Local joy in Combined Events and AAI Open Games

By Stephen Leonard

THERE was plenty of local interest in last weekend’s Irish Life Health National Combined Events Championships and AAI Open Games in Morton Stadium.

In the former, DSD Athletic Club enjoyed no shortage of success with Kevin Byrne topping the Master Men’s Over 40 class ahead of runner-up Patrick Curran of Tallaght AC.

Byrne’s clubmate Peadar McGing emerged runner-up to Waterford’s Tom O’Brien in the Men’s Over 50 class while in the Juvenile section Claudia Moran finished second in the Under 14 Girls division with Brothers Pearse’s Niamh Russell and Emma Smith sixth and seventh respectively.

Another of the Brothers Pearse contingent Jennifer Hanrahan emerged fourth from the Girls Under 15 field with Rathfarnham’s Clodagh Cullen eighth.

In the AAI Games, a finishing time of 53.70 seconds was good enough to see DSD’s Joe Halwax take the Senior Men’s 400m Hurdles title with clubmate Aengus Meldon following suit in the Senior Men’s 800m in a time of 1:53.57.

The Dundrum club went close to a clean sweep of the podium places in the Senior Men’s 3000m, with winner Robert Corbally and third place Patrick MacGabhann separated by Liffey’s Damien Cauvet.

DSD’s Jack MacGabhann, Christian McKenna, Mark Molloy and Ruadhán Ó Gráda came home in fourth, fifth, seventh and 10th respectively.

Tallaght’s Sean Flanagan was third in the Senior Men’s 400m with clubmate Sarah Doyle sixth in the Senior Women’s 400m Hurdles.