MARCUS Lawler is undeniably Ireland’s fastest man.
On Sunday the Rathcrogue sprinter confirmed his status as one of Ireland’s top athletes with a sensational double victory at the National Senior Track and Field Championships in Santry.
The 20-year-old IT Carlow student started off his day with a battling performance to claim the gold in the 100m and then after little more than an hour’s rest he annihilated the field to win the 200m by a comfortable distance.
“I’m delighted to get the win,” Lawler told The Nationalist on Monday. “The 100m was my first national senior outdoor title, so it was great to go on and win the 200 as well.”
National Senior Track & Field Championships, Morton Stadium, Santry, Dublin 9/8/2015
Mens 200m Final.
Marcus Lawler of St. L. O’Toole A.C. crosses the line to win
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tommy Grealy
Windy conditions made it difficult for competitors to record good times but Lawler still stopped the clock at 10.68 seconds in the 100m ahead of Jonathan Browning (10.79) in silver.
“The 100 was messy,” he said. “I was the favourite going into both of them but the 100 was a real championship race. It was scrappy. It was who wanted it more at the end of the day. It seemed to take me all day to win it. But I was happy becasue I didn’t panic even though I knew the lads were pushing me.”
His winning time in the 200m was 21.17 seconds, comfortably ahead of Kieran Elliott in silver (21.82).
“The 200 was solid. The first 30 metres wasn’t good but from there on I dominated and I wanted to really drive it home, get the gold medal and put a marker down. It’s my favourite event and I wanted to put in a big performance in that one.”
Lawler said he has had a great response to his victories
“The support was class,” he said. “Being on RTE [on Sunday evening] was massive exposure for the sport because it doesn’t get that much coverage. But all the texts coming in were brilliant.”
There was more to celebrate for Carlow with St Laurence O’Toole athlete Anu Awonusi winning silver in the shot putt and finishing fifth in the discus. Adam Murphy also reached the 200m final where he finished fifth. Brian Kirwan finished seventh in the 300m steeplechase final while Niall Harvey competed in the 800m.
