Sarah Lavin and Israel Olatunde brought the curtain down on a thrilling final day of the 151st edition of the 123.ie National Track and Field Championships (July 30th).
A packed DCU Morton Stadium cheered them on in the rain and made for strong TV coverage on RTÉ following on from the celebrations of the All Ireland Football Final down the road from Santry at Croke Park.
Lavin remarkably set three personal best performances on her way to today’s 100m gold, made all the more remarkable having claimed the 100m hurdles title only 24 hours previous.
The Emerald AC star saved her best performance of the day for this evening’s sprint final, clocking a lifetime best of 11.53 to make her own bit of championship history. Lucy May Sleeman followed Lavin home for a superb silver in 11.85, while Mollie O’Reilly continued her run of ultra-consistent performances to claim bronze in 11.86.
Israel Olatunde was pitched as one of the star names of this year’s championships and the recent European U23 finalist duly delivered to claim his third national senior 100m title in a row (10.50). The UCD athlete was made to work for the 2023 title with clubmate Bori Akinola right on Olatunde’s shoulder at the halfway point. Akinola would ultimately settle for silver in 10.58, with recent European U23 star Garbriel Kehinde racing his way to bronze in 10.70.
An intriguing rematch between European U23 medallists Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy (UCD AC) was billed as potentially the race of the day, and it didn’t disappoint with Healy and O’Sullivan going toe-to-toe from the gun in a race that had the crown in Morton Stadium on their feet coming into the final lap.
Ultimately it was Healy who mustered a final finishing surge to break free of O’Sullivan in a hugely tactical affair to claim her third outdoor 1500m title in a time of 4:11.39. O’Sullivan crossed in 4:12.00 to all but secure her place at the upcoming World Championships.
The men’s 1500m race also turned into a dual with Cathal Doyle getting the better of Nick Griggs to retain his 1500m crown in a time of 3:40.11. Griggs, who led for much of the race, followed Doyle over the line in 3:40.11 and will now turn attention to the upcoming European U20 Championships which saw the Candour athlete win double gold back in 2021. Shane Bracken stayed on strongly to finish best of the pack in 3:42.05 for bronze.
Sharlene Mawdsley produced one of the performances of the day in the women’s 400m final, cruising clear of a field which included the class of Sophie Becker, Roisin Harrison, and Phil Healy.
Mawdsley looked in control from the gun, crossing the finish in isolation in a time of 51.94 for her second outdoor 400m title. Becker was a clear second (53.10), with Harrison getting the better of Healy for third (53.93).
North Sligo’s Christopher O’Donnell arguably put in his best ever national championships performance to secure his fifth 400m title. O’Donnell was just two-tenths of a second outside his season’s best, crossing in a time of 45.97. Callum Barid picked up a brilliant silver in 46.88 to hold off a resurgent Brian Gregan 46.96.
Louise Shanahan made it three national titles in a row with a trademark ‘sit and kick’ win in the women’s 800m. A winning time of 2:03.13 ensured Shanahan’s domination of the 800m national title continued, an impressive feat given the strength in depth across Irish 800m running. Jenna Bromell ran a brave race from the front for silver (2:05.16) with Georgie Hartigan picking up bronze (2:08.98).
John Fitzsimons followed up his recent win at the Morton Games to reclaim gold in a star-studded men’s 800m (1:47.13). The Kildare AC athlete was ideally placed coming around the final bend and his finishing kick was enough to see him stretch clear of Harry Purcell 1:48.03 and Mark Milner 1:48.48.
Thomas Barr picked up his 11th Irish title with an impressive 49.85 in the men’s 400mH final, while Jessica Tappin stopped Kelly McGrory’s bid for three-in-a-row with a winning run of 57.20.
A stacked men’s 5,000m race promised to deliver something special in the opening race of the evening session, and it didn’t disappoint with Brian Fay making his move with 4 laps to go in a leading pack of four athletes including Efrem Gidey, Cormac Dalton, and Pierre Murchan. That pack soon became two with Dalton and Fay duking it out on the penultimate lap before a 55-second last lap saw the Irish record holder storm clear to claim the title in 13:39.21. Dalton would cross in 13:44.43, with Gidey third for Clonliffe in 13:55.10.
The women’s 5,000m went the way of Ide Ni Dhomhnaill who has continued her rapid rise over the last 12 months, adding gold today to last year’s national 10k title. The West limerick AC athlete raced tactically superb, unleashing a race winning kick with 600m to cross in a winning time of 15.44.04. Roisin Flanagan battled bravely to regain second place on the run-in from Shona Heaslip.
The field events delivered some outstanding performances on the day, no more so than the men’s high jump competition which was one of the best Irish high jump competitions in recent years. Reece Ademola secured gold with a new lifetime best of 7.96 NU23R on his final jump of the day having already posted 7.93 with his opening attempt. Sam Healy took home silver with 7.61m, and Shane Howard the bronze 7.46.
