Not since the 90’s has Moyne AC experienced such success on the National stage, a day that will long live in memory to those who were apart of this special crop of athletes. Last weekend we saw 16 Moyne athletes travel to Tullamore to compete in the National Children’s Games, the u12/u13 and the U23 championships. Qualification alone for this level of competition is an accomplishment in itself, particularly for a small rural club so to take honours is an exceptional outcome. Acknowledgements from the wider athletic family have been flooding in since, all in appreciation and complimenting the clubs performance at Nationals and proving that success is not limited to the bigger clubs!
National Children’s Games and u12/u13 Championships
First up in the morning were Meadhbh Hall and Lily Murphy in the girls under 10 paired 60m. In this competition, results are based on the combined times of the two athletes. Having narrowly missed out on a podium place last year at this competition, the girls were determined to put in a big effort. Meadhbh toed the line in the third heat, running a fantastic 10.10s into a strong headwind. Lily stormed down the track in 9.83s. After some quick maths by the coaches, and an anxious wait for confirmation, the girls were announced as silver medal winners. Congratulations girls on an incredible achievement.
Next up were Aoibheann Doyle and Beibhinn Maher in the girls u9 paired long jump. Jumping into the same strong headwind, the girls faced a tough competition. Aoibheann jumped first, jumping a best of 2.85m on the day, Beibhinn followed up with a best jump of 2.63m. While this wasn’t enough to medal on the day, the girls should be very proud of themselves, and hopefully enjoyed their first experience competing at a national level.
The field events continued with Isabelle Murphy representing the club in the girls u13 javelin. Relatively new to this event, Isabelle has put in huge efforts in her training to get to this competition. Isabelle threw an initial throw of 18.33m, and despite facing difficulties with her remaining throws, finished an impressive tenth in the final standings.
Gerard Delaney took to the field in two events on the day, qualifying in both the javelin and the high jump. Due to the timetable, he was in for a hard day’s work, as he ran up and down the field alternating between throwing and jumping as the events ran simultaneously. Thankfully Paddy Doyle was on hand to carry his gear as he moved between the events! In the javelin, Gerard threw an opening throw of 23.59m into the wind, bettering this to 23.79m and earning himself a spot in the final eight and a further three attempts. 23.79m remained his best throw of the competition, and Gerard finished in 8th place. Meanwhile, in the high jump, Gerard was moving up through the heights and seeing off the competition. Gerard succeeded in clearing 1.40m, enough to earn him a silver medal. An incredible display of athleticism to switch between the events, and finish with a medal, well done Gerard.
With the field finished for the day, Tom Esmonde and Noah Ryan took to the track in the boys u9 paired 300m, competing in two very fast heats. Tom was up first, and despite facing the challenge of being boxed in around the bend finished strongly in eighth place in his heat, in a sub-minute time of 59.90s. In the second heat, Noah picked off opponents as he raced around the bend for a finish in 59.13s, a combined result of 7th place. Well done boys.
With the individual competitions finished, it was time for the relays, with three teams qualifying from the club. The girls u13 team (Abbie Delaney, Isabelle Murphy, Helen Renehan, Faye Murphy and Saoirse Joyce) took to the track in the second heat. They ran an impressive race, finishing 6th in a fast heat, in a time of 59.33s. After a long wait, they were followed onto the track by the u9 boys team (Aaron Hanrahan, Tom O’Shea, Noah Ryan and Tom Esmonde). Unfortunately it wasn’t their day and although each of the boys ran well, difficulties with the baton saw them finish in a time of 1.10.62, 5th in their heat. Well done to both teams on all the hard work and training that you have put in, in preparation for these competitions.
Our final team on the track were the girls u10 (Meadhbh Hall, Annie Ely, Órlaith Costigan and Lily Murphy). Cheered on by subs Aoibheann Doyle and Beibhinn Maher, the girls were in the first heat, along with Munster champions Cork City A.C. Running in lane 2, Meadhbh got out to a strong start, and with a seamless baton change, Annie found herself in a good position as she drove down the back straight. With a second expert changeover, Órlaith got the baton for the third leg and quickly made up even more ground around the bend. As she handed the baton off flawlessly to Lily, and Lily turned onto the home stretch, the team found themselves out in front. Lily’s fantastic final leg kept them clear in the lead, and they crossed the line in a PB time of 1.04.42. Then the wait was on, with the results being decided on times, it all depended on heat 2. The girls waited anxiously for the results to come in, and were rewarded when they did, as they won a gold medal and were crowned national champions. This is a huge achievement, not only for the girls, but also the club, and we are incredibly proud of their efforts.
A huge thank you to all of the coaches who helped the athletes in the run up to these championships and throughout the year, and to all the parents for their time and support.
As a club we are immensely proud of each athlete’s achievements and we hope it continues into the future.
Katie takes top honours at U23 Nationals
With the success on Saturday the club were looking forward to watching Katie race in the 100m and 200m on Sunday in Tullamore. Athletics Ireland had a live stream of the competition on their You Tube channel to the delight of those who couldn’t be there as we could watch all the action unfold. It was clear to see that conditions were tricky with a swirling wind testing the athlete’s grit with the wind less favourable for sprinters with a headwind on the sprint track. Katie’s first event was the 100m and here she was looking to defend her National U23 indoor 60m title. Katie’s season has been going well to date and on Sunday all concerned were hoping of a big result. The heats of the 100m took place in the morning and here she looked super smooth and comfortably qualified for the final by winning her heat in 12.11. By early afternoon she was back in the blocks for the final, up against strong opposition to her left and right. She was drawn in lane four and as the gun sounded she powered away from her blocks through the headwind. She battled hard to 80m with athlete’s fighting for the lead but in the last 20m her strength and speed came to the fore as crossed the line as National U23 100m champion in a fabulous time of 12.09 ahead of Longford AC athlete Adeyemi Talabhi who clocked 12.14. A stunning performances from this composed and talented athlete, Katie was clearly delighted as she stood on the podium to receive her national medal. She gave her post race interview where she thank her coaches including clubman Martin Flynn and post-race analysis.
Katie didn’t have much time to recover as she had to prepare for the 200m straight final later in the afternoon. The wind still making its presence known the athlete’s would endure a tailwind on the bend and blowing side on the straight. Katie was drawn in lane 4 again! Commentators on the live stream acknowledged that it would be difficult for Katie to follow up on her earlier victory as her main rival’s in the 200m were fresh with many opting out of the 100m to focus on the 200m. As Katie sat into her blocks she broke away extremely well running an excellent bend. As she came into the home straight it was very tight to call as Katie battled hard down the straight against eventual winner DSD athlete Molly Hourihan (24.68). Katie passed the post a close second (24.88). These two were well clear of third place (25.90). Another quality performance from Katie who has had an exceptional year to date. Congratulations to her, her family and coaches on a fabulous outcome. Katie now will look towards the National Senior Championships in Morton Stadium the end of the month.
Split the Bucket
Sinead Tynan was this week’s split the bucket winner of €116. Well done to her and we thank all who continuously support the pot.
Training
For the majority of our younger athlete’s we will conclude training to allow for a well-earned rest. Thanks to all our athlete’s for the contribution all year and well done to them for their commitment and performances this season. We look forward to developing further from September onwards.
