Coscoran digs deep to edge victory in thrilling Morton Mile

The 26-year-old became the first Irish winner of the Morton Mile for 18 years

Sat, 02 Jul, 2022 - 23:58

Cathal Dennehy

Andrew Coscoran had to summon all his strength – and a superb finish-line dive – to edge victory in a thrilling finale to the Morton Games in Santry tonight, the 26-year-old becoming the first Irish winner of the Morton Mile for 18 years when clocking 3:57.09.

Coscoran engaged in a riveting home-straight duel with national 1500m champion Cathal Doyle and he trailed the Clonliffe athlete just metres from the finish, but a well-timed lunge for the line by Coscoran carried him to victory by just two hundredths of a second. National 5000m champion Darragh McElhinney finished third in 3:58.15, with rising star Nick Griggs clocking a noteworthy 3:58.51 in sixth.

Coscoran bypassed last weekend’s national championships due to sickness but said he is “back in full health and ready to go” for the World Championships in Oregon later this month. “I’m delighted to win,” he said. “I’m training at a higher level than I’ve ever trained at, the preparation has been good and I’m hoping to be competitive over there.” Elsewhere teenage sprint star Israel Olatunde produced a brilliant showing to finish second in the men’s 100m in 10.26 (0.4m/s), breaking his own Irish U23 record. The race was won by Britain’s Andrew Robertson in 10.22.

2 July 2022; Andrew Coscoran of Star of the Sea AC celebrates with the cup after winning the Morton Mile during the 2022 Morton Games at Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Sarah Lavin very nearly put together the perfect race in the women’s 100m hurdles, the Emerald AC star leading a strong field to hurdle eight, but a mistake there with her trail leg cost her dearly and she finished runner-up in 13.10 to USA’s Jade Barber (12.97).

Jade Barber of USA, second from right, on her way to winning the Women's 100m Hurdles ahead of second place Sarah Lavin of Emerald AC, second from left, during the 2022 Morton Games at Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

There was a stadium record in the men’s shot put from crowd favourite Nick Ponzio, the effervescent Italian producing an impressive 20.98m in damp conditions. Eric Favors of Raheny was next best with 19.57m.

Sophie Becker continued her fine form by taking victory over 400m in 52.69, while her training partner Jack Raftery did likewise in the men’s race, winning in 47.04 ahead of fellow Irishman Marcus Lawler (47.48).

Britain’s Lizzie Bird outkicked home favourite Sarah Healy in the women’s mile, the steeplechase specialist clocking 4:30.67 to Healy’s 4:31.50. National 800m champion Louise Shanahan came up a close second in the women’s 800m, kicking to the front off the final bend but overtaken close to the line by Britain’s Isabelle Boffey, who clocked to 2:03.22 to Shanahan’s 2:03.57.

The men’s 5000m saw the crowd brought to their feet by a spirited effort from Clonliffe’s Efrem Gidey, who ran alone at the front until the final lap, but in the end the 21-year-old ran out of gas and came home fifth, still clocking a PB of 13:44.59. The race was won by Australia’s Jackson Sharp in 13:33.77.