Last weekend, Siobhan Grant made the long trip to Tullamore again, this time as a competitor not coach, to the National Masters Track and Field Championships to compete in the V35 category. Continue reading
Category Archives: Track
Callum Takes GOLD at Mary Peter’s Track, Belfast
Thursday 13th April was the first meeting of the Firmus Super 6 Series at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast and there was an encouraging turnout from the Newcastle AC Juniors, with athletes competing in the Minis, U13, U15 & U17 age categories. First event was the Boys Minis 80m sprint and Charlie Easton was the fastest NAC athlete home in 13.18, an impressive 6th place overall, Callum Cope was next in 13.44, good enough for 10th. The placings were reversed in the Long Jump with Callum producing a tremendous leap of 3.04m to win the Long Jump Gold, Charlie was unfortunate not to come back with a bronze, missing out on 3rd place on a countback with 2.93m. Continue reading
O’Flaherty makes solid progress in Athlone and Armagh
So far for Newcastle & District AC’s Kerry O’Flaherty it has been a winter focusing on the development of background aerobic conditioning looking ahead to next summer. She has had some successful outings on the cross-country, including being part of the Irish team winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in France in December. To help monitor progress, O’Flaherty is in the middle of a short indoor and road racing season. On the 7th February she finished 3rd in the Welsh Indoor Championships in Cardiff over 3000m. Continue reading
IAAF World Cross Challenge – Cross de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain – 15th November 2015
In contrast to the conditions at Santry for the Masters Home International Cross-Country on Saturday, the going was firm and fast on the flat course lying just over 3,000 feet above sea level almost half way between Madrid and Bilbao. It was the 12th edition of the most prestigious annual cross-country race in Spain – the Cross de Atapuerca – at a site of neolithic man and on the Camino Santiago near to the medieval city of Burgos. While Ireland recently endured it’s traditional wet and windy autumnal spell (with winds in excess of 100km/h last Thursday), the Iberian Peninsula at the same time has been basking in what represents a good summer’s day in Ireland. Continue reading
IAAF World Athletics Championships 2015
Congratulations to Kerry O’Flaherty in becoming the first Newcastle AC athlete to compete at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing yesterday (24th August).
In the searing 30 degree heat of the Bird’s Nest 2008 Olympic Stadium she came home 13th in her heat.
Link below to short coverage from the BBC at hurdle incident on the first lap :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/34045521
World and Olympic Qualifying times for Kerry
“the last water jump” by Malcolm McCausland
On Friday evening 10th July at the Sub-4 International Meeting at the Danny McDaid Track in Letterkenny, Kerry O’Flaherty finished second to American Jamie Cheever (9:40.99) in a big new personal best of 9:42.61. This is inside the qualifying time for this year’s World Championships in Beijing and for next year’s Rio Olympics. 
Kerry had set her previous best of 9:51.64 in Huelva in Spain last month in windy conditions. Conditions in Letterkenny were a little windy but the field that Meeting Director Darragh McDaid had assembled was an excellent one. Polish athlete Matylda Kowal was the official pacemaker to 2k going through the first km in 3:13 and then 6:30. As she dropped out there were three Irish, five Americans and a Ugandan in contention. Over the final water barrier with 150 metres to go there were three girls neck and neck – Cheever, O’Flaherty and compatriot from Cork, Michelle Finn. With a 3:12 final km and a last lap of 74 seconds, O’Flaherty secured the two qualifying times. Behind her in 3rd Michelle Finn (9:43.4) also secured Beijing and Rio times, in 4th Sara Treacy from Meath (9:44.14) also secured the Olympic time but was just outside the World standard (9:44.0).