Memories are made of this as Ratoath athletes make impact in Portugal
Ratoath Athletic Club travelled to Leiria, Portugal in September to proudly represented Ireland at the European u-20 Club Championships aka Dynamic New Athletics IV, bringing home a superb bronze medal from a highly competitive field.
The event was held at the Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium Leiria, and featured the innovative Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) format, which delivers a fast-paced, tactical and exciting twist to track and field.
The DNA format is very different from traditional athletics. It emphasises team competition, head-to-head matchups in the field events with a little bit of high jump poker and fast moving scheduling where every performance counts and team strategy is vital.
This year’s competition saw 10 mixed teams of 18 athletes each, with two 2.5-hour matches per club and only one event taking place at a time.
Day one consisted of two matches with the top three from each advancing to the A final on day two. Points were scored from two to 12 in each of the disciplines, before everything came down to the last event, the hunt.
In the hunt, every single point difference between teams after the first 11 events was converted into a time handicap, with one point equal to 0.33 seconds. This created staggered starts for the Hunt relay and the intensity is ramped up as the first team to cross the line is crowned champions.
Day 1 was the preliminary round were top 3 go into the A final. Ratoath were drawn in Match 2 against Sporting Portugal, SK Elite (Estonia), Blackheath & Bromley (GBR) and Alcorcón (Spain). Ratoath rose to the challenge brilliantly, producing strong performances across the programme.
One of many highlights came in the Hunt Race, where they stormed to victory by nearly five seconds, securing the top spot in the match and a coveted place in the A final.
On Sunday evening the stage was set for the final where the top six European clubs battled it out: Rieti (Italy), Skoda (Czech Republic), Sporting Portugal, SK Elite (Estonia), Metz (France) and Ratoath AC.
The competition at this level is extremely high, and Ratoath went in carrying a few injuries and niggles, but this wasn’t going to dull the determination of the team as the squad rallied together and the athletes delivered another day of strong team performances, gaining valuable points in each event to put us in medal contention heading into the Hunt.
We started the Hunt in third place, nine seconds behind Skoda of the Czech Republic. Our quartet showed incredible grit and determination, cutting the gap to just below six seconds.
As Italy came through to win gold, our athletes held their composure holding off the chasing teams to secure a well-deserved bronze, a fantastic improvement on last year’s sixth-place finish.
This was superb racing from our Hunt team of Aisling Shevlin (600m), Cillian Conway (400m), Katie Doherty (200m) and Bobby More (800m).
Ratoath AC Results for the A final:
4x400m Mixed Relay: 3rd, James Kelly, Niamh Murphy, Saoirse Carrigan, Cillian Conway
Shot Put: 3rd, Enya Silkena
100m Hurdles: 3rd, Enya Silkena
110m Hurdles: 3rd, Ethan Dewhirst
Long Jump: 6th, Daniel De Antolín Rodriguez
800m: 2nd, Lily Flood
400m Hurdles: 2nd, Ethan Dewhirst
High Jump: 3rd, Enya Silkena
100m: 2nd, Katie Doherty
Javelin: 6th, Seán O’Sullivan
200m: 4th, Jesse Osas
The Hunt: 3rd overall, Aisling Shevlin, Cillian Conway, Katie Doherty, Bobby More
Our team reserves: Joy Osas, Tara O’Connor, Olivia Ryan, Dillon Rowland and Jason Murray.
The bronze medal represents a historic achievement for Ratoath AC at European level and showcases the depth of talent and commitment across our squad. With 18 athletes, four coaches: Siobhéal Murray, Peter Doherty, Hugh Kelly and Sinéad McGoldrick, our physio Rachel Doherty and our Child Welfare Officer Joanne Kelly all making the journey, this was a team effort that highlights the progress and dedication within Ratoath AC over recent years.
Photos: Sinéad McGoldrick.