Ones to watch - 2009 season starts here!

thirtyfoot

Who do people think will be the ones to watch in 2009. Who can step up and join the dozen or so top end athletes we have. Its a bit leftfield but Nick Willis, olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m, reckons that Ciaran O' Lionard could be one to watch in the future. What will be his event though - 15 or 5.

Can Brian Gregan step up to seniors and go sub 46, or can Kelly Proper push on and maybe challenge at Euro U23's as a stepping stone to making a challenge at the Euro Seniors the following year.

Of the top stars, can Cragg and O' Rourke bounce back and how much faster can Hession go over the 200. Will Cuddihy break 50 if she can stays healthy and will Gillick break 45. Campbell and Chamney will sure be a good battle especially with Campbell's season leading parting shot in Shanghai at the weekend. Womens steeple will be interesting as with the standard getting better how long before the qualifying drops to as low as 9:30 or 9:35. Will more guys move up to marathon and if so who is likely to get into a position to challenge the A standard - maybe Mark Kenneally.

This is a great time of year. Most people are back after their breaks, are full of optimism and in their heads are going this is the year, the year I finally will get it all right, do everything right, stay healthy and run(or jump or throw or walk) fast (or far or high). It getting dark too and a long winter of hard work is ahead of all and everyone can't wait to get stuck in. I love winter training.

03mcgs0

Yes Tingle totally agree with you on Ciaran O’Lionaird, he could well be one for the future. He won a race there the other week in the States.

http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-xc/spec-rel/091608aab.html


It will be interesting to see how Kelly Proper does, long jump is her stronger event but will she stick with the sprinting?

deadlybuzz

Hi Tingle,
I'm looking forward to seeing how Hession gets on. He showed great consistency at end of the track season, taking a few big scalps along the way. At the rate he's going, what chance of him making the 200m final at the World Championships?

I wonder if Fagan can close in on 2:10, particularly at a flat city course in Europe somewhere, e.g. London, Rotterdam. He coped well with the heat in this year's races, so if he can overcome his injury problems, we could see a big PB from him. Next year's World Champs should have a flat, fast course and unlikely to be as hot and humid as recent Championship marathons. Many of the big guns may give it a miss, in favour of bigger paydays, so there may be an opportunity there. And like you say, will other guys like Keneally (or even Cragg ??) move up to the distance, and challenge the A standard? It should be interesting.

Racing Flat

Tingle,

1) What's the link between Willis and O'Lionaird? And what makes him think he's one to watch?

2) What did Campbell do at the weekend?

Thanks,

RF

helpisontheway

deadlybuzz wrote: »

Hi Tingle,
I'm looking forward to seeing how Hession gets on. He showed great consistency at end of the track season, taking a few big scalps along the way. At the rate he's going, what chance of him making the 200m final at the World Championships?

I wonder if Fagan can close in on 2:10, particularly at a flat city course in Europe somewhere, e.g. London, Rotterdam. He coped well with the heat in this year's races, so if he can overcome his injury problems, we could see a big PB from him. Next year's World Champs should have a flat, fast course and unlikely to be as hot and humid as recent Championship marathons. Many of the big guns may give it a miss, in favour of bigger paydays, so there may be an opportunity there. And like you say, will other guys like Keneally (or even Cragg ??) move up to the distance, and challenge the A standard? It should be interesting.

Slightly off topic but does anyone remember the Harty boy from Waterford who used to beat Fagan as a teenager? I remember watching him run and the whole track used to stand back in awe! Has there ever been a thread on where are they now?I ran against the Hesh as a juvenile and there were at least 2 fellas better than him,Kieran Hennessy of Leevale and David Mullins from Mayo.

thirtyfoot

helpisontheway wrote: »

Slightly off topic but does anyone remember the Harty boy from Waterford who used to beat Fagan as a teenager? I remember watching him run and the whole track used to stand back in awe! Has there ever been a thread on where are they now?I ran against the Hesh as a juvenile and there were at least 2 fellas better than him,Kieran Hennessy of Leevale and David Mullins from Mayo.

Everyone used to beat Hesh:D, but I suppose its aged mid 20's when it matters and especially when only 9 or 10 guys in the world can beat him now. Shining example of why athletes should always stick at it and have the faith. Harty was run into the ground by all accounts, a shining example of why athletes (and their advisors) should look at the bigger picture and have the faith

Racing Flat wrote: »

Tingle,

1) What's the link between Willis and O'Lionaird? And what makes him think he's one to watch?

2) What did Campbell do at the weekend?

Thanks,

RF

O' Lionard trains with Willis (in Michigan I think). Willis says he trains like a champion and has all the ingredients to get where he wants to go.

Campbell ran 1:46.45 in Shanghai, just edging past Chamney's Irish lead time (bet he would have swapped that for Beijing though!)

helpisontheway

Tingle wrote: »

Everyone used to beat Hesh:D, but I suppose its aged mid 20's when it matters and especially when only 9 or 10 guys in the world can beat him now. Shining example of why athletes should always stick at it and have the faith. Harty was run into the ground by all accounts, a shining example of why athletes (and their advisors) should look at the bigger picture and have the faith


O' Lionard trains with Willis (in Michigan I think). Willis says he trains like a champion and has all the ingredients to get where he wants to go.

Campbell ran 1:46.45 in Shanghai, just edging past Chamney's Irish lead time (bet he would have swapped that for Beijing though!)

Can you imagine if all these guys progressed like the Hesh?It really does show that for a small country we have some amount of talent and if we retain it we can be big players on the world stage.I think il start a thread on where are they now?:D

Stupid_Private

deadlybuzz wrote: »

I wonder if Fagan can close in on 2:10, particularly at a flat city course in Europe somewhere, e.g. London, Rotterdam. He coped well with the heat in this year's races, so if he can overcome his injury problems, we could see a big PB from him. Next year's World Champs should have a flat, fast course and unlikely to be as hot and humid as recent Championship marathons.

Here's an interesting one. Unlike the Olympic standard the AAI adjusted the marathon standard qualification for the last World Championships. It didn't really matter as no one was hitting the standard anyway. The qualification for Osaka was 2:11 (A standard) and 2:12:30 (B standard), both of which are better than Fagan's time. Will they re-adjust them to let him race in 2009 or will he have to break/smash his PB just to get there?

Racing Flat

Tingle wrote: »

Campbell ran 1:46.45 in Shanghai, just edging past Chamney's Irish lead time (bet he would have swapped that for Beijing though!)

Shyanghai, China? Fairplay to him - I'm fairly sure I saw him running around Dublin Wed/Thurs and yesterday, so he got in and out quite quickly. Or he's got a doppleganger...

shels4ever

I'd keep an eye on me next year, aim to take 15 mins of my 5 mile time and 20 from my 10k time.. that will be hard to top


Actually i'd like to see how Gilick goes next year, hope this season has giving him a hunger to improve and go sub 45.

Rineanna

This probably isn't the right thread for this but anyway...

The standards for Berlin Worlds have been released, and there have been a number of alterations to the standards of the last few major comps.

One of the changes of interest to Irish athletics is that of the Women's 'chase. The Standard has dropped significantly by six seconds to 9.40 flat, meaning Fionnuala Britton technically doesn't have the A Standard. She's still inside the B standard, whuich has dropped to 9.48. In fairness, they had to drop it sometime, there were nearly as many in the heats of the 'chase as there were on the starting line for the marathon! :pac:

The Marathon standard is 2.18 which Fagan is well inside, and could be within the reach of some of our other longer distance men if they are that way inclined.

Here's the link: http://iaaf.org/statistics/standards/newsid=47761.html

Stupid_Private

Rineanna wrote: »

The Marathon standard is 2.18 which Fagan is well inside, and could be within the reach of some of our other longer distance men if they are that way inclined.

Here's the link: http://iaaf.org/statistics/standards/newsid=47761.html

Can't believe they've made the marathon standard easier. As I said above though, the AAI can adjust the standards to make them stricter. For Osaka they made the marathon standard 2:11. I'd be curious to see if they do that again.

2:18 is too easy for an elite, as is 2:43 for women.

dna_leri

Tingle wrote: »

Who do people think will be the ones to watch in 2009. Who can step up and join the dozen or so top end athletes we have. .

Mary Cullen is looking to make a come back after a season with injuries. She ran 15:46 for 5K on the US roads recently, coming second to Shalane Flanagan. Heard she may continue her return at Irish cross-country.

Stupid_Private

Stupid_Private wrote: »

2:18 is too easy for an elite, as is 2:43 for women.

The entry standards have been announced by the AAI.

2:15 is the qualification for the men's marathon and 2:35 for the women's

Pherekydes

Another one to watch may be David McCarthy. He has all the tools, having won under age schools' and national cross country titles, while medalling at national junior level in the 400m. He has the basic speed, the stamina and the work ethic to go far.

I refer, of course, to the 1988 version.

Racing Flat

After a 62min half marathon in the Great North Run, I'd say Martin Fagan might be one to watch.

thirtyfoot

Racing Flat wrote: »

After a 62min half marathon in the Great North Run, I'd say Martin Fagan might be one to watch.

Too right. Treacy's Irish record is 61.00 but at altitude, his next best is 62.22. What are predictions for the full marathon with that time, 2:10-2:12?

cfitz

Tingle wrote: »

Too right. Treacy's Irish record is 61.00 but at altitude, his next best is 62.22. What are predictions for the full marathon with that time, 2:10-2:12?

Am I misreading this? 61:00 at altitude would surely be waaaay better than 62:22?

thirtyfoot

cfitz wrote: »

Am I misreading this? 61:00 at altitude would surely be waaaay better than 62:22?

True. It has an 'a' beside it though and its from Nara in Japan. Never been to Nara or Japan so can't comment on it altitude.

RoyMcC

Interesting. Personally I'd have thought a Half would be slower at altitude due to the more rarified atmosphere and less intake of oxygen. Explosive events have an advantage, agreed.

(Sorry, perhaps needs a seperate thread but would be interested to know what the facts are).

cfitz

RoyMcC wrote: »

Interesting. Personally I'd have thought a Half would be slower at altitude due to the more rarified atmosphere and less intake of oxygen. Explosive events have an advantage, agreed.

(Sorry, perhaps needs a seperate thread but would be interested to know what the facts are).

Me too. Unless it means low altitude. Is Nara way below sea-level?!

RoyMcC

Looking at Wiki, Nara looks a bit of a hilly place - but ...

...I think that 'a' denotes that the course was downhill. The 61min looks like it was in fact the GNR (not Nara), which I believe is a net downhill run. Also, further down the table, his marathon PB is also marked 'a' at Boston, which is also a net downhiller.

Racing Flat

Tingle wrote: »

Too right. Treacy's Irish record is 61.00 but at altitude, his next best is 62.22. What are predictions for the full marathon with that time, 2:10-2:12?

I would have thought closer the 2.12, but 2.10 and maybe 2.09 in time. The problem is you can't just hammer the marathons out every few months at that level (at least most people can't) so timing and planning will be important and maybe very frustrating. Be interested to see what his plans are.

Is Fagan 2nd fastest Irish ever then over the half? Or does Mark Carroll or anyone else have a better time?

Pherekydes

Interesting result from yesterday's Pre-Nats in the States:

Individual Results (Blue Division)

1. Tyson David, Alabama 23:30.1
2. David McNeill, Northern Arizona 23:30.7
3. Hassan Mead, Minnesota 23:33.1
4. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame 23:38.3
5. Augustus Maiyo, Alabama 23:39.6
6. David McCarthy, Providence 23:40.8
7. Mark Korir, Wyoming 23:43.2
8. Chris Rombough, Minnesota 23:47.3
9. Emmanuel Bor, Alabama 23:48.4
10. Ciaran O'Lionaird, U-M 23:50.6

Things are looking very good for these two young lions.

Running Bing

Racing Flat wrote: »

After a 62min half marathon in the Great North Run, I'd say Martin Fagan might be one to watch.

Cant say Im an expert but given his age and the fact he is working so closely with Greg McMillan now surely he can only get better?


Pretty impressive performance to qualify for the Olympics too given the circumstances.....would love to see an Irish athlete being competitive over the longer distances.

Clum

Fagan has also only completed one official marathon race so no doubt there'll be improvements in the next few years.

I'd guess he'll be looking to qualify for the World Championships in Berlin next August (2.11 qualifying time I think). Greg McMillan had planned on Martin competing in the Houston marathon (January) this year so maybe he'll do the same next year. Many athletes preparing for Beijing ran a Spring marathon so other possibilities are Boston or London.

ecoli

Racing Flat wrote: »

After a 62min half marathon in the Great North Run, I'd say Martin Fagan might be one to watch.

Certainly one to watch sub 47 in Great south run to beating last years world champion in marathon Luke Kibet

Common Sense

Our three best medal prospects in Berlin would appear to be Heffernan, Loughnane and a fit Eileen O'Keeffe. After that Hession, McGhettigan and Cragg to make finals with outside chances of same for Gillick and Cuddihy. I honestly don't know what to make of Derval's chances but, I think, a massive improvement on her PB would be necessary to make the final. Other than that I'm looking forward to seeing what world records go.

Common Sense

I've just discovered this - great performance from Fagan.
http://www.athleticsweekly.co.uk/newsarticle.php?id=764

dmaccamd

Common Sense wrote: »

I honestly don't know what to make of Derval's chances but, I think, a massive improvement on her PB would be necessary to make the final.

I don't understand why everyone feels that she will need to break her PB to make a world final as Sarah Claxton (GB) made the final in Beijing in a time of 12.84 which is outside Derval's PB of 12.72!

thirtyfoot

ecoli wrote: »

Certainly one to watch sub 47 in Great south run to beating last years world champion in marathon Luke Kibet

His time is only 33 seconds off John Treacy's Irish record.

myflipflops

Really impressive run by martin. i watched it on Five and he took up the pace from the gun, doing all the work up to maybe 6 miles. Then, when Kipyego made the break and went on to win, Fagan dug in for second, keeping the pace strong and keeping Kibet maybe 20 yeards behind him at the finish. It was brilliant to see an Irishman run so aggressively in that company.

If he can stay in shape and it's in his plans, he has a great chance at the Euro X this winter.

Racing Flat

46.58 for 10miles :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:. Sensational.

Rineanna

dmaccamd wrote: »

I don't understand why everyone feels that she will need to break her PB to make a world final as Sarah Claxton (GB) made the final in Beijing in a time of 12.84 which is outside Derval's PB of 12.72!

That is technically true. However, the women's 100mh at the Olympics was an absolute anomaly when compared with previous Olympics and Worlds. I remember some over on TandF news rightly calling it a 'farce'. In Athens, all 8 qualifiers had to run a sub 12.70 time to reach the final, with Angela Whyte the slowest qualifier, running 12.69. In Osaka last year, Lolo Jones was the slowest qualifier, running 12.68. Then we had Beijing, where three athletes got through to the final with 12.70+ times, including an almost embarassing for the event (not that Sarah Claxton cared) 12.84 booking a place in the final. That time usually wouldn't even win a Grand Prix race, not to mention get you into an Olympic final. Then you had the likes of Kallur taking a hopper in the semis.

So I think what's being said is that even though O' Rourke's PB would have put her well through to the final (she even could have ran a tenth slower if she was in Claxton's heat), the normal course of events in any major championships would require a sub 12.70 time, and Berlin will probably require that too. It may not, but the likelyhood is that Beijing was a fluke (who this time last year would have seen Dawn Harper as Olympic Champion? I had Michelle Perry pencilled in!) and the times for qualifying for major finals will go back down.

Just an aside: we also have to remember that O' Rourke hasn't been close to her PB form since 2006, so she has to get back down near it before she can consider breaking it.

thirtyfoot

Great to see Mary Cullen back on song with a course record and win in Boston in the Mayor's Cup.

thirtyfoot

Common Sense wrote: »

Cuddihy. .

If she stays healthy she can final next year. By all accounts she was in sub-50 shape until she got injured at exactly the wrong time when the fine tuning was just about to be added to a great winter of work. She could be the one to watch of the batch of Gillick, O' Keeffe, O' Rourke who didn't do as well as hoped in Beijing. The hurt (and excitement) of Beijing will be burning hard, same as it did for O' Rourke post-Athens.

I think Campbell will be the other to shine and come through of the established athletes. A classy runner who again if he stays healthy will do damage.

Staying healthy is the key.

Rineanna

Well the 08/09 cross-country season is officially underway on an international stage, with the first Lotto Cross Cup meet taking place in Mol, Belgium, over the weekend. It was a painful couple of months from when the the last t&f meet took place in September, and now - I found myself following the results of various marathons for the first time ever!

There was a considerable Irish presence there. Fionnuala Britton came third in the Senior Women's race, and she was joined in the top ten by Linda Byrne and Aoife Byrne. Sarah-Louise Tracey won the Junior Women's race in style.

Full Results: http://www.sport.be/lottocrosscup/2008/uitslagen/mol.xls

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=5166#more-5166

http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6839&Itemid=2

anrait

Mary Cullen had another good race in Boston over the weekend. Winning the USATF-NE CROSS COUNTRY.

Running a time of 19.39 for Irish ace Cullen, training in Providence and who had set a new Franklin Park 5K course record at the Mayor's Cup 2 weeks ago, again ran from the front and recorded the third fastest 6K time ever - 19:39 - in winning her third NE race.

http://www.usatfne.org/index.shtml

RoyMcC

Andrew Ledwith has reportedly just got 3rd place in the NCAA (US universities) cross country. In front of many nationalities inc the Africans. And all the Brits (though that's not saying much).

The winner Rupp is a 27.33 man and, though it was a tactical race, Ledwith was only about 20 secs behind him.

ss43

RoyMcC wrote: »

Andrew Ledwith has reportedly just got 3rd place in the NCAA (US universities) cross country. In front of many nationalities inc the Africans. And all the Brits (though that's not saying much).

The winner Rupp is a 27.33 man and, though it was a tactical race, Ledwith was only about 20 secs behind him.

Nice one. Are you getting this info online. If you are, could you put up the link please. Any idea who was second and where the other Irish came?

RoyMcC

Second-hand from someone who is. I'll try to get more info...

myflipflops

I can confirm this. The lads who run flotrack posted it up. Absolutely unbelievable run from Andy. It's not just Rupp ahead of him whose Olympic class, Sam Chelanga is an unreal talent too. Letsrun guys predicted Andy in about 35th, he obviosuly had held plenty back in his regionals. Superb run.

Can't f**king wait to get to Euro X and wacth everyone now.

RoyMcC wrote: »

Second-hand from someone who is. I'll try to get more info...

cfitz

I think Chelanga was 2nd. Very little info on NCAA.com yet.

myflipflops

cfitz wrote: »

I think Chelanga was 2nd. Very little info on NCAA.com yet.

I listened to the audio live so i can confirm:

1st Galen Rupp
2nd Sam Chelanga
3rd Andrew Ledwith

Oregon won the team title from Iona. It was a two way battle up front between Rupp and Chelanga with Rupp pulling away (pretty comfortably by the sound of the commentary and his post race interview) with maybe 250 metres to go. Lewdwith ran out the large 'chasing' pack for third.

myflipflops

http://www.gosycamores.com//pdf5/353576.pdf?ATCLID=3622343&SPSID=65221&SPID=7268&DB_OEM_ID=15200

Here's a link to the team results. You can see Ledwith leading home Iona with 3rd place. He's given 2 points as Chelanga was an individual so doesn't count in team points.

ss43

links to full results here:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234298/84312-mens-race-update

1. Galen Rupp 29:03
2. Sam Chelanga 29:08
3. Andrew Ledwith 29:25
19. David McCarthy 29:56
68. Ciarán Ó Lionáird 30:37
168: Richie Yeates 31:26

ss43

Women's results

1. Sally Kipyego 19:28
2. Suzan Kuijken 19:34
3. Tasmin Fanning 19:37
11. Hollie Knight 20:12 (apparently she's Irish, never heard of her before today)
176. Laura Huet 21:47
201. Breffini Twohig 21:59

Pherekydes

That's an astounding run by Ledwith. Pretty good by McCarthy, too. The guy only turned 20 in August. Iona were 2nd team and until this year were coached by Mick Byrne, from Clonliffe and Santry, for 24 years. Byrne's new charges, Wisconsin, were 4th.

terrymcc

This is Hollie Knight, a 16.11 girl from the UK:
http://www.athleticsdata.com/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=3260

RoyMcC

terrymcc wrote: »

This is Hollie Knight, a 16.11 girl from the UK:
http://www.athleticsdata.com/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=3260

Oi, the eightlane forum's that way

---

> :pac:

But while you're here, any idea why she's suddenly popped up as Irish? Not that we mind like.

ecoli

RoyMcC wrote: »

Oi, the eightlane forum's that way

---

> :pac:

But while you're here, any idea why she's suddenly popped up as Irish? Not that we mind like.

Dunno if this accurate but i heard that her mam is irish or something. any addition to the u 23 team welcome shud be a strong team