Mayo athletes among Irish walkers facing international opponents in Raheny on Sunday
The final national championship medals of 2024 are down for decision this Sunday (December 15) as the 123.ie National 10k, 20k and 35k Walks take centre stage at the final leg of the World Athletics Race Walking Tour, which takes place in St. Anne's Park, Raheny.
Action is set for a 10.55 a.m. start, with over 250 entries from 30 countries set to descend on the Dublin venue in what looks set to be the biggest ever turnout.
Among the field of Irish walkers will be five athletes from Moy Valley AC, Ballina: Jake O'Brien (Under 23 men), Seamus Clarke (Under 20 men), Siobhan O'Reilly (Under 20 women), Pearl Sands and Lillian O'Brien (both Under 16 girls).
The Under 20 men’s 10km looks particularly mouthwatering as Clarke, a European Under 18 silver medalist, faces the top ranked Under 20 this year, Andrew Glennon (Mullingar Harriers AC), and European Under 18 top eight finisher, Matthew Newell (Tuam AC).
O'Reilly will also be hoping for a strong showing in the Under 20 women's race against the likes of Aoife Tuthill (Bandon), sister of Olympic hammer thrower Nicola, as well as Sinead Maher (South Galway) and Beabhin Hosty (Loch Lurgan AC).
The international entries are headed by European Under 18 silver medalist Alessia Pop (Romania), UK senior champion Gracie Griffith, and Moroccan Latifa Aarabi, who is the African Under 18 champion.
COMPETITION
With a total prize pot for the tour of north of $200,000, the fields boast a number of major championship medalists, led by Tokyo 2020 Olympic 20km Race Walk champion Massimo Stano from Italy, who will have stiff competition from Paris 2024 silver medalist Caio Bonfin from Brazil over the 35km distance. If Bonfin finishes in the top three, he will win the overall tour prize pot of $25,000.
They will be joined by top class Irish opposition, led by debutante Oisin Lane (Mullingar Harriers), who represented Ireland at the European Championships in Rome last summer, and Joe Mooney (Adamstown), both of whom will be chasing qualification for the European Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Podebrady, Czechia, next May.
The field will include athletes from France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ukraine as well as an elite trio from Mexico who will be confident of achieving World Championship qualification for Tokyo next summer.
In the women’s 35km, the home challenge will be spearheaded by 2011 World Youth Champion Kate Veale (West Waterford), but she will face stern competition from athletes who have travelled from afar including Brazil, Ecuador, Hungary, India, Italy, a trio from Mexico, and South Africa.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian David Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) has put his injury problems behind him and will be looking to lay down a marker for the year ahead with a strong showing over 20km.
He will not have things his own way, however, as the 20km has attracted a world class field, with athletes travelling from Algeria, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Finland, Finland, Great Britain (including former World Under 20 champion Callum Wilkinson, who is coached by Olympic medalist Rob Heffernan), Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and the USA.
The masters 10km concludes the programme, which sees entries from former Fianna Fáil senator Brian O’Domhnaill (Killybegs) and has international entries from France, Sweden, USA, Latvia and leading San Francisco prosecutor Paul de Meester.