None Olive Loughnane of Loughrea AC was named Athlete of the Year at last night’s National Athletics Awards in Dublin.
The awards, in association with Woodie’s DIY and Tipperary Crystal, took place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry and saw 14 awards presented on the night.
Loughnane’s gave the entire nation a huge lift with her truly magnificent performance in winning a silver medal in the 20K Race Walk at the World Championships in Berlin. The Galway-born athlete walked her way into Irish athletics history joining an elite group of Irish athletes to have won a World Championships medal. Only Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O’Sullivan and Gillian O’Sullivan had seen the tricolour raised in the 26-year history of the competition. Loughnane also picked up the Performance of the Year Award which is decided by a panel of Ireland’s top athletics journalists. She completed the treble by winning the Walker of the Year Award.
The hotly contested Track Athlete of the Year was awarded to Derval O’Rourke of Leevale AC. There have never been any doubts about Derval O’Rourke’s natural talent or competitive instincts, but not even her staunchest supporters could have anticipated her stunning return to form in 2009. O’Rourke broke her own Irish record when finishing fourth in the 100m Hurdles final at the World Championships in Berlin, and was just 0.12 of a second outside the medals when she clocked 12.67 – the fastest time of the year over the distance by a European athlete. The Cork woman had announced her return to form when winning bronze over the 60m Hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Berlin, clocking 7.92 – her fastest time since 2006. O’Rourke’s coaches Sean and Terri Cahill of Cushinstown AC, who were instrumental in the Cork’s woman’s performance in 2009, jointly received the Coach of the Year Award.
Mary Cullen of North Sligo AC was awarded the Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Cullen came within two seconds of a medal at the European Cross Country Championships in December last year. The Sligo woman will compete at the SPAR European Cross Country on the 13th of December in Santry and is determined to go one better of front of a home crowd: “There is no point in me saying otherwise: I want to win an individual medal at the European Cross Country Championships. That is my aim and hopefully we will win a team medal as well” Cullen said.
An icon of Irish Athletics John Treacy was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It is fitting as it is the 30th anniversary of that never to be forgotten day in Irish sport when Treacy retained the World Cross Country title in front of 25,000 spectators at Limerick Racecourse. It is also the 25th anniversary of Treacy’s silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics’ Marathon.
Ciara Mageean of Lisburn AC was winner of the Junior/Emerging Athlete. At only 17 Mageean has already demonstrated her World class credentials, winning silver at the World Youth Championships in Italy in July. A few weeks later the outstanding Mageean followed this up by winning the 1,500m at the European Youth Olympics in Finland in a new Championships record breaking the Irish Youth and Junior records in the process.
Another exciting prospect for the future is Field Athlete of the Year; Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC, who had another record breaking season in 2009. The Waterford woman displayed her championship temperament when setting a new Irish Record of 6.59m to qualify for the final at the European Indoor Championships in Turin in March, placing seventh in the final. Proper took her fourth Long Jump Title at the National Track and Field Championships of Ireland with a wind assisted leap of 6.68m. At the European U23 Championships in July, Proper came within one centimetre of the Irish Record jumping 6.58m to finish sixth. Proper’s club Ferrybank AC were awarded Club of the Year.
Master Athlete of the Year was awarded to Jimmy McDonald of Menepians AC for his double gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the World Masters’ Track & Field Championships in Finland.
The National Awards night is also acknowledged the contribution of those selfless race officials, voluntary coaches and tireless administrators who remain the backbone of Irish athletics. Joe O’Flynn received the Outstanding Official Award and Sean Naughton received the Lifetime Achievement Awards. Both have made a real difference to the sport of athletics.
Speaking at the Awards Dinner, Athletics Ireland President Liam Hennessy said: “The National Athletics Awards are critical as they take in the full spectrum of the sport, from high performance right down to the people at grass roots level. It is important for everyone to remember that without those who work voluntarily for the sport then we wouldn’t be able to produce the calibre of athletes we are seeing today. It is fantastic to get all these people in one room to celebrate the sport.”
Long term supporter of Irish Athletics, Ray Colman, Chief Executive of Woodie’s DIY said: “We at Woodie’s DIY are proud and honoured to be involved with the awards again this year and to be able to celebrate the success of all the winners. These winners will inspire a new generation of athletes to push themselves and likewise the recognition for the volunteers will hopefully encourage more people to support athletics as the sport grows across the country.”
National Athletics Awards with Woodie’s DIY and Tipperary Crystal Winners
Track Athlete of the Year: Derval O’Rourke Leevale AC
Road/Cross County Athlete of the Year: Mary Cullen
Field Athlete of the Year: Kelly Proper Ferrybank AC
Race Walker Athlete of the Year: Olive Loughnane Loughrea AC
Junior/Emerging Athlete of the Year: Ciara Mageean
Master Athlete of the Year: Jimmy McDonald Menepians AC
Performance & Athlete of the Year: Olive Loughnane
Hall of Fame: John Treacy
Outstanding Official: Joe O’Flynn Leevale AC
Lifetime Achievement: Sean Naughton Nenagh Olympic AC
Club of the Year: Ferrybank AC
Coach of the Year: Sean & Terri Cahill Cushinstown AC