Fintan Walsh's weekly blog

Waterford athletes win All Ireland medals


In Ratoath, Co Meath on Sunday last athletes from Waterford figured
very prominently at the All Ireland Inter County Senior,Junior and
Juvenile Cross Country Championships. Laura Behan KCK competing in the
under 23 grade ran a fine race to finish 2 nd in the grade and so get
an automatic qualifying place on the Irish Team for the European
Championships in Budapest on December 9 th. Also at under 23 level
Paddy Hogan Ferrybank AC impressed finishing third overall in the
grade missing out by one place for automatic place on Irish team.
Another athlete to run well was Orna Murray Ferrybank in the junior
women's event finishing in 6 th place. The Waterford senior men's team
minus the services of David McCarthy due to a minor injury did very
well to finish in 5 th place of the 13 teams to finish, being led home
by Sandis Bralitis in 15 th place, Paddy Hogan was 18th, Philip Harty
34 th, Michael Dowling 37 th, Ravis Zakis 62 nd and Dzintars Klava 72
nd.

West Waterford Juvenile Excel

For West Waterford AC juveniles it was a very successful day and Aoife
Hamilton ran a superb race under 16 to finish 3rd overall. Hannah
Power was 7 th u 14, Cian O'Riordan 8 th u 12, Miceal Power 9 th u 14
and Sean Curran 12 u 16. For Ferrybank AC Adam Power was 11 th under
12, Aisling Quinn 13 th u 16 and Orla Queally 15 th in the same race.
In a huge field Lynsey McGuire Waterford AC was 25 th u 12.

Two Team Titles

West Waterford had brilliant results in the Inter club team
competitions winning the Girls u 14 and u 16 and finishing second in
boys u 12 and boys u 16. The scoring members of their winning u 14
team were Hannah Power, Darina Shanley, Caoimhe Dwyer and Emma
Hallahan and the under 16 four were Aoife Hamilton, Sinead Flynn, Kate
McGrath and Meg Ryan..Waterford won the Boys u 12 Inter County team
title the squad being Cian O'Riordan, Cormac Mahony, D J Kiely, Sean
Hickey, Sean Ronayne all West Waterford and Adam Power Ferrybank.
Waterford were also second in the girls u14 and Girls u 16 and third
in the boys u 16,. Many Waterford athletes were on winning Munster
teams

Big attraction on Saturday

The Annual Waterford AC Half Marathon with an entry of 1500 takes
place on Saturday next December 1 st starting at 11 am. It will be a
major attraction on the outskirts of the City and on the Tramore Road
but no entries being taken on the day or this week. Race numbers and
chips have been all sent in the post, full  details of course  etc on
Waterford AC website. Last year 1250 ran and the overall winner was
Gary O'Hanlon, Raheny Shamrocks in  67 minutes 51 seconds and the
ladies winner was Gladys Ganiel O'Neill Nth Belfast in 77.32.
Motorists are asked to be aware of runners on the Tramore Road and old
Tramore Road from 11 am until 2 pm. Half Marathon is kindly sponsored
by local sponsors and the organisers are very grateful to Alfie Hale
Intersports, Caufields SuperValu, Nature Valley Energy Bars, Chia Bia,
Kingfisher, Mint Health and Beauty, Morris's DIY, Waterford City
Council,  and the local Gardai for their involvement in this very
popular event.

Munster Juvenile "B" and Masters Cross Country Championships

Sunday next December 2 nd  Newmarket on Fergus, Co. Clare is the venue
at 12 noon for the Munster ( B ) Juvenile u 9,11,13,15,17,19 and
Masters' Cross Country Championships  and there will be a fairly big
entry from Waterford in each grade.  On Sunday week December 9th the
All Ireland Novice and Juvenile u 11,13,15,17,19, Cross Country
Championships will be in Adamstown, Co Wexford at 11.30 am.and  the
European Cross Country Championships will be in Budapest the same day.
The Schools International Combined events are in Glasgow on Saturday
next December 1st.

Paddy Byrne winter League

Again there was a big entry for Race 3 in the Winter League in the
City last Thursday and it continues every Thursday at the RSC at 7 pm,
registration from 6.15 pm.

Reflective clothing essential

The vast majority of those running and training around our roads and
streets after dark at the present time wear reflective clothing but
unfortunately a minority don't.They are a danger to themselves and
also to motorists and should be wearing clear reflective clothing and
always keep off busy roads, the only reason for this is little piece
of advice is SAFETY.

RSC Track being laid

No training on track at RSC until further notice as new track is being
laid in the coming weeks

John Treacy 10 Miles

The 22 nd Annual West Waterford JoihnTreacy 10 miles road race is on
Sunday January 27 th 2013  at 1 pm. Reduced entry fee of 20 Euro until
December 31 st  with closing date January 14 th but entries may close
before that date if ceiling of 1750 entries is reached, see West
Waterford AC website

Early 2013 Munster Fixtures

Munster Junior, Senior & Masters Indoor Championships, Nenagh Indoor
Stadium, Sunday 6 th January 2013.Munster Juvenile Relays, Junior &
Senior Cross Country Championships, Limerick Racecourse, Sunday 13 th
January 2013.

Death of an Irish sporting Legend.

All in Irish Athletic circles have been saddened to hear of the
passing of 1968 50 km Walk Olympian John Kelly.John was a legend of
the sport throughout the 1960s and held the Irish 50 km Walk record
from 1968 to 1992. He lived a fascinating, multi dimensional life..His
achievements, in no small way paved the road for the current
generation of world beating Irish Race Walkers.. John Kelly was born
on 6 October, 1929 at No. 7 Bridge, Loughmore [the cottage by the
railway line on the Thurles to Templemore Road]. When he was three
his.family moved to Graystown, Killenaule...He left Ireland in 1949
for  Australia and for the next few years he went back and forth to
New Zealand following the construction trade. While in Australia he
entered the 1956 Australian Olympic Trials for the hammer but had
three no throws [one of which nearly landed in a tram full of people!!
- there were no safety nets in those days, only the circle].At 6′ 2″,
John also competed in the ’56 Trials in boxing – heavyweight and went
out with a cut eye in the second round. He had won both
light-heavyweight and heavyweight categories in a Golden Gloves
Tournament  in Melbourne in the early 1950′s, and in New Zealand he
was runner-up in the 1957 Senior Heavyweight Boxing Championships. In
rugby he played wing forward and in 1954 he won the Moran Cup at
Auckland’s Eden Park with New Plymouth, the only time they have ever
won it .After moving to America in 1959, he was training at Bobby
Gleason’s Gym in New York six days a week considering a professional
boxing career and was offered a pro fight but decided to concentrate
on running instead. He finished 7 th in brutally warm conditions in
the 1964 Yonkers Marathon in New York which was one of two U.S.
Olympic Marathon Trials for the 1964 Olympics.In 1965 he won the
Philadelphia Marathon in 2:37:23 running the whole distance in several
inches of snow. In 1970 at Orange County he actually walked a marathon
in 3:58:59. His best walking times for 20 km and 50 km were 1:32:30
and 4:24:22..John went on to represent Ireland at the 1968 Olympics in
Mexico City in the 50 km race walking event but did not finish,
overcome by the flu which he contracted two days before the event..In
1973 he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records when he walked
120 miles in the notorious Death Valley Desert, California in the
non-stop record time of 34 hours 9 minutes and 9 seconds, beating the
previous record by an incredible 28 hours 30 minutes. He has also
engaged in sport at coaching and administrative levels, and was the
race walking director at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics – this entailed
not only organising all volunteers but setting and measuring the
course. He played a role in the musical film Star! featuring Julie
Andrews and directed by Robert Wise, and in the mid 1970′s he became a
member of the Screen Actors Guild. A well travelled man, he returned
to Ireland to visit many times and has been to over 100 countries. in
2003 there was a plaque unveiled in his honour outside Loughmore
National School. He was also home for the 2004 Tipperary Sports Awards
where he was the Knocknagow Award winner. The award is presented each
year to a leading Tipperary Sports tar of the past. John passed away
on November 13 th 2012.