McBrearty and Tuohy renew rivalry

THE men’s 800m could provide the highlight of this weekend’s IUAA (Inter-Varsities) championships hosted by Queen’s University Belfast where Darren McBrearty (DCU) renews rivalry with Niall Tuohy (UL).

The last time the pair met was at the Woodies DIY indoor championships in the Odyssey Arena where McBrearty lost out to his Letterkenny clubmate, Mark English, with Tuohy claiming third.

McBrearty has since made the European indoor championship semi-finals in Paris while Ferrybank athlete Tuohy, former schools champion at both 800m and 1,500m, continued his comeback after a long lay-off through injury.

He opened his outdoor season with a solo 1:50.95 at the Leevale Sports at CIT and plans to join McBrearty on the Irish team for this year’s European U23 championships.

Kildare’s Paul Robinson, who ran over 1,500m at the European juniors, may also run in the 800m.

Meanwhile, Ciaran Ó Lionáird competes for Florida State in the 4x1 mile relay at the Penn Relays tomorrow.

The Cork athlete, who is in his final year on an athletics scholarship at Florida State University, recorded a spectacular double at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships in Durham, North Carolina, last weekend, setting meet records in both the 1,500m, 3:40.69, and 5,000m, 13:52.11.