OVERSEAS / TRACK & FIELD
-Steve Smythe, results editor
LATE LATE LEAGUE
LAST Saturday and Sunday was the first major league weekend of the winter. While some, such as the growing Surrey leagues, were efficient in getting results finalised, too many were still showing as provisional and we haven’t been able to include them. This is often down to team managers’ original errors and their delay in correcting them, but in the computer age, such lateness is disappointing.
FAST-FLYING FIONNUALA
IRELAND
Athletics Ireland Autumn Open, Dublin, October 16
FIONNUALA McCORMACK scored an impressive victory and enoyed the new purpose-built crosscountry course.
“The course was a lot tougher than people expected it to be,” continued the Wicklow woman, who used her customary front-running tactics to lead the field a muddy dance. “It’s real cross country. At the beginning of the cross-country season it’s a good start. I love it and that’s why I keep coming back time and time again.”
Poland’s Paulina Kaczynska outsprinted Caroline Crowley for second in 21:06 with the Dubliner having to settle for third after coming through strongly in 21:08.
It was a much closer affair in the senior men’s 8km race with one of McCormack’s contemporaries Mark Christie showing he still is one of the best distance runners in the country. He edged a four-way tussle in 24:59 ahead of Poland’s Adam Nowicki, who finished second in 25:04, and Freddy Keron Sittuk, who was third in 25:08.
The course proved to be a good challenge for the 451 competitors in the main races along with a further 650 juveniles who competed in the Dublin Championships earlier in the day.
The masters provided plenty of extra energy, Ann-Marie McGlynn winning the W35 section in 21:14, while other Irish women masters who could be on for medals at the British and Irish Masters International at Glasgow next month included W50 Niamh O’Sullivan and W60 Carmel Parnell.
Another leading master Paul Elliott won arguably the closest race of the day in the M60 8km, just one second ahead of Martin Kearney, while another international winner Tommy Payne took the M55 title.
Two previous international winners Peter Matthews and Martin McEvilly were second in their respective M45 and M65 races.
Cari Hughes of Wales won the junior women’s 4km race in 14:09, while Craig McMeechan won the junior men’s 6km race in 19:14.
Men: 8km: 1 M Christie 24:59; 2 A Nowicki (POL) 25:04; 3 F Keron Sittuk 25:08; 8 IEUAN THOMAS 25:39; 11 P Hamilton 25:51; 13 TOM MARSHALL 26:02; 22 SEAMUS LYNCH 26:27; 36 ZAK HANNA 27:18; 45 CONAL McCAMBRIDGE 27:52; 54 DERMOT McELHINNEY (M45) 28:12; 65 ANDREW CONSIDINE (M40) 28:38; 75 PAUL BLANEY (M45) 29:02. U20: 6km: 1 CRAIG McMEECHAN 19:14; 6 PATRICK MCNIFF 19:38; 14 JAMES EDGAR 20:15; 15 JONATHAN WHAN 20:17. Vets 8km: M35: 1 P Hamilton 25:51. M40: C Doherty 26:44. M45: 1 STEPHEN DUNCAN 27:26; 2 P Matthews 27:33. M50: 1 A Burke 28:45. M55: 1 T Payne 29:15; 2 J Stafford 29:17. M60: 1 P Elliott 31:52; 2 M Kearney 31:53. M65: 6km 1 J Murphy 24:23; 2 M McEvilly 25:26. M70: 1 T Mee 29:03; 2 P Bonass 30:32.