Carey aiming for Olympic time

TRIM athlete Michelle Carey recorded a personal best for the 400 metres hurdles at the Mount Sac Relays in Los Angeles at the weekend.

The Dublin Striders' member is at the end of her warm weather training as she goes in pursuit of an Olympic Games qualifying time and clocked 56.19. That time will be good enough to qualify her for the World Championships in Berlin next year, but she needs to improve by seven-tenths of a second to attain the standard for Beijing.

Significantly, she has a number of opportunities remaining to achieve her goal and her sights will surely be fixed on the meeting in Geneva in June because this is regarded as a fast track.

Andrew Ledwith (Fr Murphy) ran well in one of his first track races of the season at the Larry Ellis Invitational event in Princeton, New Jersey, at the weekend. The Iona College junior clocked 3:50.10 in a highly competitive 1,500 metres.

Na Fianna's Peter Mooney was second in the BHAA eight-mile road race at Kepak, Clonee, on Saturday.

Phelim Glynn (Dunboyne) was fourth overall and first in the over-40 category, while Trim's David Hawcroft was second in the over-60 section.

Catherine Dunne (Dunboyne) was second in the ladies' section and Navan's Mary Watters took the over-40 category.

Club athletes, representing Athboy Community School, figured prominently at the Meath Secondary Schools' Track and Field Championships at Claremont Stadium, Navan, on Friday.

Shannon Farrelly was second in the girls' u-14 1,100 metres and Grainne Whelehan also took silver in the u-15 1,500 metres.

In the field events, Karen Monaghan won the u-15 shot putt ahead of team-mate Kerrie Murtagh. Emma Troy, representing Scoil Mhuire, Trim, took second place in the u-14 500 metres and long jump.

Leah Kelly won the u-13 100 metres and high jump and the u-14 long jump at the Cushenstown AC open sports on Sunday. Jake Kelly was third in the u-12 shot putt, while the club's u-13 and u-15 girls' relay teams both claimed bronze medals.

The club thanked all who helped to make their annual race night in The Bawn Inn such a success.

Doireann Meade, who is recovering from a foot injury, won the ladies' grade A long jump at the first Dublin Athletics Board graded meeting of the season on Wednesday of last week.

Ciaran McKenna, the youngest competitor in the field, clocked 4:18 in the grade A 1,500 metres at the same meeting.

The club took home nine medals from the Cushinstown AC Sports on Sunday.

Kourosh Foroughi was in brilliant form and an undoubted highlight of the day was his spectacular leap of 2:05 metres to win the high jump. He failed narrowly when the bar was raised to 2:10.

Foroughi demonstrated his versatility by finishing fourth in the 100 metres, third in the shot putt and winning the long jump with a 5:50-metre effort.

The club filled the top three positions in that shot putt event, with Ger Nagle first thanks to an effort of over 13 metres, Barry Delaney second and Foroughi third.

Ciaran Gallagher won the u-13 100 metres and was second in the u-14 300 metres and 

new member Elizabeth Tibetan won the u-16 100 metres

Sarah Jane Murphy advanced from her heat in the u-12 100 metres, but didn't make the podium in the final.

Hannah Tully ran well in the u-9 sprint and was unlucky not to make the final.