European cup team announced

Pherekydes

Athletics Ireland have announced their team for their European Cup in Vaasa, Finland.

AAI wrote:

Men’s Team
100/200 Paul Hession
400 David Gillick
800 David McCarthy
1500 Dave Campbell
3000SC Mark Kirwan
3000 James Nolan
5000 Martin Fagan
110H Ian McDonald
400H Jonathon Miller

Long Jump Steve Fleming
Triple Jump Jonathon Ritchie
High Jump Chistopher Crowley
Shot Sean Breathnach
Discus Eoin Leen
Hammer Padraig White
Javelin Aaron Crawford
Pole Vault Anthony McCreery

4×100 Relay Jason Smyth
Jer O’Donoghue
Gordon Kennedy
Darragh Graham
Paul McKee
Paul Hession

4×400 Relay Paul McKee
Gordon Kennedy
David McCarthy
Brian Murphy
David Gillick

Women’s Team

Event Name
100 Anna Boyle
200 Ciara Sheehy
400 Joanne Cuddihy
800 Rose-Anne Galligan
1500 Kelly Reid
3000SC Linda Byrne
3000 Orla Drumm
5000 Finnoula Britton
100H Derval O’Rourke
400H Michelle Carey

Long Jump Kelly Proper
Triple Jump Sara Barry
High Jump Deirdre Ryan
Shot Laura Cogan
Discus Eileen O’Keefe
Hammer Eileen O’Keefe
Javelin Laura Kerr
Pole Vault Claire Wilkinson

4×100 Relay Boyle, O’Rourke, Cuddihy, Sheehy
Ailis McSweeney
Emily Maher

4×400 Relay Cuddihy, Sheehy, Carey, Maher
Elaine McCaffrey

Medical Staff Bill Cuddihy
Neasa Smyth
Ciaran Fitzpatrick
Paul O’Neill

Team Manager Patsy McGonagle
Coaches Stephen Maguire
Sean Kyle
Maeve Kyle
Pat Diskin
Paddy Fay
Hayley Harrison
Max Jones

Pherekydes

First League Group A, Vaasa/FIN
Qualified Teams

MEN
Czech Republic
Finland
Ireland
Netherlands
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

Women
Czech Republic
Finland
Ireland
Great Britain & NI
Netherlands
Norway
Slovak Republic
Sweden

Pherekydes

The official website.

Anyone going?

thirtyfoot

They are adopting the Clive Woodward Lions' touring policy. All they are missing is a Psychologist, Media Liason Officer and a team of video analysts.

The men could struggle but the women have a chance of staying up again. Our field events usually let us down, on the track even at this grade our women are a match for the best of them.

It'll be interesting to see what the men's 4x4 do, could the record go - 3:03 I think.

thirtyfoot

Tingle wrote:

The men could struggle but the women have a chance of staying up again. Our field events usually let us down, on the track even at this grade our women are a match for the best of them.

.

"Let us down" is probably a bit harsh maybe they aren't as strong is a better way of putting it.

Pherekydes

You're right, Tingle. Our field eventers are at their lowest ebb for a long time. Our men will be doing well to get more than 10-12 points from 8 events.

On the track side of things, no Cragg or Chamney? No disrespect to Nolan, but he doesn't seem in great shape at the mo. Chamney could have covered the 8 and Campbell the 15 and Mark Carroll or Gary Power the 3k if Cragg was unavailable. Dave McCarthy on the relay could have been back-up for the 8.

McGettigan and Cullen are also absent from the women's team. I feel Britton could have covered 2 events quite easily. I'll be very interested in seeing how she gets on in her first serious 5k. Pavey is down for the UK.

Rineanna

Slow coach wrote:

You're right, Tingle. Our field eventers are at their lowest ebb for a long time. Our men will be doing well to get more than 10-12 points from 8 events.

McGettigan and Cullen are also absent from the women's team. I feel Britton could have covered 2 events quite easily. I'll be very interested in seeing how she gets on in her first serious 5k. Pavey is down for the UK.

Just cross-checking the provisional enteries against the start lists which have been posted by the EAA on their website and it seems there has been a few alterations to the team which I have listed below. I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the enteries right because there seems to be some odd choices here and there, like Lee McConnell running the 400m for Britain ahead of Nicola Sanders (injured maybe?). I would appreciate if someone would take a look at them themselves and see what they make of them:
http://www.european-athletics.org/files/vaasa_startlists.xls

Women

100m
Amy Foster - in for Anna Boyle
(Foster beat Boyle in the NI champs but that was the day after Boyle ran in Oslo. Not to disrespect Foster, but given the top class athletes that are in that race like Manninen and Maduaka, would it have been better to run O' Rourke in the 100m instead? Kallur is doing the double 100m/100mh as it stands.)

3000m s/c

Fionnuala Britton - in for Linda Byrne
(Slowcoach you predicted accurately that Britton could run the two events! Can't say I disagree with this choice. Linda Byrne is a fantastic athlete and a real rising star in the middle distance flat races. However, she is our third choice steeplechaser after McGettigan and Britton and with a group as tough as this, we need the best athletes we can get out there )
Discus
Deirdre Murphy - in for O' Keefe
( O' Keefe has thrown 5 metres further then Murphy this season - we're already ranked last in the discus as it is)

---

A few things worry me about these teams:

Based on season bests, we are ranked either last or second last in nearly all the field events, both men and women, with the exception of Ryan in the High Jump (5th) and O' Keefe in the HT (an excellent 1st)

[LIST=2]The women's team looks particularly vulnerable to relegation due not only to the said field weaknesses, but also to the fact that our sprints and middle-distance runners aren't ranked very highly on current form. If Rourke can further improve her time then she looks well placed to finish 2nd behind Kallur depending how Claxton runs. Cuddihy and Carey should also place well.


>>> I think the Men's team is looking stronger at the moment; Hession and Gillick are looking at 1st/2nd, while Fagan should pull out a good race. Cragg and Chamney might have been handy.
[/LIST]

Pherekydes

Rineanna wrote:

...Lee McConnell running the 400m for Britain ahead of Nicola Sanders (injured maybe?). I would appreciate if someone would take a look at them themselves and see what they make of them:

Yep, I heard Sanders has an Achilles problem. Good to see Britton taking on the steeple. I just hope she's healthy after the W/E. She has the make-up to run two hard races in two days.

Overall, I think the women will hang on but the men will be under severe pressure to avoid relegation.

Linford

Is this on TV anywhere? Live or highlights.

Pherekydes

BBC website wrote:

European Cup Athletics
Sat 23 Jun, 12:55 pm - 4:25 pm 210mins

Hazel Irvine presents live European Cup athletics from Munich as Great Britain's men look to impress ahead of August's World Championships in Osaka. Among those in action are Craig Pickering in the 100m, while the opening day's action ends with the men's 4x100m relay, with GB's sights set on gold. Plus, action from the Women's promotion match in Vaasa, Finland, where Nicola Sanders leads the way for GB on day one. Commentary from Steve Cram, Jonathan Edwards, Paul Dickenson and Stuart Storey.

BBC

Rineanna

Why is Paul McKee in the 4x100m relay squad but not in the 4x400m relay squad where he has run faster then both Kennedy and Doyle?

Pherekydes

Here are the official startlists:

IRL Kennedy Gordon 4x100m
IRL Hession Paul 4x100m
IRL McKee Paul 4x100m
IRL O'Donoghue Jer 4x100m
IRL Graham Darragh 4x100m
IRL Smyth Jason 4x100m


IRL McCarthy David 4x400m
IRL McKee Paul 4x400m
IRL Gillick David 4x400m
IRL Kennedy Gordon 4x400m
IRL Miller Jonathon 4x400m
IRL Murphy Brian 4x400m

Pherekydes

I hear McGettigan has been drafted into the steeple spot, with Linda Byrne now running the 3k. I also hear Proper is out, with Leona Byrne filling in and Aoife Hoey replacing Sarah Barry in the Triple Jump.

Indo report

Rineanna

Here are the official startlists

Thanks for that, I must have missed that when I read through them.

I hear McGettigan has been drafted into the steeple spot, with Linda Byrne now running the 3k. I also hear Proper is out, with Leona Byrne filling in and Aoife Hoey replacing Sarah Barry in the Triple Jump.

Ailis McSweeney is also running the 100m instead of Foster according to the AAI preview;
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=1803#more-1803

Pherekydes

Rineanna wrote:

Ailis McSweeney is also running the 100m instead of Foster according to the AAI preview

Foster is down to run in Mannheim. Must have been double-booked!

Rineanna

Slow coach wrote:

Foster is down to run in Mannheim. Must have been double-booked!

If you don't mind me asking, how do you find out the start lists for Mannheim? I'm always looking for start lists but with little success.

Pherekydes

I don't speak or read German, but you get used to certain words.

I try the German Federation website. It has comprehensive results, stats and links to meets such as Mannheim. A great resource for the stat geek. Mannheim start lists listed by country.