National Division 1 League Title for St Laurence O’Toole
Willie O’Toole broke the national record in the O75 shot putt and won silver in the Weight for Distance. Photos: Perri Williams.
Sofia Granjo may have been on her international debut in the 4x400m relay, but it did not hamper the young Carlow athlete’s performance in Oregon, USA, at the World U20 Championships.
Often the initial experience, particularly when it is at World level can be over whelming. But Granjo embraced every moment that his opportunity brough.
Granjo, Maria Zakharenko, Roisin Murray and Erin Friel were the quartet named to step onto the track for the competition. The Irish team were in the second of the three heats and finished seventh in a time of 3:40.06.
Granjo will still be eligible for the European U20s in 2027.
St Laurence O’Toole masters athletes produced superb performances at the National Masters Championships, held over two days in Morton Stadium, Santry. The athletes delivered an impressive haul of 17 medals, and two national records set by Willie O’Toole in the O75 shot putt and Anna Sudergate in the O55 long jump.
O’Toole set the tone by rewriting the record books, breaking the national record of 9.32m with his opening throw of 9.40m. He then extended his mark even further with an outstanding effort of 9.49m. He later added to his success with a silver medal in the Weight for Distance.
European bronze medalist David Kidd also struck gold on Friday in the Men’s O45 5000m Race Walk, winning in an impressive 24:34.60, while Jessie Burke made her championship debut and finished second in the Women’s 3000m Race Walk.
Sudergate not only secured gold in the O55 long jump, but twice broke the national record, first with a leap of 4.40m and then improving to 4.48m with the longest jump recorded across all women’s age categories on the Saturday.
There were multiple medal-winning performances on the track. Bill Tyrrell enjoyed a dream championship debut, claiming three gold medals in the Men’s O70 category, winning the 200m, the 400m and the 800m.
David Hayde secured double gold in the Men’s O55 sprints, winning the 100m and the 200m, while Keith Pollard mirrored that achievement in the O45 category, taking gold in both the 200m and 400m.
There were gold medals for Deirdre Doyle in the Women's O35 800m and Andrew Keppel in the Men’s Over 45 pole vault, with silver medals for Ken Archbold in the Men’s Over 55 800m and Derek O’Brien in the O45 Long Jump, while Maria Dunne secured bronze in the O45 800m.
There was no shortage of action for SLOT athletes at a fiercely competitive National League, with superb performances, dramatic finishes and a string of podium places lighting up the day.
Michaela Subtrova competed in several events, dominating the triple jump before powering her way to second place finishes in both the 100m hurdles and long jump.
Jennifer Sawyer delivered a commanding performance as she blew the field apart in the 400m hurdles, crossing the line more than six seconds clear of her nearest rival. She later surged to a second gold in the 200m.
Chloe Ryan matched that double-winning feat, with victories in the shot putt and discus, while Isabelle McCormack impressed with a win in the javelin and Cassie O’Byrne claimed victory in the 400m.
The closest finish of the day came in the 3,000m, where Leah Lawlor ran a superb race, only to be edged out by the narrowest of margins — just one-tenth of a second.
Second place became a familiar theme for the SLOT women in a remarkable spade of podium results. Deirdre Doyle took silver in the 800m, Mia Cullen followed with second in the 100m, Susie Mitchell added another silver in the hammer before securing bronze in the weight for distance.
The women’s 4x100m relay team also took second place as the quartet of Kara Morrissey, Chloe Ryan, Mia Cullen and Isabelle McCormack rose to the occasion.
The SLOT men’s team were also competing in Division 1. Adam Nolan stormed to victory in both the 110m hurdles and the high jump, as well as finishing second in the long jump.
Ken Archbold took second in the race walk, Dylan Byrne delivered second in the 1500m and fourth in the 800m, while Marc Mulhall finished second in the 100m and third in the 200m. There were further silvers from Jack Wickham in the pole vault and David Martinec in the javelin.
SLOT amassed an impressive collection of wins and podium finishes, with the ladies becoming the Division 1 champions and earning promotion to the Premier Division in 2027.
