Irish middle-distance athletes heading for the European Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland at the weekend made the final touches to their preparations at the European Indoor tour final in Madrid on Wednesday (February 24).

In the women’s 800m, Nadia Power of Dublin City Harriers finished thirrd after making a determined effort to re-capture the Irish record broken by Síofra Cléirigh Buttner a few days earlier.

She attacked from the start, going through 400m in 58 seconds, but faded in the final 50m and finished third in 2:01.55 – the second fastest time of her career. Finishing fourth in 2:05.63 was Louise Shanahan of Leevale AC, who was unlucky to miss out on selection for Toruń.

In the 1500m, Andrew Coscoran of Star of the Sea AC ran a steady race to finish fifth in 3 mins 39.61 secs.

Meanwhile in a USA, a number of Irish athletes were running at an indoor meet in Kingston, Rhode Island. Alex O’Neill won the women’s 800m in 2:13.38, while in the 3000m, Laura Mooney recorded a personal best time of 9mins 41.39 secs.

Photo: Athletics Ireland / Sportsfile

Looking ahead Torun

Ireland is sending a a team of 24 to Toruń, including Mark English and Ciara Mageean who both took bronze medals in 2019.
In his only indoor race this season, English broke the Irish 800m record with a time of 1:46.10.

Mageean had shown mixed form this year, but set an Irish 800m record of 1:59.69 last July, becoming the first Irish woman to break two minutes for the distance. Unfortunately Mageean has withdrawn from the team.

Six women had 800m qualifying times for Toruń, with three the maximum allowed per event. Leading the Irish trio is Síofra Cléirigh Buttner of Dundrum South Dublin AC, currently ranked fourth in Europe for her Irish record-breaking time of 2 mins 00.58 secs last week.

Not far behind is Nadia Power, ranked seventh for her time of 2:00.98, while ranked eleventh is newly-minted Irish citizen Georgie Hartigan with a time of 2:01.48. All three should make it past the first round at least. The only other top-ten ranked Irish woman is Phil Healy whose time of 51.99 secs puts her fifth for the 400m.

Best ranked of the Irish men is Andrew Coscoran ranked 11th for his time of 3:37.20. Ranked 12th for the 3000m is Sean Tobin of Clonmel AC with a time of 7:48.01.

Included on the Irish squad are a number of up-and-coming stars, led by Darragh McElhinney 3000m and Cian McPhillips 800m, both with personal best times this season.

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The European Indoor Championships kick off in 15 days in Torun, on the track that hosted tonight’s Copernicus Cup, the fourth stop on the World Indoor Tour. This was touted as the warm up for the Championships; if this was the case, then we are in for a treat come early March. 

A week ago I borrowed a quote from Kimi Raikkonen – “woah, what was that?”. That is applicable again tonight – the indoor season continues to deliver stand out performances. This is what went down in the Polish city.  

Giles to Greatness

The men’s 800m had the potential to be a fast race, and a fast race it was. In a field including reigning World Indoor Champion Adam Kszczot, Amel Tuka (2019 WC Bronze), Andreas Kramer (2018 EC Silver) and Kenya’s Collins Kipruto, there was a keen eye on what Brits Elliot Giles, Jamie Webb and Kyle Langford would be able to do.

Elliot had run close to his PB in his two 800m races this season (1:45.49), alongside two PBs at 1500m (3:36.90), whilst Jamie ran three PBs in as many races. You couldn’t help but feel Sebastian Coe’s British Record of 1:44.91 set in 1983 was on borrowed time. 

In a field of 11 (!), Giles led from the start, going through 600m in 1:17.28, speeding up to run the final lap in 26.35. If you are trying to do the maths, you would be excused for thinking you’ve got it wrong. He crossed the line in 1:43.63, obliterating a British Record that has stood for almost 38 years – nine years before I was born – by over a second. 

Not only that, it is the second fastest 800m indoors of all time, behind only Wilson Kipketer’s 1:42.67 in Paris in 1997. It’s the fastest by a British athlete indoors or out for 31 years. Simply supreme. 

On any other day, Jamie Webb’s performance would be the one making the headlines – he ran a mightily impressive 1:44.54 for second. That is also below Seb Coe’s British Record, and only 0.02 seconds shy of his outdoor PB. Jamie started 2021 with an indoor PB of 1:47.13, and after a torrid 2020 with injury it is great to see him back to his best. 

Kyle Langford pulled off the track approximately 350m into the race, holding his hamstring. 

It Wasn’t Just the Men

Ireland’s Nadia Power has been consistent all indoor season, with four races between 2:02 and 2:03. This was a breakthrough race, running 2:00.98 to improve her own National Record, set in January in Karlsruhe, by almost 1.5 seconds. It puts her sixth on the 2021 European list and bodes well ahead of the European Indoors. Ethiopia’s Habitum Alemu won in a rapid 1:58.19.

Di-bye-bye Dibaba

The lead up to the women’s 3000m was billed as a World Record attempt by Genzebe Dibaba in her first indoor 3000m since the 2018 World Indoor Championships. Up against compatriot Lemlem Hailu and Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech (three days after running a 5k road World Record in Monaco), there was potential for a fast race. 

In the end it was a fast race, but not featuring Dibaba who pulled off less than 1000m in. Lemlem Hailu followed her win in Lievin with a new PB (8:31.24), Chepkoech a close second also in a new PB of 8:31.72.

Gourley is no stranger to fast competition.

Giffnock AC, in Poland!

In the penultimate race of the evening Neil Gourley, running in his Giffnock North AC vest, capped off an excellent evening for the Brits with a third place finish in the 1500m, rewarded with a 3:35.79 PB – almost a three second improvement and faster than his outdoor best. Ahead of him, Selemon Barega ran 3:32.97 to go eighth on the indoor all time list, whilst Marcin Lewandowski improved his PB with a new Polish NR (3:35.71). 

For context, three of the top eight athletes on the alltime list (Barega, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Oliver Hoare) have joined that list in the past week. Distance racing is on fire!

& Finally…

Femke Bol is known more as a 400m hurdler, but the 21 year old continued her ever-improving season by bettering her PB and Dutch National Record to 50.66. That’s the fastest 400m indoors by a European since Nicola Sanders’ 50.02 in 2007 and is faster than the outdoor National Record (50.77).

For context, the National Record prior to this year was older than me, and Bol’s indoor PB three weeks ago was 52.47.

The World Indoor Tour draw to a close in Madrid next Wednesday, it promises to be another fascinating evening of track and field.

The post Brilliant Brits and Irish in Torun, To Run appeared first on Fast Running.

At the Brygge Sports Invitational in Manchester, Louise Shanahan of Leevale AC ran 2 mins 3.52 secs to finish second in the race, followed by Katie Kirk of UU 2:04.09 and Ciara Mageean of City of Lisburn AC 2:04.40. The race won by British athlete Ellie Baker in 2:02.72.

Also in Manchester, Amy O’Donoghue of Emerald AC finished fourth in the 1500m with a time of 4 mins 14.54 secs.

Meanwhile at the World Indoor Tour event in the Belgian town of Ghent, Nadia Power of Dublin City Harriers, won the women’s 800min 2:02.83 – not far off the Irish record time of 2:02.44 she had run in Vienna fortnight earlier. In the same race, Claire Mooney of Naas AC finished sixth in 2:06.79.

Meanwhile in France

In Eaubonne, France, Iseult O’Donnell of Raheny Shamrock won the Val d’Oise 800m in a personal best 2:03.27, putting her second in the rankings behind Power this season. Like Shanahan, O’Donnell was adding her name the list of 800m runners who have achieved the European Indoors qualification standards 2:03.85.

Mageean’s outdoor 800m Irish record of 1:59.69, set last summer, means that she has already qualified, while Nadia Power has also run comfortably under the mark several times.

On Sunday, in Val de Reuil, close to the French base of the Dublin Track Club training group, Paul Robinson of St Coca’s AC finished sixth in the elite 1500m at the Meeting d’Athletisme de l’Eure. His time of 3:39.36 was a personal best and his first run under 3 mins 40 secs indoors. Winner was Getnet Wale of Ethiopia in 3:35.54. In a rough-and-tumble race, Andrew Coscoran of Star of the Sea AC ended up tenth in 3:41.62.

In another 1500m race, Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock was the winner in 3:41.73 with Luke McCann of Dublin City Harriers recording a personal best 3:41.74 for second place.

Michelle Finn of Leevale AC ran a personal best 4:15.23 in the 1500m, while after a late call-up, Iseult O’Donnell ran 2:04.22 in her second 800m race of the weekend.

This one we made earlier

Earlier in the week in Barcelona, Robinson had finished second in the 1500m in 3:42.27 on Monday (February 8). McCann was sixth in the same race in 3:43.15.

In the 3000m, Sean Tobin of Clonmel AC finished third in 7:51.49; not far off the personal best time of 7:48.01 he had run two days earlier in Metz, Germany. The Irish were competing after an arduous 12-hour train journey from Metz to Barcelona.

A day later in Calais, Coscoran finished fifth in the men’s 1500m in 3:37.20; a personal best.

Siofra Cleirigh Buttner in action in the US. Photo: Foon Fu

Over the bigger pond

In the USA on Saturday (February13, Siofra Cleirigh Buttner of Dundrum South Dublin AC ran a personal best time of 4:09.67 for 1500m at the New Balance indoor meet at Staten Island, New York, finishing third in the race.

A year earlier, Buttner had run 4:11.96 at the same meet. The time is second on the overall Irish rankings only behind the 4:06.42 run by Ciara Mageean in Boston a year ago.

Stephanie Cotter of West Muskerry AC was in action on the same day in Topeka, Kansas, where she won the women’s mile in a time of 4:46.85. Running in the men’s 800m were Aaron Mangan seventh in 1:54.99 and James Dunne eighth in 1:55.00. Both are members of Tullamore Harriers.

A day earlier, Hope Saunders of Clonliffe Harriers ran the mile at the same venue and recorded a personal best time of 5:24.87.

Irish middle distance athletes were also running in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday, with Aisling Joyce of Galway City Harriers finishing third in the million 5:11.07 and seventh in the 3000m in 10:34.20 – well off her best of 10:00.27 recorded in 2017.

In Houston, Texas, Alanna Lally, Galway City Harriers and ex-UCD, ran 2:09.24 for second in the women’s 800m. Her best of 2:06.00 dates back to 2018. Lally and Laura Nicholson are part of the roster at Temple College.

On Thursday (9 February 11), Alex O’Neill of Ennis TC ran 2:53.99 for 1000m in Kingston Rhode Island.

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