Glorious sunshine and a large crowd at Tullamore Harrier’s stadium added to the atmosphere at one of the the best athletics meeting of the year, the All-Ireland Schools Track and Field Championships on Saturday 30th May. Conditions were ideal for competitors and spectators alike and the small contingent from Mullingar made the most of the opportunity on this very prestigious stage.

Shane Fitzsimons (representing St. Joseph’s, Rochfortbridge) really had to dig deep and use all his reserves of talent and experience to overcome a late challenge in the Junior 800m as an early lead was closed down in the finishing straight but with about 50m to go, he pulled clear again to win with a magnificent personal best of 2:00.72, only marginally outside the long-standing Championship record.

Things went much easier for Jake Byrne (St. Joseph’s, Rochfortbridge) in the Intermediate 3,000m where he showed the benefit of terrific recent form and when he went to the front early on, he built up a sizable lead that was impossible to close and he crossed the line to win in 8:41.44, nearly 100m ahead of second place.

Meanwhile in the field events, Ciara Fogarty (Loreto Mullingar) was clearly enjoying the competition and found excellent form and was delighted with her silver medal in the Junior shot putt.

Also in action were Arlene Coughlan (Intermediate 800m), Aoife Hogan (Senior 800m) and Thomas Fagan (Intermediate 1,500m), all representing Moate Community College, together with Rachel Yorke (Mercy Convent, Longford) in the Senior 200m. They competed well and though finished out of the medals, can still hold their heads high because they qualified for the Schools Finals, which is no easy task, and a great testament to their talent.

As is customary in recent years, the Irish Miler’s Club ran an invitation 1,500m and Mark Christie ran from the front to win very easily in 3:45.52, a long way ahead of the rest of the talented field and showed that he is in great form. We look forward to seeing more great performances from Mark on the track over the summer.

Finally, congratulations to Paul Collins (St. Finian’s College, Mullingar and North Westmeath AC) in achieving double gold medal success in the Junior shot putt and discus.