Whirlwind journey for belmullet runner

A NATIVE of Erris has been selected to represent Australia in the World Championships.

It's been a whirlwind journey for Belmullet woman Sinéad Diver, a 38-year-old mother of two who moved to Melbourne in 2002. Her first child arrived in 2009 and although she had good basic fitness, she started to work on it a bit more, joining a local running group called the Crosbie Crew.

In late 2011 Sinéad joined South Melbourne AC and it wasn't long before her talent and potential were recognised. She achieved excellent results and won a few races, and in 2014 she ran a half marathon in 74:25. Last October Sinéad ran her first full marathon in 2:32:15, which placed her in the top 10 all time Irish marathon times and good enough to be nominated for selection by Australia.

Last December Sinéad registered with Mayo AC as her Irish club. Mayo AC have followed her progress closely and are delighted with her selection for Australia. She will run the marathon in the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing in August.

Responding to the news, Sinéad said: “Tá áthas an domhain orm. I'm so excited and proud to have been selected to represent Australia in the marathon at the 2015 World Championships.

“Thank you to everyone for all the support and encouragement. A massive thank you to my family, friends, coach and all those who have helped make this dream a reality - without these people it would not be happening.”

Understandably, there has been a lot of excitement and celebration in Belmullet among her family and friends since the news broke last week.

Sinéad is now getting down to some serious training and has a couple of races lined up in the next few weeks, including a 15k at Ballarat and the Gold Coast Half Marathon in July.