‘The race went exactly as I wanted it to go’

IN a championship where all the big race favourites like Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr, Mark English, Sarah Healy and others come to the fore for victory, the Men’s 400m final was always going to be keenly contested.

Fresh from his European Mixed Relay team gold medal performance Christopher O’Donnell of North Sligo AC started as marginally the favourite.

But other Irish international 400m men like Jack Raftery of Donore Harriers, Cillian Greene of Galway City Harriers and rising star Callum Baird of Ballymena and Antrim AC would all be in contention for the podium.

For Donore’s Jack Raftery this final was a crossroad in a season hampered by injury and illness.

He had been a reserve on the successful European Mixed Relay national team and aspirations of making the squad for the Paris Olympics were now on the line.

Moreover, he had not improved on his 45.89 time set in the European Under 23 championships 400m final at Helsinki last summer.

With honours even between all the pre-race favourites down the back strait it was O’Donnell and Raftery who edged to the front in the sprint for the line.

O’Donnell held a 2- metres lead with just 30 remaining, but then began to fade and the 6’ 7” frame of Raftery held his form to the line to record a wonderful win.

His time of 45.95 was only his 2nd time below the 46 seconds mark and will surely put him on the plane to the Paris Olympics.

Raftery, 22, said afterwards: “I’ve had a rough year with injury and illness, and it’s been tough to get here.

“So, I am delighted to win.

“The race went exactly as how I wanted it to go…”

He won his heat on Saturday in a time of 47.32.

Aoife Lynch is another club athlete who will come away from the championships with a great sense of satisfaction – and a medal!

Lynch, who was on the Irish team that won silver medals in the women’s 4 x 200m at the World Relays Championships in Poland in 2021, had her athletics career badly railroaded by injury and this has been her comeback season.

She’s certainly one of the most committed athletes on the Irish sprint circuit and her 3rd place finish in the final of the 200m in a time of 24.40 was a bronze medal etched in toil and sweat.

She qualified to the final by finishing 2nd behind Phil Healy in Heat 1 in a time of 24.57.

Lynch also qualified to the final of the 100m, where she placed 10th behind winner Rhasidat Adeleke in a time of 12.03. US scholarship-based Louis O’Loughlin had a tough day in the office at these championships.

He qualified to the 800m final by winning Heat 3 in a time of 1.52.44 but could only manage 9th place in the final in a time of 1.53.27.

His former juvenile coach Gerry Naughton explained: “It’s very hard for US based athletes to perform well in the national championships.

Louis peaked a couple of months ago in the middle of the NCAA track season, and it’s very physically and emotionally demanding to be race sharp for so long.”

Jordan Athaide (2.03.39) came 9th in Heat 4 of the 800m.

Donore Harriers had 3 competitors in a field of 28 in the Men’s 5,000m A final.

The evergreen John Travers came 9th in a time of 14.09.99 – but not before making a gallant effort for a medal in the middle part of the race.

Travers gained on the lead group of eventual medal winners Brian Fay, Efrem Gidey and Cormac Dalton, but an injection of pace at the front saw the Donore man lose ground over the final 3 laps.

Kane Collins (14.37.40) came 23rd and Gavin Curtin (14.45.34) came 26th.

John Cleary, one of the club’s most improved athletes, placed 11th in Heat 1 of a competitive 1,500m in a time of 4.07.79.

This was his first national track championship race.

The club’s younger athletes will have gained from the experience of competing in senior championships.

Alex Leonard (22.49) came a fine 3rd in Heat 7 of the Men’s 200m, whilst Emily Bolton (4.31.04) came 13th in the final of the Women’s 1,500m having qualified with 3rd place in Heat 1 in 4.28.74.

Lorraine O’Connor (9.56.31) won the Under 20 women’s 3,000m incorporated in the senior event.

Elsewhere, on Friday evening Donore Harriers won the men’s team prize at the St. Coca’s 5km road race at Kilcock.

The team was led home by Rhys Johnson (15.23) who placed 6th overall and 2nd in the junior category.

The team was completed by Daragh Keegan (15.45) in 18th, Adam Foy (15.57) in 26th and Simon O’Toole (16.10) in 36th