GCH athlete sent tumbling in the European Indoor 400m heats in Glasgow

GALWAY athlete Cillin Greene had an unlucky experience at the European Indoor Championships held in Glasgow over the weekend.

The GCH runner was taking part in the 400m and was the first Irish athlete in action last Friday, only to fail to complete his heat after an unfortunate mid-race collision.

Greene had got off to a strong start but at the 200m mark he collided with Poland’s Karol Zaleswki, although both runners quickly recovered.

Disaster was to follow, however, as race favourite, Czech athlete Jan Tesar, ran into Zalewski before hitting the ground and Greene, who was right behind the Czech, tripped over Tesar and was unable to finish out the race.

All in all, the championships were still a great experience for the talented Greene, who will no doubt focus next on his outdoor season and look to further lower his personal bests.

Cross Country

The IUAA Intervarsity Cross-Country Championships were held on Saturday last at St Mary’s College Galway, with the event attracting some of the country’s best cross-country runners and teams.

The rain cleared just in time for the races, but a combination of high winds and a true cross-country circuit meant a real test for the athletes who made the trip west.

The races were of great quality, with double wins for DCU athletes, via Emma O Brien in the women’s event and Paul Robinson in the men’s, in what were two dramatic races. DCU combined well to win both team titles, while NUIG took bronze team medals in the men’s event, and fourth in the women’s.

Emma O’Brien took control of the race early on and never took her foot off the pedal, running hard all the way to claim an impressive victory, ahead of Avril Deegan, also of DCU, in second and the fast finishing Nadia Power in third. Power pipped long-time third Sorcha McAllister and Cliona Murphy of Trinity in an exciting duel for the bronze medal.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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