DU Harriers and Athletic Club Alumni Newsletter 2013

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1 DU Harriers and Athletic Club Alumni Newsletter 2013 In this issue DUHAC Ladies win Cross Country Intervarsities Presidents Letter Club and Alumni Roundup Sports Club Alumni Appeal The DUHAC Ladies Team with Coach Mick Farrell pictured after their win at the IUAA Championships in March 2013 DUHAC Ladies Win Cross Country Intervarsities! A testament to cross country running in Trinity is that every March, going back to a time that predates most of us currently in the club, our ladies team has lined up for the Intervarsity Cross Country Championship with realistic designs on winning the team competition. In the past six years though, that coveted gold has eluded us, and we have come away with five silvers and one bronze. Following an excellent third-place finish at road relays, and the squad approaching the 2013 Cross Country Championship in top form, the optimism and desire which has become typical of the DUHAC Ladies teams was as strong in Jordanstown on March 9 th as it has ever been. From the whistle, and as the field began to spread out, it became clear that DUHAC s ladies were in firm control of the race. Such was their dominance from the outset that predicting a team victory from the early stages became less of a bold prediction and more an evident certainty. Athletics Ireland Intermediate Cross Country Champion Maria O Sullivan was the first Trinity lady home in 2 nd place. She was followed closely by Becky Woods in 4 th and Harriers Captain, Irene Gorman, in 13 th place. DUHAC stalwart Bryony Treston, running in her 5 th Cross Country Intervarsity, rounded off the scorers in 17 th place. Trinity s total of 36 points was more than enough to hold off challenges from UCC and UCD to claim the Smyth Trinity 400 Perpetual Trophy, The Cheetahs by James Osborne, which were donated by our Club President Cyril J Smyth to the Irish Universities Athletic Association in The DUHAC Ladies last won the trophy in The Cheetahs have come home hopefully to stay in their rightful place for the next few years! 1

2 President s Letter In essence the longevity of student engagement in Dublin University sports clubs goes in four-year cycles with a few exceptions. However, by the end of a decade the current students have little or no memory of former athletes, players, captains, and club officers, let alone past achievements in colours matches or intervarsity events. The geographical proximity of the 2012 London Olympic Games presented a unique opportunity to inform and educate current students, graduates and current and former staff of the College about past students and graduates who had achieved the ultimate accolade, namely, representing their countries at an Olympic Games. A quick survey indicated that virtually nobody who was asked could name a Trinity student or graduate who had competed at the 2000, 2004 or 2008 Games, never mind who had competed long before their parents were born! I willingly took up the challenge in the summer of 2011 as the principal researcher for what became the Trinity Olympians Project. In retrospect I can state that I had no idea of the numerous blind alleys, cul-de-sacs and false trails that I would encounter on a way to the launch event held on 6 June 2012 in the Examination Hall. Cyril J Smyth with Olympic Torch The Trinity Olympians Project, delivered as part of the College's programme of Olympics-related events during 2012, profiled and recognised the achievements of students and graduates who had participated on the ultimate sporting stage. The launch of the project, held on the evening of the Dublin Olympic Torch Relay, brought together a good number of Trinity s past Olympians to celebrate and recollect their Olympic experiences amongst a gathering of Trinity students, staff, friends and family. Forty-five Olympians 43 Summer Olympians, one Winter Olympian and one Paralympian were identified and short biographies written on each. Now the number of past Olympians stands at 57 which illustrates how additional Olympians have come out of the woodwork with the publicity that the whole project received. With the two students who competed at the 2012 Games in London, the grand total is 59 stretching from 1908 through The Trinity Olympians Project won the 2012 European Network of Academic Sports Services (ENAS) Award at the Annual ENAS Conference in Lisbon. The ENAS award is an annual competition amongst 97 member institutions throughout Europe. ENAS promotes a philosophy of best practice to recognise an event or topic that is campus wide and engages students, staff and the wider College community. The Trinity Olympians Project captured the imagination and interest of a vast audience, both within and outside of College, and was endorsed by the Olympic Council of Ireland. The impact of the initiative will be sustained in the long term to showcase the sporting excellence of Trinity students on the international stage, as complimentary to their academic achievements. 2

3 Michelle Tanner, Head of Sport, Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost, TCD and Cyril J Smyth, Lead Researcher on the Trinity Olympian Project and Chairman, DUCAC In this newsletter I would like to remember those past members of DUHAC who competed in athletics at Olympic Games: George Mahony Mayberry London 1908 Triple Jump George Newcomen Morphy London m Hedges Eyre Worthington-Eyre Antwerp m Denis John Cussen Amsterdam m Charles Henry Pentland Denroche London x 400 m Relay David D Guiney London 1948 Shot Putt Richard Dennis William Dick Miller Helsinki 1952 Javelin Maeve Esther Enid Kyle Melbourne m & 200 m; Rome m & 200 m; Tokyo m & 800 m John Oladipo Oladitan Rome 1960 Long Jump Ronan Gabriel Tynan (Paralympian) New York/Stoke Mandeville 1984 Discus, Shot Putt, Long Jump; Seoul 1988 Discus & Shot Putt Mark Kenneally London Marathon Maeve Kyle is the joint most capped Trinity Olympian alongside Gearoíd Towey in rowing [Sydney 2000, Athens, 2004, Beijing 2008]. The saddest fact to come to light concerned John Oladitan. He was murdered by his chauffeur in Ibadan, Nigeria on 17 June 2002, aged 71. Club Roundup The year, as always, began with a spirited recruitment drive during Freshers Week, which saw the club sign up well in excess of 300 members, a figure that largely overshadows numbers from recent years. The task after the success of Freshers Week was to translate these numbers into training and competitions, the first test being the Intervarsity Road Relays at NUI Maynooth. DUHAC entered three teams in both the Men s and Women s races, a clear demonstration of the depth in the current DUHAC squad. Being a competitive club, DUHAC is in the business of results, and that both our Men s and Ladies A teams 3

4 medalled is a clear demonstration of the talent in the club. The Ladies team of Iseult O Donnell, Irene Gorman, Maria O Sullivan and Niamh Donnelly finished third, as did the Men s team, consisting of Brian Hill, Liam Tremble, Sam Mealy, Donal Foley and Kieron Sexton. A word of praise is due to Harriers Captain Sam Mealy, who finished 5 th in the National U23 Cross Country Championships in the weeks following Road Relays, earning his first international selection as part of the Irish U23 squad for the European Cross Country Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Sam follows a rich tradition of international selection in DUHAC, and with many of the club s top runners still eligible for U23 selection next year, there is plenty to look forward to. These successes carried forward from the Road Relays right through the Christmas break and into the Indoors Intervarsities, which for the first time were being held in the new National Indoor Athletics Arena at Athlone IT rather than the annual refrigerator of the Nenagh Stadium. Sam Mealy (3,000 m) and Sorcha Prendiville (1,500 m walk) both claimed bronze medals, Laura Frey took the Silver medal in the Combined Events, Éamonn Fahey won his 2nd long jump title and Becky Woods broke her own Trinity Record in winning the blue ribbon event, the 1500 m. The other TCD Record to be broken on the day was in the men's 4 x 200 m relay, where Éamonn Fahey, Patrick O'Connor, James Sinclair-Ford and Garret Dunne lowered the previous club mark by an impressive 4 seconds. The arena has quickly gained a reputation as a fast track. Following the Indoor season, and some impressive crosscountry performances in the spring, DUHACians readied themselves for an eagerly anticipated Intervarsity Cross Country Championships at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. As mentioned above, the Ladies team won gold in dominating fashion, and following their success, the men s team were extremely motivated to bring home a medal. Unfortunately, the field proved too strong, and despite best ever finishes from Sam Mealy, Donal Foley and John Reidy, the men narrowly missed out on a Bronze medal. All in all, the year has been a tremendous success so far. DUHAC has claimed three team medals, including the first Gold medal win in over a decade. With the Outdoor Track and Field Intervarsities approaching, this year being hosted by University College Cork at the Mardyke, there is much to hope for from this young and talented DUHAC outfit.. Alumni Roundup Throughout the dynamic history of athletics in Ireland, there has always been one constant the presence of DUHAC athletes at the pinnacle of every event. The 2012/13 season has been no exception to this. In Track and Field, Mary McLoone retained her outdoor and indoor National triple jump titles. Simon Taggart won his first National gold medal in the 110 m hurdles, clocking the 5 th fastest time ever by an Irishman in the process. On the roads, Mark Kenneally achieved the Olympic A standard for the marathon, eventually finishing in 57 th place at the London Games. Aoife Talty was part of the Raheny Ladies Team that won the National Road Relay Championships, while Sean Hehir replicated 4

5 this feat in the Men s race. Hehir also went on earn his first senior international vest at the European Cross Country Championships in Budapest. Caroline Crowley had a truly memorable Cross Country season, winning the Dublin Novice, Dublin Intermediate and Leinster Novice races, remaining unbeaten until her 2 nd place finish in the National Novice Championships. Outside athletics, former Women s Captain Claire McGlynn recorded a personal and Irish best of 123 kg in the combined snatch and clean & jerk at the London Weightlifting Open in Crystal Palace last December. Well done to all the above past DUHAC athletes! Your achievements are a constant inspiration to the current crop of DUHACians. Onwards and Upwards! Current Year Fixtures Remaining fixtures this season include: Colours T&F at 5 pm April 3 rd in Irishtown Stadium; the Chariots of Fire race, April 10 th at 10 am in Front Square, College; and the IUAA Outdoors T&F, April 12 th and 13 th at the Mardyke in Cork. The above events will be showcases of DUHAC talent, and your support will be hugely appreciated should you be in the vicinity of any of the abovementioned fixtures. Pictured are the DUHAC teams, which both claimed bronze at Road Relays in November 2012 at NUI Maynooth Sport Club Alumni Appeal May 2013 Please support our annual appeal which will take place in May A letter along with a donation form will be sent to all sports alumni in order to gain support for our Sport Clubs. 80% of your donation will go to our Club and 20% will go towards the Trinity College Sports Scholarship Scheme. Both once-off and regular monthly gifts will be gratefully accepted. Once you identify the [club] in the donation form, funding will be allocated to our Club in order to support its development. Thank you in advance for your generosity! 5