Galway’s athletes come up trumps at top level

GALWAY athletes competed in huge numbers at the first day of the National Juvenile Championships last Saturday, and it proved to be a successful onefor city club, Galway City Harriers.

The team relay events took place in Tullamore and Galway City Harriers teams took home a total of seven medals, after a series of heats and finals across the 4 x100m and 4400m events.

There were two gold medal winning performances from the girls U19 4 x 400m squad of Róisín Dobey, Maebh Brannigan, Liz Maher, Aisling Ní Fhatharta and Kate Greaney. The boys U19 4 x100m team also claimed victory, in a time of 44.39 with a squad comprising John Igwu, James Mitchell, Robert Meagher, Luke O’Shaughnessy and Ayo Olaytunde.

The GCH U19 boys squad also medalled in the 4 x400m, where they took silver, with Somto Orajabo coming in for O’Shaughnessy to complete the team. GCH U15 girls squad came a close second to Emerald AC in the 4 x 100m with the squad comprised of Jean Brennan, Laura Nally, Laoise Geraghty, Naomi Whyte, Cliona Ní  Choclain and Lydia Doyle.

The club’s U12 girls took bronze in the 4 &100m relay, with a team of Sarah Agboola, Eimear Rowe, Ciara Dunne and Kara McLeane. The GCH girls also won bronze in the U16 4 x100m event with Sarah McDonnell, Sally Ann O’Malley, Róisín Flynn, Lydia Doyle, Larna Lally  and Jean Brennan making up the squad

The GCH U16 boys squad of Sean Kilmartin, Colin Murray, Kacper Poniatowski and Jack Dempsey claimed a fine silver medal in the 4 x100m event, while the club’s U15 boys team took fourth in the 4 x100m event in 49.78, just ahead of Craughwell AC.

Meanwhile, Galway athletes came home with four All-Ireland titles and numerous other medal winning performances at the Junior and U23 Championships which took place Sunday last in Cork IT.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.