Emotional Gerard O’Donnell pays fitting tribute lost loved ones
St Laurence O’Toole’s Marcus Lawler (left) holds off Raheny’s Mark Smyth to win the men’s 200m. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
As morning broke on the final day of action at the national athletics championships in Santry, Gerard O’Donnell pinned a black ribbon on his Carrick-on-Shannon vest.
Running to honour someone’s memory is a tricky thing, the emotions involved always capable of derailing an athlete’s focus in a pressure situation. But this time, it felt necessary. Two people were foremost in his mind. O’Donnell’s aunt, Fidelma, passed away just three weeks ago, while it’s now almost a year since his close friend and training partner, Craig Lynch, lost his life in a car crash at the age of 29.
O’Donnell considered a similar gesture before winning the national indoor title in February, but decided against it.
“It was all very raw so I was trying to block it out,” he said. “I think if I did it then, I wouldn’t have made it to the start line at all. Today I composed myself a bit.”
It was the first race of the season for the 32-year-old. It was also the last, so he had to make it count. O’Donnell was aiming for his fourth straight 110m hurdles title, and on paper he just had to avoid catastrophe to make that happen. In the end he did far more.
He left his rivals trailing from the first barrier and came home in 13.96 seconds, his fastest time since 2018. “I surprised myself,” said O’Donnell, who relocated from Dublin to Carrick-on-Shannon during the lockdown, which forced him to get creative when it came to staying in shape.
“I was training on the tarmac from the end of February until the middle of June, just trying to do my best.”
Emotions also ran high for men’s 800m champion Harry Purcell, who showed his brilliance with a superb performance to win the men’s 800m. The Trim athlete endured a painful near-miss in last year’s 400m, diving for the line and beaten by 0.04 of a second. Back at his more typical distance of 800m, he had no need for such a move this time.
The 24-year-old powered off the final bend and came home clear in 1:52.49, with rising star Cian McPhillips second in 1:52.78.
“This has been a long, long time coming,” he said. “A lot of injuries, a lot of upsets, a lot of doubting my ability.”
Purcell endured a rocky progression while studying at Villanova University in the US, but his first national proved the permanency of his class.
“I matured a lot in the last year. In the States I pushed and pushed and it’s taken time to find the balance. There’s so much more left. I’m only scratching the surface.”
In the women’s 800m, Iseult O’Donnell blew her rivals away with a ferocious turn of speed, the Raheny athlete turning the tables on 1500m champion Amy O’Donoghue and winning in 2:09.13.
“Last weekend I made the mistake of going too early,” said O’Donnell, who narrowly avoided elimination in Saturday’s heats. Her first senior title proved just reward for years of persistence. “I came back running the last few years and two years ago, I wouldn’t imagine medalling twice. I’m delighted.”
Phil Healy completed a sprint double by taking the women’s 200m in 23.57, though the Bandon athlete had to fend off Emerald’s Sarah Lavin (23.74).
“The race was super close, I knew Sarah was going to push me,” she said. “But I knew I had the strength because I’d done some 400 work. It was a fight to the line but that’s what the spectators want.”
Marcus Lawler reigned supreme in the men’s 200m, the Carlow sprinter clocking 20.95 to hold off Mark Smyth (21.01) and 400m champion Chris O’Donnell (21.17).
“The time isn’t anything to shout about but I’m delighted,” he said. “It’s a reward for the work over lockdown.”
Brothers John and James Kelly produced the standout performances in the field, with John claiming the senior shot put title with a best of 18.40m and younger brother James the U-23 title with 16.48m.
Michelle Finn was a class apart in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, winning in 9:59.72, her second gold of the championships after the 5,000m last week.
Sarah Quinn continued a fine year by adding the 100m hurdles title to her indoor crown, clocking 13.67 to fend off Lilly-Ann O’Hora. Michaela Walsh of Swinford took the women’s shot put with 14.19m. Rory Chesser again won the men’s steeplechase title, the Ennis Track athlete clocking 9:39.62.
On Saturday, Seán Tobin avenged defeat in last week’s 1500m by winning the 10,000m in 29:35.14 from a fast-finishing Eric Keogh. British athlete Callum Wilkinson, who moved to Cork last year to be coached by Robert Heffernan, turned in a stunning performance to win the men’s 10,000m race walk in a British record of 39:52.05. David Kenny was second in 41:38.45 with Brendan Boyce third, having served a time penalty, in 42:19.89. Kate Veale retained the women’s title with 24:51.49 for 5000m.
In the weight for distance, Galway’s Sean Breathnach claimed his 18th national outdoor title with a best of 8.24m, while Birr’s Ebony Horgan won the women’s with 6.84m. Raheny’s Niamh Fogarty won the women’s discus with 49.46m, while Colin Quirke took the men’s title with 55.50m. Jai Benson took gold in the triple jump with 14.53m and Yuri Kanash won the pole vault with 4.50m. Saragh Buggy took triple jump victory with 12.97m, while rising star Orla Coffey won the pole vault with 3.50m.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
