Orlaith Mannion achieves Standard for World U20s
Outstanding hurdling by Orlaith Mannion of South Galway AC in Belgium last weekend saw her clock a swift 13.52 seconds to win the 100m hurdles. This is her second time to break 13.70 seconds which is the required standard for the World U20 Championships which takes place in Oregon, USA from the 5th to 9th of August.
Mannion also won the 100m sprint very shortly after the hurdles race and set a new personal best of 12.01 seconds.
National Juvenile Track and Field Championships
The second weekend of the Juvenile Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place in Tullamore, with Galway clubs winning a huge medal haul across the programme.
South Galway AC continued their good weekend with gold for Ciarán Kelleher who emerged victorious in the U18 Boys 5,000m walk in Tullamore. He led from the start and set a personal best of 24:38 for the win.
Also, for the club Claudia Coyle won silver in the U18 Girls 2000m Steeplechase in a fantastic time of 6:58, and in the U14 Girls’ 2000m Walk clubmate Honor Mannion won bronze in 11:14.89.
Tuam AC enjoyed a superb day at the All-Ireland Championships in Tullamore, bringing home an impressive haul of five medals, including two national titles.
Leading the way was Emma Howson, who captured gold in the U15 Girls 2000m Walk with a winning time of 10:16.91, while Cuisle O'Callaghan claimed the U16 Girls 2000m Walk title in 10:02.22.
The U16 girls dominated the race-walking event with Teagan Rooney taking silver in 10:03.05 and Róisín Steede Duffy securing bronze in 10:03.11, completing a remarkable Tuam AC clean sweep of the podium.
Adding to the club's success, Savanagh O'Callaghan won silver in the U19 Girls 3000m Walk, clocking 14:47.06.
Galway City Harriers also excelled, bringing home six medals while also setting seven club records and producing numerous personal best performances.
The standout athlete was Maneli Fazaeli, who completed a remarkable double by claiming gold in the U13 80m and gold in the U13 600m. Her achievement was particularly noteworthy, with international athlete Emma Moore the last club member to win both a sprint and a distance event at the National Championships.
Another national title came courtesy of Shane McGovern, who stormed to victory in the U19 400m, adding a third gold medal to the club's tally.
There was further success in the bronze medal positions with Elliana Magnetti taking third place in the U13 80m, Robbie Butler securing bronze in the U15 Triple Jump, and Lucy Hounkponou earning bronze in the U19 100m Hurdles.
The six-medal haul highlighted an outstanding championship for GCH, with athletes also recording several top eight finishes. Among those narrowly missing out on the podium were Paulina Navicke (4th, Javelin), Elliana Magnetti (4th, Hurdles), Elisa Jaime Stapleton (5th, 400m Final), Caoimhe Cavelleri (7th, Javelin), Jack Frehill (8th, High Jump) and Hugo Lynagh (8th, 100m Final).
Craughwell AC enjoyed a highly successful weekend at the All-Ireland Juvenile Championships in Tullamore, with the club securing one gold, one silver and two bronze medals against the country's top young athletes.
Leading the way was Lauren Kilduff, who crowned an outstanding juvenile career by capturing gold in the U19 Girls 100m Hurdles in a winning time of 14.51 seconds. Lauren was joined on the podium by clubmate Emma O'Donovan, who claimed bronze after finishing close behind in 14.92 seconds, completing a memorable one-three finish for the club.
There was further success in the hurdles when Rachel Warde produced an excellent performance to take silver in the U18 Girls 100m Hurdles, clocking 14.91 seconds.
On the track, David Frazer delivered another impressive championship performance earning bronze in the U17 Boys 800m after a brave front-running effort in a highly competitive final.
West Coast AC secured National gold via Caoimhe Phelan who once again showcased her talent and determination to succeed by taking home the 2026 National Title in the 3k Race Walk, adding to her Schools win recently.
Throughout the race she battled hard with Tuam AC athlete Savanagh O’Callaghan and just pipped her on the last lap making it a Galway one-two.
Athenry AC celebrated an outstanding weekend at the National Championships, with the club securing two gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals against the country's top young athletes.
Leading the success was Owen Gannon, who was crowned U14 Boys 2000m National Champion, producing a superb performance to claim gold.
Noah Brady enjoyed a remarkable championship, winning gold in the Shot Put and adding a silver medal in the Hurdles to complete an exceptional medal double.
There was further podium success for Harry Melia who raced to bronze in the U15 Boys 80m Hurdles, while Roman Shevstov claimed bronze in the U16 Boys Shot Put with a huge personal best throw of 15.15m.
Clare River Harriers had an exceptionally successful championships, with the clubs Race walkers supreme. Ava Dinkin was crowned All Ireland Champion in the U14 girls 2km by claiming an impressive gold medal. Keelan O’Grady claimed a bronze in the U14 boys 2km and showed great fight throughout the race. Hazel Dinkin missed out of silverware by two hundreds of a second and finished 4th overall.
Castlegar AC secured two medals in Racewalking, with Cliodhna Ni Chonaill winning gold in the U17 Girls 3000m walk, her second All Ireland win this year, while Grofu Newell claimed a silver medal in the U15 Boys 2000m walk.
Fixtures
This weekend sees the National U20 and U23 Championships take place on 4th and 5th July in Tullamore, with two more days of Juvenile competition the following weekend.
Caltra AC host a 5k and 10k on Friday 3rd July next at 7pm, with Caltra Community Centre the race HQ.
