Claire Brady of Celbridge Athletic Club is a woman on a mission this weekend when she sets out to defend her 60 meters sprint title at the Woodie’s DIY National Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. Last year, Brady delivered a blistering performance to win the national title in a personal best of 7.35 seconds- a qualifying standard too for the World Indoor Championships where she advanced to the semi-final.
Yesterday, Brady received encouraging news with the announcement that ESB Electric are set to support her into the future. “We are delighted to offer our support to Claire Brady as she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to her sport, ESB Chief Executive”, Padraig McManus said. “Her energy and dedication makes her an excellent role model for young aspiring athletes.”
This weekend Brady has an added incentive to do well as she will be chasing the qualifying standard for next month’s European Indoor Championships in Paris – 7.38 seconds being the time. On Saturday last, Brady clocked 7.61 seconds in the semi –final of the AVIVA Indoot Championships in Sheffield, and she will be keen to run closer to her personal best when she competed in Belfast.
“This latest support from ESB Electric means a whole lot to me and I want to compete to the best of my ability in Belfast this weekend,”Claire Brady said. “The great thing about this sponsorship is how it will help facilitate my training and preparation for the coming year and onwards towards London 2012. It is also a huge confidence boost for me going into what will be a very important season.” Now coached by former Irish sprints champion Gary Ryan, Claire Brady knows that she will face formidable opposition this weekend in Belfast. Last year the Celbridge woman beat all comers, including Ailish McSweeney (Leevale A.C) and Niamh Whelan (Ferrybank A.C) to win the national title. She knows that she will have to find something special to successfully defend her title.
A graduate of DCU where she studied Athletic Therapy & Training, Claire Brady now works part-time with her father in Cross Insurances in Ballyfermot in Dublin. The Celbridge woman has completed a successful period of training over the Winter months and she has worked hard on her weight training under weights coach Martina McCarthy.
“My outdoor season was not as good as I would have wished last year as I encountered a few technical problems in my sprinting,” Brady said. “I have worked hard to correct these problems and I am hoping now that I will have another successful season ahead
