It has been a busy summer for UCD track and field athletes with both past and present students performing well on the European stage. The European Championships in Birmingham saw former UCD Medicine student Mark English take gold in the 800 metres. While his result may have been the highlight of the championships for Ireland, it wasn’t the only UCD contribution. Nicola Tuthill finished fifth in the hammer throw, capping off an impressive summer for the Corkonian UCD student and setting a new personal best of 72.73 metres at an event in Poznan, Poland. The future looks bright for Tuthill as she continues to improve year on year.
Sarah Healy came agonisingly close to a medal, finishing fourth in the 5000 metres, with the Monkstown native also claiming a fifth-place finish in the 1500 metres at the Championships.
In total, the UCD Athletics Club (UCD AC) had 11 athletes, past and present, wearing the green jersey at the European Championships in Birmingham across a range of disciplines. In the 100 metres, current UCD AC sprinter Bori Akinola and former UCD AC (now Tallaght AC) sprinter Israel Olatunde both managed to progress as far as the semi-finals. They went one better in the 4x100m men’s relay, progressing to the final where they, alongside Seán Aigboboh (Tallaght AC) and Marcus Lawler (IT Carlow), finished 7th.
UCD Alumn Sarah Lavin had a disappointing exit in the heats of the 100 metre hurdles, with the Limerick sprinter failing to reach what would have been a third consecutive European final. Lavin has had a turbulent season, including parting with her coach of 25 years and relocating to Hong Kong for a nine-week period before returning home. Despite the difficulties, she managed to win the national title in early August.
Current UCD AC members had a very successful national championships with gold in the 800 metres for Cian McPhillips, in the hammer throw for Nicola Tuthill and in the 4×100 metres women’s relay for the team of Debbie Lawal, Aisling Kelly, Ella Duane, and Rhianna McCarthy. Alongside these golds, there were silver medals for the 4×400 metres women’s relay team (Renee Crotty, Rhianna McCarthy, Beth Fitzpatrick, Hannah Murray) and in the 100 metres for Bori Akinola. The medal haul for the Belfield club was rounded out by Michelle Duggan in the 400 metres and Cara Murphy in the 400 metre hurdles, who both claimed a bronze.
Stephané de Bairead – Deputy Sports Editor