Limerick athletics weekly news update

123.ie National Juvenile Track and Field Championships, Day 2

EMER Purtill continues to dominate all things Shot Put securing gold on day two of the 123.ie National Juvenile Track and Field Championships in Tullamore last Sunday with an impressive throw of 13.08m.

Dooneen clubmate Gyte Anrejauskatie claimed bronze in the U14 Javelin with a throw of 28.96m. Rosie Gavin, of Limerick
AC, impressed claiming 3 rd in the Girls U18 100m in 12.35 secs. Clubmate Alanna O’Connell also secured a medal taking bronze in the U13 80m sprint clocking 10.90 secs.

Aine Frawley, of St Marys in Rathkeale, was 2nd in the U16 Long Jump (5.68m).

Others to impress included Robert Purtill, 4th in the U14 Discus (27.26m) and Emerald ACs Jamie Devlin, 6th in the U14 Long Jump (4.75m). Luke Calitz, of Limerick AC, qualified from his heat before coming 6th in the final of the Boys U18 100m (11.22m)

National Juvenile ‘B’ T&F Championships & U13-U19 Relays, Tullamore

The National Juvenile ‘B’ T&F Championships & U13-U19 Relays took place on Saturday with Jack Young, of West Limerick,  becoming a national champion clinching Gold in the U12 600m, stopping the clock on (1:45.76) Well done to Jack.

Roisin Doyle won the U15 Girls 100m for Limerick AC in 13.32 secs with clubmate Alanna Purcell making it a 1-2, finishing 2nd on 13.46 secs. Crea Moore was second in the U12 Girls 600m with clubmate Rachel Ryan 3rd.

Fionn Cunningham, also Limerick AC, was 3rd in U16 800m in 2:12.10. An Bru’s Daire O’Dwyer was 4th in both the Boys U15 800m and Shot Put. Well done Daire,

There was success for both city clubs in the relays. Limerick AC took Silver in the U17 Mixed 4x100m relay with Aoife Murphy, Sarah O’Halloran, Tadhg Purcell and Robert Sheehan home in 4:11.28 secs. The Dooneen U14 Boys took Bronze in 4x100m and featured Kyle Harte, Samuel Adde, Jay Collins and Cian O’Donnell who were home in 53.00.

The Dooneen Girls of Lily McMahon, Emer Purtill, Isbael Ni Huigin and Megan O’Shea drove the team to a Silver medal in the U16 4x100m. Well done to all on their performances on the national stage.

1976

The newly formed Dooneen AC from the Raheen/St. Pauls held a flag day in order to fund equipment for the club

International

John Kinsella represented Ireland at the Senior European Mountain Running Championships in Wales last weekend. He was well positioned but two falls eventually ended any chance of a high finish. However John expressed his honour at again representing his country.

West Limerick AC Notes

National Juvenile B Championships

Jack Young came home from Tullamore on Saturday as National Champion in U12 boys 600m. Congratulations Jack, an incredible achievement.

James King had two great runs at the nationals Saturday in Tullamore, he made the final of the 80m sprint and finished in sixth place overall in the 600m.

Ruairi Boyce competed in the U12 boy’s long jump and finished in 11th place with a jump of 3.68m. Nessa Halpin Colclough competed in both the 80m and 600m races for U12 girls.

She ran both races very well and clocked very good times.

Congratulations to all our athletes who competed at nationals, it’s great to see the club being represented at this level. 

Couch to 5K 2024

West Limerick Athletics Club are looking at organising an 8 week Couch to 5k programme. This will be on Thursday nights at the Limerick Regional Athletics Hub with coaches from our club , from late September onwards.

This was a hugely successful experience in 2023 and the final 5k run was held at the hub in November. Further details to follow.  

Around the Country

Dooneen’s Nelson Nwakaihe travelled to Dublin’s Phoenix Park and represented the club in National 10 Mile championships, finishing in a great time of 72:11. Nelson will represent and hopefully help Dooneen to contend for a first Senior Men’s title in the forthcoming Cross Country season.

Parkrun

Susan Murnane travelled to Inis Mean for her 100th Parkrun, she was first woman home in 20:32 with ‘All Ireland champion’ son Darragh 1st overall in 17:01.

Fixtures

It was announced that the Curraghchase 10k will not be going ahead this year. The Cook Medical 10K Limerick Mini Marathon takes place on Sunday 6 October from the University of Limerick.

The Charleville International Half Marathon, this year the National ‘H-M’ Championships, takes place on Sunday 15th September and encompasses the counties of Cork and also Limerick.

West Limerick AC are considering an 8 week Fit4Life programme at the Regional Athletics Hub in September. Last year was considered a great success and those interested in participating are invited to contact the club.

Training Tip

“Consistency in your training is key to success” – Joe Chawke, Dooneen AC