from AAI Athletics Ireland has announced their initial team selection for the IAAF World Indoor Championships which will take place in Doha, Qatar from the 12-14th of March. The team will include Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC) who set an Irish Record of 7.84 seconds to take the World Indoor title in 2006. O’Rourke opened up her indoor season at the Woodie’s DIY Senior Indoor Championships this weekend. She produced a solid performance, following a return from injury to win the Women’s 60m hurdles in 8.18 seconds. After placing fourth at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin last year, the Cork woman is focused firmly on making the podium in Doha.
Clare Brady (Celbridge AC) who is now coached by former Irish sprint international Gary Ryan, will compete in the Women’s 60m. Brady was an impressive winner of the Women’s 60m final at the Senior Indoor Championship. The Kildare athlete ran a personal best of 7.35 seconds in the final inside the qualifying standard for the World Indoor Championships of 7.40 seconds.
Ferrybank’s Kelly Proper will compete in the Long Jump after achieving the qualification standard when breaking her own Irish Record at the Vienna Gala in January. Proper jumped 6.62m, an improvement on the 6.58m she jumped at the European Indoor Championships last year.
Deirdre Byrne of Sli Cualann AC will compete in the 3000m. Byrne achieved the qualification standard at the European Indoor Championships in Turin last year. Byrne ran 9.00.67 minutes to make the final at these championships, inside the qualification standard of 9.03.00. The Wicklow woman took the 3000m national title at the weekend in 9.03.52 minutes.
Following her performance at the National Championships Kelly McNeice (City of Lisburn) will compete in the 1500m. McNeice won in 4:14.63, a time that qualified her for the World Indoor championships and vastly improves on her previous indoor best of 4:21.01 from 2007.
David McCarthy of Le Cheile AC, currently the only male representative on the team, will line up in the Men’s 800m. McCarthy set a personal indoor best at the Indoor Classic in Vienna on the 2nd of February, running 1:48.29 minutes. This time was comfortably inside the 1:48.50 qualifying standard for the World Indoor championships.
All of the selected athletes will compete in this UK Indoor Championships in Sheffield this weekend. David Gillick of Dundrum South Dublin has not been announced as part of the team but there is still time for selection as the final team will be announced on the 1st of March.
Men
David McCarthy, Le Cheile AC: 800m
Women
Claire Brady, Celbridge AC: 60m
Derval O’Rourke, Leevale AC: 60m Hurdles
Kelly McNeice, City of Lisburn: 1500m
Deirdre Byrne, Sli Chulainn AC: 3000m
Kelly Proper, Ferrybank AC: Long Jump