Mark Smyth (Raheny Shamrocks AC) elevated himself to second on the Irish Indoor All-Time list over 200m as he won gold on the opening day of the 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships in Abbottstown.
Smyth clocked a blistering time of 20.77s to win the national indoor title in the event for the second time. The 24-year-old set a new Championship Record and PB in the process and is now just 0.02s off the Irish record set by Paul Brizzel twenty years ago.
Mark Smyth reacts to 200m win
“It felt great, I had a plan to go out strong, a lot stronger than the heats, and I came through,” said Smyth.
“It’s hard to believe, but it’s good. It would have been nice to get another few tenths on the board but there’s always another day.”
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers) was left to settle for silver, while Craig Newell (Ballymena and Antrim AC) won bronze.
Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) retained her 200m title in stunning fashion. The Tipperary athlete bettered her PB she had set in the heats when she returned for the final, clocking 23.50s to move to sixth on the Irish Indoor All-Time list.
In one of the races of the day Darragh McElhinney (UCD AC) edged out Nick Griggs (Mid Ulster AC) to retain the Men’s 3000m.
18-year-old Griggs led for the entire race until McElhinney, who was the only athlete to go with him, made his move with 200m to go.
The Glengariff man ran a sensation 25 second final lap to cross the line in a time of 7.49.18.
Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) won yet another national title in the 60m Hurdles. Lavin was a class above the rest of the field, clocking a time of 8.03s, just off her 7.99s season’s best.
Matthew Behan (Crusaders AC) retained his Men’s 60m Hurdles title in 8.10s.
In the walks, Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) won her 20th national senior track title (indoors and outdoors) when she broke her PB in the Women’s 3000m Walk. David Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley AC), fresh from his Irish record last weekend, was a comfortable winner of the men’s race.
Saragh Buggy (St. Abban’s AC) set a new Championship Record in the Triple Jump. The primary school teacher from Laois jumped 13.25m, just 3cm off the national record.
Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) took the Men’s Shot Put crown, while Ellie McCartney (City of Lisburn AC) returned back to Ireland from her Loughborough base to win the Women’s Pole Vault.
Sam Healy (Leevale AC) was an impressive winner of the Men’s Long Jump, while the final field title of the day went to Kourosh Foroughi (Star of the Sea AC) in the Men’s High Jump.
Seventeen national titles are on the line at the National Indoor Arena tomorrow with the action getting underway at 11am.
