Europa Cup Results and discussion

Dodge

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=4170#more-4170

Looks fairly strong. Zoe Brown should defintiely increase the points gained in the field by the ladies

A few TBC though

RoyMcC

Interesting to see Claire Fitzgerald selected for discus. A powerful young athlete but still throwing at Inter schools level! Does this reflect on the present standard of our senior throwers?

Rineanna

Dodge wrote: »

Looks fairly strong. Zoe Brown should defintiely increase the points gained in the field by the ladies

Zoe Brown has been ruled out by injury; Claire Wilkinson replaces her.

The final entries are on the EAA site.

To be honest, it's going to be a tough day for both our teams; the women will need everyone to be on top form to retain their place in the first division.

Cuddihy and O' Keefe should destroy their respective competitors, while McGettigan and O' Rourke will battle it out with their Spanish counterparts (Morato and Onyia) for either first or second in the 'chase and the hurdles respectively.

We'll then need the likes of Kelly Proper, Michelle Carey, Deirdre Byrne, Kelly Reid and Deirdre Ryan to pull out big performances to secure either 5/6 points.

We're actually ranked last in six events, which is worrying, especially since Fionnuala Britton is one of those six! I just hope that her 3000m PB is on borrowed time, and she'll knock a sizeable chunk from it. I don't know why she wasn't put on the 5000m like last year, where she was fourth; as has been pointed out by a few people, she seems a lot more suited to the longer distances.

The relays are going to be crucial, but our 4x4 team have the added incentive of Olympic qualification to spur them on; plus, having a 50.73 World semi-finalist anchoring the team also helps. There's no Niamh Whelan in the 4x100 squad, which is suprising, but Kelly Proper is on song having beaten Whelan over the 100m and 200m at the UL invitational over the weekend.

I wonder would it have been wise to put Derval O' Rourke on the 100m flat aswell? Now that I think of it, Amy Foster ran faster than Ailis McSweeney has done this season at the weekend too. It's a pity Mary Cullen couldn't have been included either.

thirtyfoot

Rineanna wrote: »

To be honest, it's going to be a tough day for both our teams; the women will need everyone to be on top form to retain their place in the first division.

.

It is being restructured next season to a combined men and women competition so I'm not entirely sure how the promotion/relegation will work.

RoyMcC

When did Irish throwing get to be so far off the pace? With the startling exception of Eileen of course they are barely on the same page as other European countries. And fielding a 16-year old, albeit a talented young lady for her age, just ought not to be happening.

Anyhow let's hope the girls take on the challenge and pull a rabbit or two out of the hat.

(Rineanna - re Derval I believe it's one event per athlete).

Rineanna

RoyMcC wrote: »

When did Irish throwing get to be so far off the pace? With the startling exception of Eileen of course they are barely on the same page as other European countries.

It really irks me aswell that there isn't a more concentrated effort to develop our throwers; I believe we could become very strong at them, like the Scandinavian countries.

(Rineanna - re Derval I believe it's one event per athlete).

I'm not sure if it is...Onyia is doing the 100m flat, the hurdles and the relay for Spain. I remember Eileen O' Keefe doubled up in the discus and hammer a couple of years ago, as did Aoife Byrne (where did she go?) in the 800m and 1500m.

thirtyfoot

Rineanna wrote: »

Aoife Byrne .

Still training and has raced at least once this season I think, but not near where she was when running 2:01.

Rineanna

I would love, love, love for her to be nearing those times again. If you look across the pond to the UK and see the sheer strength in depth they have in the women's middle distances, it'd be great if we could have even one athlete of the calibre. Deirdre Byrne is, however, making great strides (excuse pun) in the 1500m, and with the likes of Ciara Mageean and the O' Ffrench twins, there's some hope we might get a class middle distance runner.

Fast_Mover

For anyone that is interested..
Coverage of European Cup on BB1: 2.15pm-5.15pm

Pherekydes

Results from Tallinn

Results from Leiria

Great sprinting already from Hession, winning the match race in 10.30 +2.1, with Jason Smyth winning the extra race in 10.53 -0.4

Rineanna

5th place for White, Breathnach and Crowley in the hammer, shot and HJ respectively. It's great that we're picking up these points in the field events.

Slow coach wrote: »

Great sprinting already from Hession, winning the match race in 10.30 +2.1, with Jason Smyth winning the extra race in 10.53 -0.4

That's a big PB for him, and into a minus headwind aswell! :eek:

Dodge

Full results for Irish men so far

100m - 1 Hession 10.3 - 8 points
400mH - 6 Carey 53.69 - 3 points
High J - 5 Crowley 1.95 - 4 points
Shot P - 5 Breathnach 15.42 - 4 points
Hammer - 5 White 55.77 - 4 points

Pretty decent given a number of those are our weakest events

RoyMcC

I think that was a following wind for Hess, but takes nothing away from the win.

Rineanna

David McCarthy 3rd in 1500m for 6 points. Now, they have 1983 as his birth date, but am i correct in saying that this is the 1988 McCarthy?!

Ciaran O Lionaird second in 5000m for 7 points.

Paul McKee takes the win and 8 points in the 400m.

We're lying in 3rd overall, 6 points behing Estonia.

Dodge

After these

100m - 1 Hession 10.3 - 8 points
400mH - 6 Carey 53.69 - 3 points
High J - 5 Crowley 1.95 - 4 points
Shot P - 5 Breathnach 15.42 - 4 points
Hammer - 5 White 55.77 - 4 points

came these

400m - 1 McKee 46.68 - 8 points
1500m - 3 David McCarthy 3.58.28 - 6 points
5000m - 2 O'Lionaird 14.24,35 - 7 points
Long J - 6 Crowley 7,05 - 3 points
Discus - 5 White 55,77 - 4 points
4x100m - 2 Team 40.90 - 7 points
Team was Jason Smith, Paul Hession, Patrick Phelan, Darragh Graham

A great day by any standard

Dodge

Womens Results so far (not as promising as the men)

100m - 7 McSweeney 11.83 - 2 points
440mH - 2 Carey 56.64 - 7 points
Triple J - 8 McLoone 11.86 - 1 point
800m - 6 Reid 2.06:58 - 3 points
3000m - 5 Britton 9.23:34 - 4 points
400m - 3 Andrews 54.19 - 6 points (No Cuddihy?)
Discus - 8 Fitzgerald 41.21 - 1 point

Standings after 7 events
6 Lithuania 29
7 Ireland 24
8 Finland 23

Rineanna

Dodge wrote: »

Womens Results so far (not as promising as the men)

400m - 3 Andrews 54.19 - 6 points (No Cuddihy?)

1) Worrying that there's no Cuddihy; would have been a guaranteed 8 points. I guess we have to put things in perspective; a fit Cuddihy for Beijing is the most important thing. Puts a dampner on the relay plans, though.

2) What a performance by Andrews!!! She stepped up remarkably to cut a huge chunk from her PB.

not as promising as the men)

That was alwayd to be expected, though, with the difference in standards between the first and second division and the tough group the Women are in.

Dodge

Rineanna wrote: »

That was alwayd to be expected, though, with the difference in standards between the first and second division and the tough group the Women are in.

Oh I realise that. I just though we'd get a few 7ths and 8ths with the men but they've all really stepped up

Fast_Mover

Rineanna wrote: »

2) What a performance by Andrews!!! She stepped up remarkably to cut a huge chunk from her PB.

What was her PB?

Rineanna

Fast_Mover wrote: »

What was her PB?

55.15 AFAIK.

Fast_Mover

Jaysus..hugh new PB there! Fair play.

thirtyfoot

Rineanna wrote: »

1) Worrying that there's no Cuddihy; would have been a guaranteed 8 points. I guess we have to put things in perspective; a fit Cuddihy for Beijing is the most important thing. Puts a dampner on the relay plans, though.

2) What a performance by Andrews!!! She stepped up remarkably to cut a huge chunk from her PB.


That was alwayd to be expected, though, with the difference in standards between the first and second division and the tough group the Women are in.

Cuddihy will race in the relay.

Rineanna

An excellent 7 points from Ian McDonald, finishing second behind European Champion Olijars.

6th place for Jeremy Harper in the Discus.

Mark Christie takes an excellent second in the 3000m for 7 points.

Clum

Mark Christie second in 3000m in 8.01,39

Think that's a PB too (could be wrong though).

(just beaten to the mark by Rineanna).

Rineanna

Clum wrote: »

Mark Christie second in 3000m in 8.01,39

Think that's a PB too (could be wrong though).

(just beaten to the mark by Rineanna).

Sorry! I've nothing else to do today so I'm just watching the athletics on BBCi while checking the Irish results on the laptop!

Yes, it's a PB by just over three seconds from 8:04.48.

Racing Flat

Rineanna wrote: »

Sorry! I've nothing else to do today so I'm just watching the athletics on BBCi while checking the Irish results on the laptop!

Yes, it's a PB by just over three seconds from 8:04.48.

? outdoor pb. Think he ran 7.58 indoors in Belfast a while back.

Rineanna

Eileen O' Keefe gets Ireland off to an excellent start, taking maximum points. Her best throw was 69.59m, which, while a bit below her form of late, was 3 metres ahead of her nearest rival. We've climbed out of the bottom two, and should put the Netherlands under pressure over the next couple of events.

David Gillick was a dissapointing 5th in the 200m, with 21.19. I can't help thinking that we may rue not putting Hession in the 200m instead for a guaranteed 8 points - we may need those extra points at the end of the day. Actually, now that I look at the overall standings, Latvia and Estonia look pretty much uncatchable.

We finished last in the Javelin as expected, but were lucky in the Pole Vault, with two athletes no heighting, permitting us to finish
6th, eventhough Donegan only cleared 4.35m.

Racing Flat wrote: »

? outdoor pb. Think he ran 7.58 indoors in Belfast a while back.

Yes, outdoors.

Rineanna

3.04.43 for the men's 4x4 team for the win and 8 points. Don't know what that time means in terms of Olympic qualifying, as it's only slightly faster than the time set in Namur.

Edit: An excellent performance by Deirdre Byrne in the 1500m, taking third with 4.14.58.

High&Low

Some great results in the mens, just a pity that we can only manage 5ths and 6ths in the field events...

Dr Watson

17th one place and 2/100th behind qualifying...

3.04.43 and 3.04.71 give aggregate of 3.04.57, Botswana are on 3.04.56

Rineanna

It's down to Kelly Proper, Maria McCambridge and the 4x400m team to drag us off the bottom of the table and into mid-table secuirity.

Ireland, the netherlands, Portugal and Lithuania are involved in a bottom of the table dogfight, with only 5 points separating 5th and 8th place.

Luckily, the Netherlands are weak in both the LJ and the relay, so if all goes to plan, Proper should help us leapfrog Lithuania, leaving us just behind the Netherlands by one point. Maria McCambridge should fair well in a very weak 5000m, having run 4.16 for 1500m not so long ago, which will hopefully see us leapfrog the Netherlands.

Our relay team, with Cuddihy, should then battle it out with the Czech Republic for the win, and beat Lithuania (who narrowly beat us in Turin just a couple of weeks ago, although we were minus Cuddihy).

It'll be exciting!

Rineanna

Maria McCambride's excellent third place has dragged us up to fifth place from last.

Unfortunately, Kelly Proper was replaced with Mary McLoone who came stone last. That's frustrating because Proper probably would have finished fourth had she competed.:mad:

Anyway, the relay's over too, but the results aren't posted yet.

Rineanna

OMG we finished fourth overall! What a comeback from rock bottom a couple of events ago to fourth! Maria McCambridge and the relay put in storming performances.

3.33.85 for the relay team for the win and 8 points. Anyone know what that does for qualifying for Olympics?

Congrats to the Women's team!

RoyMcC

Hurray, well done team. Rineanna thanks for the updates.

Koroibos

Rineanna wrote: »

Anyone know what that does for qualifying for Olympics?

They would need another relay around 3.31.5 to qualify. China are in 16th with 3.32.25. From what I can tell there is no qualifying races left. The men have a GP in Salamanca. With the progress the women's 400m are making qualification should be a breeze in 2012.

http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Statistics/Standards/2008RelayqualifyingeventsBeijing_3207.pdf

http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Statistics/Standards/BeijingRelayTeams17June2008_3225.pdf

thirtyfoot

We have been placed in the 3rd division of the new European Cup for next season. It was close and we will be the top seed if you like in next year's 3rd division having ended up 25th. This will mean we should get promotion and in years ahead consolidating our place in Division 2 should be our aim and focus. Its also good in that the men and women will always be competing together.