Power breaks indoor record in Austrian capital
By Daire Walsh
NADIA Power made a blistering start to her 2021 indoor season after setting a new Irish 800 metres indoor record on her way to a second-place finish at the Vienna International Meet earlier today.
The Templeogue woman shattered her own previous best by more than three seconds as she raced home in a time of 2:02.44 - just behind Britain’s Kelly Hodgkinson. That performance served to better the previous national record of 2:02.46, which had been set by Síofra Cléirigh Büttner in 2018.
Nadia Power from Templeogue set a new Irish 800m Indoor record at the Vienna Indoor International
This is the second year in succession that Power has set a 800m record for an Irish athlete. In an event held at Rovereto, Italy on September 8, 2020, she registered an impressive time of 2:01.01 to claim third spot behind Hedda Hynne (Norway) and Lore Hoffmann (Switzerland) in a top-class international field.
This was the fastest ever finish for an Irish Under-23 runner and having also won her maiden senior title at the national indoor championships in 2020, it left Power in high spirits ahead of what promises to be a hectic season on the track.
A member of the Dublin City Harriers Athletic Club, Power will hope to bring this excellent form into the forthcoming European Indoor Championships – due to take place between March 5-7 in Poland.
This excellent performance in the Austrian capital will come as a welcome boost to the former St Jude’s camogie player, following Athletics Ireland’s decision to cancel the National Indoor Championships for 2021. Originally fixed for February 20 and 21 at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena in Blanchardstown, a decision was made to pull the plug on this year’s event with the country set to be under Level Five restrictions until March 5 at the earliest.
