Athletics Ireland announce team for European Cup
Athletics Ireland announce team for European Cup
Irish stars to compete in Finland
Athletics Ireland have announced their team to compete at the European Cup in Vaasa, Finland on the 22nd and 23rd of June.
The team includes Double European Indoor Champion David Gillick and World Indoor Champion Derval O’Rourke. O’Rourke will complete in the 100m Hurdles while Gillick is set to race in the 400m.
O’Rourke recently made her return to action taking third in the 100m at a meet in Norway. Gillick was in superb form as he smashed the 400m Irish record in Geneva last week and will be looking to continue this excellent progress in Finland.
The Irish Team will compete in League One, the top tier of the European Cup competition. The men’s team will be up against Holland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Spain, UK, Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland. The women’s team will face Slovakia, Finland, UK, Norway, Holland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
Team manger Patsy McGonagle believes it will be a good test for the athletes. “The European Cup is always a special occasion in particular for those who step up to this level of competition for the first time. Our main objective is to retain our League One status and remain in the top group of European athletics and all the athletes will be battling hard for every point to ensure we do this”, McGonagle said after the announcement.
Athletics Ireland’s new High Performance Manager, Gareth Devlin, is also optimistic. “To compete at this high level of competition against Europe’s top nations is always a challenge for both our top athletes and our developing ones. It gives some of our developing athletes an excellent opportunity to gain top level experience while it is also good preparation for those with eyes on the World Championship in August”, Devlin said.
Ends
For further information:
Declan Lee – O’Herlihy Communications – 01 660 2744 / 087 695 7451
Gareth Devlin – Athletics Ireland – 087 262 2434
Irish Team – European Cup – Vaasa, Finland – June 23rd/24th
Men’s Team
David Gillick 400m
Paul Hession 100/200m
David McCarthy 800m
Dave Campbell 1500m
Mark Kirwan 3000m Steeple Chase
James Nolan 3000m
Martin Fagan 5000m
Ian McDonald 110m H
Jonathon Miller 400m H
Steve Fleming Long Jump
Jonathon Ritchie Triple Jump
Christopher Crowley High Jump
Sean Breathnach Shot Putt
Eoin Leen Discuss
Padraig White Hammer
Aaron Crawford Javelin
Anthony McCreery Pole Vault
Jason Smyth 4x100m Relay
Jer O’Donoghue 4x100m Relay
Gordon Kennedy 4x100m Relay
Darragh Graham 4x100m Relay
Paul McKee 4x100m Relay
Paul Hession 4x100m Relay
Paul McKee 4x400m Relay
Gordon Kennedy 4x400m Relay
David McCarthy 4x400m Relay
Brian Murphy 4x400m Relay
David Gillick 4x400m Relay
Women’s Team
Anna Boyle 100m
Ciara Sheehy 200m
Joanne Cuddihy 400m
Rose-Anne Galligan 800m
Kelly Reid 1500m
Linda Byrne 3000m Steeple Chase
Orla Drumm 3000m
Fionnuala Britton 5000m
Derval O’Rourke 100m H
Michelle Carey 400m H
Kelly Proper Long Jump
Sara Barry Triple Jump
Deirdre Ryan High Jump
Laura Cogan Shot Putt
Eileen O’Keeffe Discuss/Hammer
Laura Kerr Javelin
Claire Wilkinson Pole Vault
Ailis McSweeney 4x100m Relay
Emily Maher 4x100m Relay
Anna Boyle 4x100m Relay
Ciara Sheehy 4x100m Relay
Joanne Cuddihy 4x100m Relay
Derval O’Rourke 4x100m Relay
Joanne Cuddihy 4x400m Relay
Ciara Sheehy 4x400m Relay
Michelle Carey 4x400m Relay
Emily Maher 4x400m Relay
Elaine McCaffrey 4x400m Relay
Team Management
Patsy McGonagle Manager
Stephen Maguire Coach
Sean Kyle Coach
Maeve Kyle Coach
Pat Diskin Coach
Paddy Fay Coach
Hayley Harrison Coach
Max Jones Coach
Medical Staff
Bill Cuddihy
Neasa Smyth
Ciaran Fitzpatrick
Paul O’Neill