Laadjel and O’Loughlin impress in the States

BOTH Abdel Laadjel and Louis O’Loughlin opened their US Collegiate Outdoor season last Thursday at different venues.

Laadjel returned to the Raleigh Relays meet at Raleigh NC, where he set an Irish junior 10,000m record last year.

This time he was entered into the B grade 5,000m race and the Donore Harriers athlete was always to the fore and took over the lead at the 3km mark.

However, he was passed with just 100 metres to go by the faster finishing Matt Rankin (13.52.578) of Iona University.

Abdel’s time of 13.53.80 was an outdoors personal best, but the Providence College student clearly wasn’t satisfied with how the race went.

He said afterwards: “The pacers didn’t make the race quick enough and I had to take it out from the 3k mark.

“Yes, I was caught in the final 100 metres – but I needed to be in the first category race to run a faster time.

“I’ve another 5,000 metres in 3 weeks’ time”.

Laadjel’s time was, however, inside the qualifying standard for this summer’s European Under 23 Championships.

Louis O’Loughlin competed in the Florida State Relays meet at Tallahassee in the 800 metres.

Running for the Auburn Tigers, O’Loughlin was on the shoulder of leader Eric Brown at the 400m mark which he reached in 55.91.

He then pulled away over the final 300 metres to win in 1.50.90, with Brown (unattached) closing second in 1.52.26 and Winston Quinn (Florida State University) 3rd in 1.52.68.

The Donore Harriers star said afterwards: “I got boxed in at the start and the pacemakers didn’t bring us through at the right pace, but I was happy to close in 54 seconds and get the win”.

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