Busy opening day at Irish Indoor Championships

The 2011 Woodie's DIY Irish Indoor Championships got underway at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast today. The highlight was the women's 3,000 metres walk which was won by Laura Reynolds from Mohill AC.

In the first event on the programme, Reynolds had to wait until the last lap to shake off the persistent challenge of Kate Veale from West Waterford AC. Reynolds won in a time of 12:47.55, well inside her previous best of 13:09.99, with Veale once again smashing her own Irish junior record with a time of 12:49.21 to take a huge slice off her previous best of 13:10.86.