Super weekend for Tallaght athletes

LAST weekend was indeed a super weekend for Tallaght Athletics Club with athletes producing excellent performances at several venues at home and abroad.

Rhasidat Adeleke kicked off the new year in style with two outstanding performances at the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque where she lowered her own National records for the 60m from 7.17 to 7.15 and the 200m from 22.52 to 22.49.

Sean Aigboboh was also in superb form at the National U20/U23 National Championships in Athlone where he equaled the U20 60m National record of 6.84 which was set by club mate Israel Olatunde in 2021.

The weekend got even better for the club on Day 1 of the Dublin Juvenile Indoor Championships in the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown where the club’s young sprinters claimed 5 of the 8 200m titles on offer on the day.

The winners on the day included Abdullahi Adeleke, younger brother of Rhasidat who stormed to victory in the U16 200m with a time of 23:85 with Kamal Oresanya taking bronze (25.19).

Brianna Dwyer Carty was another who stormed to victory in the U17 200m with almost a second to spare over her nearest rival and Dubem Amah took the boys U17 200m title with an excellent time of 22.70 and he also took the long jump title with a superb jump of 6.15m.

Gloria Oigbochie clocked 25.72 when claiming the U18 200m title with Joanna Shodipo taking bronze in 26.66, while Uche Disu took the U19 200m title in 26.02 with Hazel Jordan finishing 4th (26.93).

Others who competed in Abbotstown, included Beauty Ikpefua who won bronze in the U16 shot putt with a throw of 7.93m and she also contested the U16 200m heats with Olivia Groome where they recorded times of 29.89 and 30.14 respectively in the U16 200m heats, Conor McGann U16 200m heat (30.50), Matilda Porcu finished 2nd U17 200m heat (28.37), Amy Casey U17 60m hurdles, and Olivia Tyrell who recorded a time of 29.57 the U19 200m heats.

And others who competed in Athlone included Carlotta Malaga Moran who recorded a time of 8.15 in her heat of the U23 60m, while David Aigboboh recorded a time of 7.29 when finishing 5th in his U23 heat.

Godwin Mathias recorded a time of 50.72 when finishing 4th in the U23 400m final, and Cormac Dixon in his first track outing since May of 2023 recorded a time of 3:55.94 when finishing 6th in the U20 1500m.

There will be plenty to look forward to when many of the clubs young athletes contest Day 2 & 3 of the Dublin Juvenile Indoor Championships in Abbotstown on the 3rd and 4th of February.