O’Loughlin and O’Byrne deliver for Donore
DONORE Harriers’ recently crowned National Junior Combined-Event champion, Lara O’Byrne maintained her superb form by scooping three medals over the first two days of the National Juvenile Track and Field Championships at Tullamore last weekend.
It was a busy first morning for her as she had to forfeit two jumps in the long-jump while she competed in the final of the Under 19 100m hurdles which she won in a new personal best time of 14.91.
Lara O'Byrne won three medals
Back in the long jump, her first round effort, measuring 5.06m, gave her an early lead, but subsequent jumps of 5.12m and 5.17m by Vickie Cusack, saw the Liscarroll athlete overtake and push her back into the silver medal position while Andie Maguire took sixth in the same event with a best attempt of 4.91m.
O’Byrne made it a full set of medals (gold, silver and bronze) when she won bronze in the Under 19 Girls 4kg Shot Putt with a best throw of 9.67m.
Louis O’Loughlin, fresh from competing in the European Under 18 Championships in Hungary the previous weekend, was Donore’s other gold medal winner.
He knew that he had to run to his best to hold off the challenge of his team-mate and training partner Jack Raftery.
Clondalkin’s Louis O’Loughlin on his way to winning the Boys 800m
Bolstered by his victory in the recent National League 400m race at Santry in a massive personal best of 49.45 he took over the lead from Ben Jones of DSD at the 100m point last weekend.
Raftery had to battle his way through the field having set off from an inside lane.
Through the bell O’Loughlin led with a split of 55.4, with Raftery fifth in 56.7.
O’Loughlin, who was the stronger over the final lap, ran out a clear winner in a personal best time of 1.52.13 with Raftery (1.55.68) second after passing James Dunne (1.55.89) of Tullamore Harriers with 40 metres remaining.
Donore’s other medal went the way of Keri Noonan in the Under 17 Girls 3kg Hammer after she produced the most consistent performance with five legal throws over 40 metres.
However, her third round best attempt of 43.57m was just half-a-metre short of silver and not far off gold medal winner Ciara Sheehy (44.65m) of Emerald AC.
Abdel Laadjel (2.02.93) finished up narrowly outside his personal best time when coming home fourth in the Under 16 Boys 800m.
In a very competitive Under 19 Girls 100m sprints final Suzi O’Farrell (13.05) finished fifth with Robyn O’Keeffe (13.60) eighth.
The club’s youngest competitor at the championships Eve Conroy (11.73) finished seventh in the second heat of the Under 13 Girls 60m Hurdles.
Ruby Kelly placed fifth in the Under 16 Girls 2km race and in the process smashed her best time by exactly one-minute.
TAGS Sport
