Athletics Ireland is delighted to announce Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) and Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC) as the winners of the ‘Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month’ for June and July. Veale had a record breaking spree this summer in several championships. At the Woodie’s DIY Irish Schools, Veale competing for St. Augustine’s Dungarvan re-wrote the Intermediate walk record for the second year in a row. Her 2000m walk time of 8:26.20 was almost 20 seconds faster than the record she set last year of 8:45.07.
Veale was again in record breaking mode at the Woodie’s DIY Juvenile Championships when winning the U17 3000m walk in a time of 13:16.19, bettering Ann Loughnane’s 2002 time of 14:01.42.
At the Tailteann Games in Tullamore Kate continued her sequence of record breaking performances with another comprehensive win in the 3000m walk. Her winning time of 13:16.6 was a massive improvement on the record she herself set last year of 13:39.4.
At the Woodie’s DIY Senior Track and Field Championships Veale was a clear winner of the 5000m walk. Her winning time of 22:52.90 was a new Irish junior record.
To top it all off Veale is currently in Singapore at the World Youth Olympic Games after securing qualification at the trials in Moscow earlier this summer so good luck to her and watch this space.
Another rising star in the form of Ciara Mageean took the July Award. Mageean made history at the end of July by becoming the first Irish track athlete ever to win a medal at a World Junior Championships which were held in Moncton, Canada. Mageean won silver in the 1,500m, adding to the silver medal she won last year at the European Youth Olympics over 800m.
Mageean’s time of 4:09.51 improved on her own Irish record of 4:15.46, taking a massive 6 seconds off her previous best. Ciara was the only athlete outside of the African nations to win a middle/long distance medal at the championships. Well done to Ciara on such a major achievement and to her coach Eamon Christie who structured her training to peak at just the right time.
Earlier in the summer at the Woodie’s DIY Schools Track and Field Championships Ciara put in a serious solo run to win the senor 1500m in a superb 4:19.00, a long way inside the 4:30.27 set by Sinead Delahunty in 1989. Ciara’s performance also won her the “Lar Byrne Memorial trophy” for the Athlete of the Meet at the schools championships.
Kate and Ciara will receive a crystal award and a Crowne Plaza voucher compliments of our proud sponsor The Crowne Plaza Hotel.