Report on the 2016 Munster Senior & Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships by John Desmond & Keith Burke.
Report by John Desmond…..Exactly 12 months ago, James Ryan and myself made the long trip to Nenagh in Tipperary for the annual Munster Senior & Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships. This was after the club had been absent from the event for five years after fielding 4 in 2008 and 1 in 2009. The 2015 entry was more of a re-introduction of the club to the event and having a presence there. In the end, the trip was worthwhile as we not only got a better idea of what the event was about but we also won two Bronze medals. 2015 report HERE.
I had hoped that perhaps if we went back with double our numbers in 2016 then it would be a success but in the end, it was even better as we had 7 taking part! This was a record attendance for the club at this championship event.
In terms of numbers from Cork clubs, this is how we compared to others taking part…Leevale AC 12, Liscarroll AC 8, Eagle AC 7, Rising Sun AC 7, East Cork AC 4, St.Finbarr’s AC 3, Togher AC 1, Grange-Fermoy AC 1, North Cork AC 1, West Muskerry AC 1 & Fanahan McSweeney AC 1.
In contrast to the two events that we took part in last year (Shot Putt & 3000m), this year we had entries in nine…60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, Shot Putt, High Jump and Long Jump. As well as our increased participation, we also came home with three medals…a Bronze in the Shot Putt and a Silver and Bronze in the 800m. More details in Keith’s report.
Overall, it was a very good day out for the club with plenty of lessons learnt for future events. A work of thanks also to our Competition Secretary Pat Murphy…our ‘8th man’ on the day who helped out at the finish line for most of the track races.
David O’Donovan took part in four events. Photo Credit : Dooneen AC
Report on the 2016 Munster Indoor Track & Field Championships…by Keith Burke
The 2016 Munster Senior & Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships took place at the Nenagh Indoor Stadium on Sunday 17th January last. This year, seven Eagle AC members entered the Championships, a significant increase on our participation in the 2015 edition of the Championships. With increased participation came increased success and the team can be proud of their medal haul of 3 together with some very unlucky 4th place finishes and a number of other strong performances.
Chris Bristow preparing for the 200m. Photo Credit : Dooneen AC
The medals came from Denis Looney (Silver in the M45 800m), David O’Donovan (Bronze in the M35 800m) and John Desmond (Bronze in the M50 Shot Putt). In fact, John was successfully defending his Bronze medal from the 2015 Championships! James Ryan was extremely unlucky to finish outside the medals in the M50 3,000m after taking the best part of a minute off the time which saw him take a Bronze in the M45 3,000m at these Championships last year. Kevin Sievewright and John Desmond finished 9th and 10th respectively in the same race. In addition to his 800m medal, David was just outside the medals in the Long Jump and High Jump and also finished 5th of the Championship competitors in the M35 60m. Derek O’Keeffe was 5th in both the M40 800m and M40 1,500m.
The Senior Championships were held in tandem with the Masters Championships and Chris Bristow put in strong runs in the 200m, 400m and 1,500m.
Video…James Ryan near the front in the M50 3000m…
The full results of the event are available HERE. The extracted Eagle AC performances are as follows (placings exclude guest participants in the race/event):
Bristow, Chris (MS)…200m – 10th 27.99, 400m – 6th 60.66 and 1500m – 5th 5:07.27
Desmond, John (M50)…3000m – 10th 11:20.00 and Shot Putt – 3rd (Bronze) 6.39m
Looney, Denis (M45)…60m – 9th 10.77, 800m – 2nd (Silver) 2:49.65 and Shot Putt – 5th 5.45m
O’Donovan, David (M35)…60m – 5th 8.20, 800m – 3rd (Bronze) 2:34.06, Long Jump – 4th 4.71m and High Jump – 4th 1.45m
O’Keeffe, Derek (M40)…800m – 5th 2:30.36 and 1500m – 5th 5:03.44
Ryan, James…(M50) 3000m – 4th 10:47.00
Sievewright, Kevin…(M50) 3000m – 9th 11:12.00
Derek O’Keffe in action on the indoor track….Photo Credit : Dooneen AC
Well done to all who took part and a thank you also to Pat Murphy who attended the event as the club’s official. Many of the Eagle AC squad were newcomers to track & field competition having sampled the “try track racing” nights which the club held at the end of 2015. Why not try something new and participate at future club racing nights and/or track & field competitions!
Chris Bristow in the Senior 1500m…Photo Credit : Dooneen AC
Club member Paul Cotter appeared as a contributor during the BBC Health Series “Trust Me I’m A Doctor” on the 13th of January 2016 (Season 4 Episode 2).
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