Double for Cooper and Bergin at National Indoors

From the wild outdoors to the comfort of indoors, the weather brought a variety of conditions for athletes over the weekend.

On Saturday the national under-20 and under-23 indoors were held in Athlone and saw eight medals won by Kilkenny athletes.

Then, on Sunday, the big freeze turned into the big wheeze as the wet and windy conditions of Storm Isha brought cross-country running back to its roots in Avondale. It did not stop local athletes in their pursuit of gold as the Kilkenny City Harriers (KCH) under-12 team took the cross-country relay honours.

Double Gold

The AIT indoor arena was a welcome venue for the All-Ireland under-20 and under-23 indoor championships on Saturday. The best talent in Ireland came together across multiple events to compete for titles, times and personal goals.

There were some notable doubles on the day, with the first coming from Andrew Cooper (Gowran). Cooper took gold in the under-20 shot-put and the weight for distance (WFD). The Kilkenny College student made light work of the 6kg shot-put as he dominated the field - even his shortest throw of 15.93m was ahead of the best of his nearest competitor Liam Shaw (Athenry).

Katie Bergin (Moyne AC) winner of the 60m and 200m at the under-23 All-Ireland Indoors Picture: Perri Williams

Moving on to the weight for distance, the powerfully-built Cooper had no trouble. While his winning margin was not as extensive as that of the shot-put, it was equally convincing. Unlike the shot-put, Cooper’s WFD throws were fairly consistent, with all throws between eight and nine metres. His winning throw came in the third round, where 8.93m took him over a metre clear of his nearest competitor and runner up, Donegal’s John Anderson.

Triple Double

Galmoy’s Katie Bergin achieved what most could only dream about at last Saturday’s national under-23 indoors. Bergin, who competes for Moyne AC (the club is a few miles across the border in Tipperary), won both the 60m and 200m finals, replicating the feat she achieved in 2022 and 2023.

First up on the day’s programme was the 60m, where Bergin’s 7.67 seconds put her as favourite for the final. Hannah Aspel (Celbridge) was her closest competitor but, with the fastest time in her back pocket, she had some confidence of winning. All seven finalists were out of the blocks in tandem, with Bergin driving forward hard for those first few steps, matched by Isabella Doyle to her right. Doyle did not have the strength to go with Bergin, who spent the next few seconds pushing herself harder and harder. She won in a time of 7.62 seconds, a new personal best.

Andrew Cooper (Gowran AC) was the winner of the under-20 shot-put and weight for distance Picture: Perri Williams

Achieving a double victory for three straight years is not an everyday occurrence and one that has made officials and athletes consider Katie’s athletics prowess from a different angle.

O’Reilly wins

Fresh from his international appearance the previous week, Cathal O’Reilly (KCH) took part in the under-23 1,500m. Although his legs were still heavy from the cross-country endurance, O’Reilly was ready to make an impression on the indoor world.

There were 23 competitors which meant that there would be two timed heats. O’Reilly was seeded in the faster heat.

Alex Cullen (Kilkenny City Harriers) was third in the under-20 long jump.  Picture: Perri Williams

In the women’s 1,500m Sophie Jackman (St Senan’s) took a decisive role from the start. Moving up to the longer distance of 1,500m, every move Jackman made was an experiment in distance running. From the onset she moved to the front of the pack to avoid getting into trouble. This was Jackman’s first ever indoor race over 1500m, making her nervous about the choice to move up.

Dundrum’s Eimear Maher, fresh from her under-23 European selection, was content to stick with Jackman’s pace, covering every move. So too was West Waterford’s Lucy Holmes who had competed at cross-country in Scotland the previous week. The pace started to wind up over the final 200m, which Jackman had covered. Maher, Holmes and Jackman pulled away from the rest of the field, with the St Senan’s girl settling for third and a new 1,500m personal best.

In general, the fields in the 1500m races were larger than normal, the under-20 men’s race boasting 38 athletes across three heats. St Senan’s David Williams and Gearoid Long took part in this race and recorded indoor personal bests of 3.56 and 4.03 respectively.

Jumping medals

Jordan Knight was in form at the weekend when he secured a silver medal in the under-23 long jump. The under-23 long jump competitors had Reece Adamola, who set a new Irish under-23 record of 7.96cm last summer, to contend with. The Leevale athlete struggled early on but in round three he jumped 7.17 to set a new championship-best performance. It was a ding-dong battle between Knight and Finn Valley’s Oisin Thompson for the silver medal, with the St Joseph’s man gaining victory with a leap of 6.63m in the final round.

Jordan Knight (St Joseph’s) was second in the under-23 long jump.  Picture: Perri Williams

Molly Daly had won her under-20 final with a sensational time that was faster than the under-23 women’s race. Moments later, in a cruel twist of fate, victory was snatched from her as she was disqualified for a line infringement. Despite this hiccup, Daly knows she has now gotten stronger over the 200m and can approach the remainder of the indoor season with confidence, winning back that gold medal in other races.

Adam Slawinska was the man of fourth placings. Slawinska finished fourth in the 60m and 200m, but his disappointment was later washed over when he joined his KCH colleagues for the 4x200m relay. The team of Adam Slawinski, Alex Cullen, William Nugent and Noah Gilmore worked well to stave off opposition from Ratoath. This was a new personal best for this team.

In the 3km race walking event Evan Walsh (St Joseph’s) competed with the best of athletes and, at just 15 years of age, managed to secure a silver medal. This was Walsh’s first ever under-20 competition. He was joined by elite athletes from the world of race walking.

The race-walking competitions produced large fields of athletes. The girls’ race, in particular, had higher numbers than normal with 15 athletes taking part.

Stormy Avondale

The Kilkenny City Harriers boys’ under-14 team who won gold at the Leinster Cross-Country relays

On Sunday the city club took home three gold and one bronze set of relay team medals. A strong girls’ under-12 team consisting of Kate Kelly, Ellen Ryan, Hannah O'Brien, Julia Daly and subs Mealla Crowley and Casey Cleere warded off the challenges of Navan and Ratoath in the 4x250m relay.

Not to be outdone by the girls, the boys’ under-12 team also took gold medals. The team of Daniel McIntyre, Tom Hardiman, Eoin Hoyne, Cathal Comerford along with subs Tadhg McGuinness and Brandon Maher won their event, beating two very strong teams from Enniscorthy and Navan. The boys looked every bit as impressive as the girls as they had impeccable baton changes and excellent individual runs.

The boys’ under-14 team took the third set of gold medals in the longer 4x500m relay. The team of Killian Croke, Fiach Crowley, Ruadhán McGuinness, Daniel Greene and subs Harry Greene and Evan Cody beat two very strong teams from Dunboyne and Ratoath. The city club’s girls’ under-14 team were third, taking bronze medals in the process. The team was Emma Kelly, Eva Arslan, Amelia O’Brien, Katie Byrne with Emma Nichol filling the sub role.

While the juveniles were competing in relays, the adult runners were contesting the Leinster Intermediate and Masters at the same venue. The county over-35 team finished sixth and were led home by James Kelly (Castlecomer) in ninth place. Padraig Ruane (KCH) led the intermediate charge with a 10th place finish. The county finished second with Eamonn O’Connor (KCH) in 12th and Matthew Holland (Gowran) 17th, with Andrew Smith (KCH), Joe Keohane (Gowran) and Paul Bolger (KCH) completing the team. KCH were fourth club.

The over-65 men had more medal success. The team of Brian Harris (Kings River), Eddie Hoyne (Tullaroan) and Mick Walsh (Gowran) took bronze medals in what could only be described as atrocious conditions at that stage of the day.