Efrem Gidey signed off on his Leinster schools career with a record-breaking senior boys 5000 win in the Morton Stadium for Day 2 of the Leinster Schools Championships today. Efrem ran the legs off the field and in the process consigned to history a 39 year old championship record going all the way back to 1980, winning in a fantastic time of 14.34.22.
That 5000 m race was the highlight of a great day’s action in the stadium. Efrem took the race by the scruff of the neck, as he always does, from the off. Ben Guiden bravely followed in his tracks for the first 3/4 laps but paid the price over the latter half of the race as finished 4th, but was rewarded with a new PB of 15.56.84, PB also for 5th-place Stephen Cashin 15.59.92 and indeed PB for Ian McAweeney 16.54.90 and for Thomas Baltazar 16.59.8.
The other success of the day came in the senior boys 1500 where Aaron Cullen was second in 4.01.12 with Daniel Stone third (4.05.12). Another club medallist on the day was Val Stroganoves who was awarded bronze in the inter-boys 200 (22.92).
Other Clonliffe athletes on the day in the sprints: inter-girls 100 6th Alex Twomey 12.89, inter-300 5th Emma MacDonnell 43.63, senior boys 400 6th Cian Bolger 54.47. In the middle distance races inter-girls 1500 5th Sarah Bateson 4.59.95, fourth in the inter-boys 1500 Niall Carberry 4.25.12 with Dermot Buckley 9th 4.35.58.
Efrem, Aaron and Daniel now go forward to the all Ireland schools which is on Saturday, June 1 in Tullamore.
