Derry Track Club shines in Dublin with Masters’ medal haul
Derry Track Club confirmed its status as one of the top clubs of its kind in the country, coming away with seven gold and two silver medals from the National Masters’ Track & Field Championships in Dublin.
Held for the first time over two days, the event was blessed with excellent weather, lending itself to some standout performances -none more so than the DTC athletes, who, in addition to winning medals, set a national record in the mixed relay.
Star of the show for the north-west based club was David Stewart, the only athlete to return with four gold medals from the meeting.
Recently turned 60, Dr Stewart—who works as a cancer specialist at Altnagelvin Hospital – opened his medal account on Friday evening with a facile win in the high jump.
Even better was to come on Saturday morning when he took the 300m hurdles title before adding 400m gold later in the day.
Stewart then ran the final leg of the men’s 4x100m relay, anchoring the quartet to a convincing victory over teams from Mayo and Kerry.
New recruit to the Masters, Adam Kirk Smith, produced a virtuoso performance in the 3,000m steeplechase to boost DTC’s overnight tally to two gold medals on Friday night.
The former Commonwealth Games representative was a class apart, lapping the field as he moved smoothly over the barriers.
While Stewart was excelling on the track on Saturday morning, the club’s long jumpers were in the pit. Esther Bradley was first up and had little difficulty claiming the W40 women’s title. The London native’s first national championships proved a memorable one, with more success to follow later that day.
Conor McIlveen looked set to make it a golden double, but was overhauled late in the competition despite jumping a season’s best on the second round.
Attention then switched back to the track, where former British Masters champion Tim Shiels returned to competition in the M50 400m after an absence of 12 years. The Omagh pastor showed plenty of nerves as he settled in the blocks, but those concerns quickly eased when the starter’s gun broke the silence in the stadium.
Shiels was quickly up to speed and drove strongly down the back straight. It looked like it might be a dream return, however, he had the misfortune to run into an athlete with global medals to his name and had to settle for the runner-up spot.
Rodney Campbell was next up in the M55 400m. The most improved runner in Derry’s green and black colours over the past year, Campbell showed no sign of fatigue from Friday night’s season’s best in the 1500m. He appeared out of medal contention on the final bend, but his characteristic spirited finish saw him close to within a tenth of a second of what would have been a fitting reward for a year of hard work.
Adam Kirk Smith then proved he was ready to race again. Despite his steeplechase labours on Friday night, he lined up in the 800m seeking an unusual double. He led until the final straight, when he was overhauled by a Drogheda-based Spaniard who specialises in the two-lap distance.
Conn O’Neill was the final DTC athlete in an individual event, competing in the M40 800m. He was right in the mix until the closing stages but ran out of steam in the final metres and missed out on the medal he had set his sights on for the past 12 months.
Relays always provide an exciting conclusion to any athletics championships, and this one finished in perfect style for the Derry club.
The 4x100m relay produced a comfortable victory. Conor McIlveen led off, winning the gold that had earlier eluded him in the long jump. He handed over shoulder to shoulder with the Mayo club before Tim Shiels opened up a significant advantage on the backstraight, before passing the baton to Conor Wilkinson on the third leg. The Manchester-based athlete extended the lead further before David Stewart struck the decisive blow to secure his fourth gold of the meeting.
The mixed 4x400m relay looked set to be closer, but the race tightened only in the opening stages. The Crusaders club handed over a stride ahead of Adam Kirk Smith. At that point, Esther Bradley took control, pushing DTC into a healthy lead for the changeover, with Tim Shiels again gaining ground on leg three and for newcomer Laura Reid, it was left with the simple task of maintaining the advantage to bring home gold—and a new national O35 Masters’ record for the event.