The Athletics Louth seniors and masters Track and Field Championships took place recently, with some of the ‘older’ members of Boyne AC trying out the various disciplines for the first time.
The competition was held in Bush, near Carlingford, and an eager troop of nine Boyne AC athletes, more accustomed to long distance running, made the short journey northwards to take part.
The sprints were the first events on the track with the ladies 100m getting things underway. In the senior ladies race, Rachel Williams took the win, while in the over 40 category, Louise Fagan just missed out on a medal, finishing in 4th place.
In the over 45s, Rebecca Carolan and Maria Riordan finished 3rd and 5th respectively, while in the over 55 race, it was a silver medal win for Gemma Fogarty.
The men were next to the track for their 100m sprint, and in the over 40 race, Mark Dowling fought hard to take the win from Rob Fitzgerald, and it was a repeat performance in the 200m race, with Dowling once again crossing the finish line first while in the over 45 race, it was silver for Timi Oluwabowale.
Mark Dowling and Rob Fitzgerald at the Louth Masters and, on right, Catherine Tiernan Bell and Jillian Connor at the Docklands 5k.
In the ladies 200m sprints, Rachel Williams once again took the win in the senior ladies race, while in the over 40 race, it was 3rd and 4th for Louise Fagan and Ola Raji. In the over 45s, Rebecca Carolan once again took the bronze, with Maria Riordan finishing 4th, while in the over 55s, it was gold this time for Gemma Fogarty.
In the 400m races, Louise and Ola took the 2nd and 3rd spot over this tough distance. These events are always good fun, and provide an opportunity to try something new, and so it was to the long jump, where a good battle ensued between Mark Dowling and Rob Fitzgerald in the over 40 category.
With neither man having ever tried this discipline before, they certainly grasped the basics very quickly, and it soon became a serious competition to see who could jump the farthest! Rob took the win in the end, with Mark just 16cm behind, taking the silver medal.
Also in action recently, Jillian Connor and Catherine Tiernan Bell ran well in the Docklands 5k in Dublin, while Mark Dowling and Nicky Veale had good runs in the Clontarf half marathon, as did Andrew White in the Dunleer 4 mile, who ran a super 24.23 in very hot conditions, finishing 14th overall and 3rd in category.
