It was unfortunately one of those nights for our two Clonliffe athletes at the opening session of the European indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. Cathal Doyle was 1st in action in the opening heat of the men’s 1500, to the say was a messy race is an understatement. Having endured several pushes and chops unfortunately Cathal suffered a fatal blow with 3 laps to go and almost ended up flat on the track. His momentum was gone and he found himself some 30 m behind the field finishing 9th (3.52.33).
Post race a very disappointed Clonliffe man said: : “I was in the mix in fourth or fifth place with 500 meters to go, and as I went to make a move, I got a bit of a shove which saw me loose all momentum. I tried staying on my feet and by the time I recovered the field was gone.”
Marcus Lawler was selected on the 4 x 400 mixed relay team and was making a welcome return in green on the international stage in tonight’s final. Again however it was not to be as the team were basically chasing from the off. Marcus on the 3rd leg put in a spirited display blasting the first 200 trying to make up ground, with the team ultimately finishing in 5th position (3.17.63).
So, regrettably that’s it from a Clonliffe perspective, but of course we will all be behind the rest of the Irish team over the course of the weekend. Onwards and up!