Loughnane ready to make World Cup splash
At the IAAF Race Walking challenge in Rio Maior on April 5, she posted her second fastest time ever for 20k at 90 min 50 sec behind the 2000 Olympic silver medallist Kjersti Plätzer.
Five years ago in Cheboksary, she set her personal best for 20k at 9 min 25 sec so it is hardly surprising that she is looking forward to returning to ancient capital of the Chavash Republic, on the banks of the River Volga.
“Things have been going so well for me this year that I can hardly believe it,” she said from Portugal, where she has been training for the past 10 days.
“Compared to last year when I had so many problems, my training has been going really well. But you never know how that will convert to competition until you actually race so, naturally, I was thrilled at the way that race went.
“But I was really pleased about the fact that my technique was good — I did not get any warning during the race — and that is very important at this level.
“The fact that I know the course is also a plus and, with each country entitled to enter up to six competitors on their teams, we can expect a big field so that will give me an indication as to where I am as regards the Olympics.”
Last year, she came off early season health problems caused by an iron deficiency to finish 17th in the world championships in Osaka where her performance in the later kilometres was sensational.
The Olympic champion, Athanasia Tsoumeleka of Greece, succumbed to the heat and pressure of the closing stages of that Osaka race but she was finished fourth in Rio Maior and second in Sesto San Giovanni to Kjersti Plätzer and there will be a lot of attention focused on her on Sunday.
Ireland’s four walkers with Olympic qualification will be in action over the weekend. Robert Heffernan and Jamie Costin, dropping down in distance, compete in the men’s 20k on Saturday while Colin Griffin goes in the 50k on Sunday.
Robert Heffernan finished sixth in the first Race Walking Challenge of the year in Mexico — duplicating his placing in the world championships — but has had haemoglobin and hamstring problems since then. He appears to have put them behind him and has been training, along with Jamie Costin, at the Olympic Training Centre in Poland under race walking legend, Robert Korzeniowski.
“There was a period when I thought about not going to Cheboksary but Robert (Korzeniowski) persuaded me to travel. Now I am glad that I did because I have had a really solid block of training here and that will benefit my preparations for the Olympics,” the Corkman said.
“As regards the race on Saturday, we don’t have a team so I will be looking at it as an elevated training session. I am just glad to be here.”
Back on the track, Andrew Ledwith had his second career best performance in less than two weeks when he ran 28:57.18 for 10,000m at Stanford University which was over a minute better than his previous best.
He was always prominent with his Iona College team mate, Mohamed Khadraoui, who set a new school record at 28:34.19, but while the Meathman failed to achieve the automatic qualifying standard for the nationals by just seven seconds he is provisionally qualified as his time is currently the 22nd fastest in the NCAA.
Four athletes beat qualifying standards for the world junior championships at the Munster junior and U23 championships at CIT last weekend.
Kalyn Sheehan from Ferrybank booked her place when winning the 400m hurdles in 60.29 while clubmate Niamh Whelan, already qualified at 200m, achieved the 100m standard with an 11.80 run in a race that saw 15-year-old Joan Healy from Bandon become our youngest qualifier for Bydgoszcz, finishing second in 12.04.
Mairead Murphy, also from Waterford, achieved the standard when she won the 100m hurdles in 14.16.
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