Marking 40 years of top athletics

WORLD indoor 60m hurdles champion Derval O’Rourke will be among the stars present when her club Leevale AC celebrates its 40th anniversary on Sunday week.

Derval, who also won a silver medal at last year’s European outdoor championships in Gothenburg, is the most recent edition to the long list of national, European and world champions produced by the club.

In fact, the club has won national titles in practically every event with the possible exception of the hammer, discus and pole vault over the years.

Donie Walsh became the first Leevale athlete to represent the Ireland at the Olympic Games when he competed in the marathon in Munich in 1972.

A regular on cross-country teams, he won a silver team medal at the world championships in Limerick in 1979.

Marcus O’Sullivan won three world indoor 1,500m titles while Mark Carroll, another Olympian, won a European junior 5,000m title before going to Providence College. He subsequently won a European indoor 3,000m title and a bronze medal in the 5,000m at the European outdoor championships in Budapest in 1998.

The 40th Anniversary celebrations will commence with the annual open sports which gets under way at the Mardyke at 10.30am with a mammoth programme catering for all age groups from juvenile to senior.

The senior events, which get under way at 2pm sharp, will feature a 5,000m race in which multi cross-country champion Seamus Power will set the pace for Mark Hanrahan who will be bidding to achieve the standard for this year’s European U-23 championships.

“Anyone else seeking a standard is welcome to compete in this event,” Coach John Sheehan, said. “And if the weather stays like this we can expect some exciting performances in the sprints.

“We often hear athletes complaining that they can’t get suitable competition but we will be providing some very good competition on an excellent track with electronic timing and that will give athletes an indication of where they are at right now.”

The sprints will feature international Jer O’Donoghue, who served his apprenticeship under John Sheehan at Leevale, with another up and coming Leevale star, Carl McNamara, as well as Daragh Graham amongst the opposition.

The event will be opened by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Micheál Martin. The Lord Mayor will be present along with the Army Band.