from A.A.I World Silver Medalist, Olive Loughnane of Loughrea AC will compete in the 3km Walk at the Woodie’s DIY Irish Indoor Championships at the Odyssey Arena Belfast on 6th of February
The Athlete of the Year, produced a terrific performance in the 20km Walk at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin last August, finishing in a time of 1:28.58 behind the winner Russia’s Olga Kaniskina.
Loughnane battled through the 26 degree heat in Berlin to join an elite group of Irish athletes who have won medals at the World Championships alongside fellow race walker Gillian O’Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan and Sonia O’Sullivan.
Loughnane will be joined by Kate Veale, one of Ireland’s most talented up and coming Race Walkers. The Waterford AC athlete, who is mentored by Jamie Costin, set a new Irish record of 13:18.20 minutes at the AAI Games on the 17th of January. Reigning champion, Laura Reynolds of Mohill AC will also be looking to produce a good performance. Reynolds recorded a personal best of 1:43:07 when placing 15th in the 20km Walk at the European U23 Championships last year.
Elite Walkers, Robert Heffernan (Togher AC), Colin Griffin (Balinamore AC) and Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) will line up in the Men’s 5km Walk. Heffernan’s Irish Indoor Record of 18:51:46 minutes set in 2008 will be under threat as this will be the first time that all three of Ireland’s top male Walkers will line-up in the Indoor Championships.
This is the seventh Irish Indoors meeting in the North which has been made possible by the generous assistance of title sponsor Woodie’s DIY and funding partners Belfast City Council. Upwards of 1,000 athletes will be participating, representing a mixture of local and international competitors.
