:42.92. Sophie O'Sullivan turned in an off-colour performance in the women's 800m, the recently crowned NCAA 1500m champion coming home eighth in her heat in 2:12.87. Paris Olympian Eric Favors threw 19.42m to finish fifth in the men's shot put, while David Cussen cleared 2.16m to finish fifth in the high jump. Reigning European U-20 champion Elizabeth Ndudi jumped 6.26m to finish fourth in the long jump, Ava O'Connor finished fourth in the women's 3000m steeplechase in 9:45.09, while Niamh Fogarty threw 52.20m to finish fifth in the discus. Fintan Dewhirst had to battle injury in his heat of the 400m hurdles, trailing home eighth and last in 79.01 seconds but making sure he reached the line to earn some valuable points. Elsewhere, rising star Conor Kelly broke his own Irish U-20 400m record when clocking 46.06 at the Junioren Gala in Mannheim, Germany, improving the 46.18 record he set in Brussels last month.
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley impress for Ireland at European Team Championships
Two superb 400m runs by Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley, along with a 4x100m national record by the men's relay team, put Ireland firmly in the hunt for promotion after the first day of the European Athletics Team Championships in Maribor, Slovenia on Saturday. Raftery became just the second Irishman in history to break 45 seconds for 400m when clocking 44.98 to finish fourth in the men's race, while Mawdsley made a hugely impressive return to racing – the Tipperary sprinter clocking a season's best of 50.93 to finish third in the women's race. Their performances helped Ireland climb to fifth at the halfway stage, their tally of 192 points putting them within touching distance of the top three in division two: Norway (228), Belgium (226.5) and Slovenia (214.5). The top three nations will gain promotion to the first division on Sunday evening, with the bottom three relegated. The Irish didn't have any winners on day one and while Raftery might not have accrued the most points, his run was the standout individual showing – the 24-year-old Dubliner hacking a massive chunk off his previous best of 45.75 to move second on the Irish all-time list behind David Gillick's national record of 44.77. 'I can't believe that,' he said. 'I don't have the words. I was coming in thinking if I ran 45.5, I'd be delighted.' Raftery has been working under coaches Gerard O'Donnell and Aideen Sinnott at the Dublin Sprint Club and having gone to the Paris Olympics as a sub for the mixed relay, he's now in a great position to make the Tokyo World Championships as an individual, his time just shy of the automatic standard of 44.85. Mawdsley, running her first race since the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia in late May, turned in an excellent showing to dip under 51 seconds for the first time this year, not far off the PB of 50.71 she ran at the Paris Olympics. The race was won by Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova in 50.76. 'I don't even know how I made it around,' said Mawdsley, who was running her first race since the death of her father Thomas (Tucker) in early June. 'A season's best is great. It's a shame I didn't come first, I would have loved the top points.' Mawdsley said she is uncertain of her plans for the coming weeks, adding: 'Today was just about getting out there and doing my family proud.' The action closed with a huge performance by the Irish in the men's 4x100m where Michael Farrelly, Sean Aigboboh, Marcus Lawler and Israel Olatunde broke the national record for the second time in eight days, clocking 38.88 to win their heat and finish second overall. 'It's a great run,' said Lawler. 'There's a lot of effort gone into this over the years. We're all delighted.' Bori Akinola had to withdraw from that race after sustaining an injury in the 100m, where he finished fourth in his heat, and eighth overall, clocking 10.62 into a 2.2m/s headwind. The Irish 4x100m women's team of Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Lauren Roy and Sarah Lavin clocked 43.97 to win their heat and finish third overall. Brian Fay secured a runner-up finish in the men's 5000m, the Dubliner showing his vast range of gears on the last lap of a tactical race, clocking 13:56.07 to finish a close second to Belgium's Isaac Kimeli (13:55.70). Shane Bracken had an impressive run in the men's 1500m, the Mayo man finishing a close third in 3:42.92. Sophie O'Sullivan turned in an off-colour performance in the women's 800m, the recently crowned NCAA 1500m champion coming home eighth in her heat in 2:12.87. Paris Olympian Eric Favors threw 19.42m to finish fifth in the men's shot put, while David Cussen cleared 2.16m to finish fifth in the high jump. Reigning European U-20 champion Elizabeth Ndudi jumped 6.26m to finish fourth in the long jump, Ava O'Connor finished fourth in the women's 3000m steeplechase in 9:45.09, while Niamh Fogarty threw 52.20m to finish fifth in the discus. Fintan Dewhirst had to battle injury in his heat of the 400m hurdles, trailing home eighth and last in 79.01 seconds but making sure he reached the line to earn some valuable points. Elsewhere, rising star Conor Kelly broke his own Irish U-20 400m record when clocking 46.06 at the Junioren Gala in Mannheim, Germany, improving the 46.18 record he set in Brussels last month.
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Cork and Galway take direct route to All-Ireland camogie semi-finals
Waterford will take on Clare, while Tipperary will play neighbours Kilkenny in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-finals next weekend. The composition of the knockout ties, which will be played along with the All-Ireland senior hurling semi-finals in mouth-watering double-headers at Croke Park on Saturday (2.30pm) and Sunday (1.30pm) respectively, was determined after the final round of action today.
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Camogie quarter-finals to be double-headers with hurling semi-finals
The line-up for the knockout stages of the 2025 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship has been set. After topping their respective groups, Cork and Galway are through to the All-Ireland semi-finals. Tipperary sealed second place in Group 1 with victory over Clare, with the Banner County finishing in third position. Waterford came second in Group 2, with Kilkenny taking third spot. The results mean Tipperary will now face Kilkenny, while Waterford will take on Clare. The winners will face Cork and Galway in the semi-finals. Both games will take place in Croke Park alongside the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals, and will be televised live on RTÉ. Meanwhile, Wexford will face Derry in the Relegation Play-Off, after the two counties finished at the bottom of their respective groups. 2025 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship quarter-finals: Waterford vs Clare, 2:30pm, 5th July (followed by Cork vs Dublin in hurling at 5pm) Tipperary vs Kilkenny, 1:30pm, 6th July (followed by Kilkenny vs Tipperary in hurling at 4pm)
BreakingNews.ie
7 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Mary Hanafin to seek Fianna Fáil nomination for presidential election
Former minister Mary Hanafin is to seek the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the presidential election. The Tipperary native and former Dun Laoighaire TD has told the Irish Independent she is "in the mix". Advertisement Ms Hanafin said: "'If I could contest it, I would happily do that. It's a role I would hope people could feel I would do well, both nationally and internationally." Fianna Fáil hasn't put forward a candidate for the election since 1997. The party decided to sit out the 2011 presidential election after a disastrous showing at the general election earlier that year, while in 2018 Fianna Fáil opted not to challenge President Michael D Higgins. Ms Hanafin, 66, feels sitting out the 2025 presidential election is not an option. Advertisement 'I think it would be an insult to the office of president if the largest political party doesn't contest it. It's a really important constitutional role,' she said. 'I think the nomination should be decided earlier rather than later. I know it can make it a very long campaign, but for a candidate to campaign well I think you could go around the country and actually talk to people." Ms Hanafin has had a number of disputes with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the past. In 2011, she lost out to Mr Martin in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest, and in 2014 she ignored his request not to stand in the local elections in Blackrock. However, she said they are now on good terms. Advertisement Ms Hanafin served as education minister, arts minister and social protection minister during her time in government. Ireland Politics watch: O'Neill, Eastwood linked with pres... Read More She is the first big name in Fianna Fáil to make her intention to seek the nomination clear. Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former minister Éamon Ó Cuív and MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú have all been linked with a bid. Big names have been slow to emerge ahead of the election, but many are likely to set out their stall in the weeks to come given the election must take place by Tuesday, November 11th. MEP Seán Kelly and former MEP Mairead McGuinness are likely to compete for the Fine Gael nomination. Sinn Féin has not selected a candidate yet, but Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill has not ruled out a bid.
