All athletes will say you’re only as good as your last race, only Bori Akinola won’t easily forget the first time he beat Israel Olatunde. Not soon anyway – their 60 metres showdown at the National Indoor Championships on Sunday also teasing out the latest bragging rights among Ireland’s fastest men.
In 21 previous races, Olatunde had beaten Akinola in them all, and came to the sold out Sport Ireland Arena at Abbotstown chasing an eighth national title, and a fourth successive indoors. Instead it was Akinola who dominated, winning his first title and delighting himself and many of those around him in the process. Olatunde, Ireland’s fastest man indoors and outdoors, had to settle for bronze.
After crossing the line, Akinola promptly sprinted back down the track, then over to the spectator stand, embracing his mother Kemi, who was witnessing her son racing in person for the first time.
If the shortest race of the weekend packed in the most intrigue, Sarah Healy produced the most impressive winning margin by some distance, breaking the championship record in the 1,500m for the second time in 24 hours, winning in 4:08.74. It was a breathtaking run, even if Healy was running well within herself.
Bori Akinola runs down Ireland’s fastest man Israel Olatunde to win first national title
Sarah Healy and Marcus Lawler set new championship marks at Irish Indoors
From The Cowshed to Abbotstown: the odyssey of the Irish Indoor Championships
Sonia O’Sullivan: Sold-out Irish indoor championships still missing some star Irish athletes
Sharlene Mawdsley also made sure of another title in the 400m, racing clear at the 200m break to win in 51.91 seconds, with Phil Healy second in 53.25. Both athletes are rounding into form ahead of next month’s European Indoor Championships in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. Conor Kelly from Derry Track Club, still only 17, again improved his national under-20 record when running 46.54 to win the men’s title.
For 23-year-old Akinola, who is nine months older that Olatunde, it was all about the victory, the UCD AC athlete admitting beforehand that so much of his motivation over the winter months was ending his losing streak. With Max O’Reilly of Riverstick/Kinsale AC blasting out of the blocks first, Akinola judged his effort perfectly, coming through to win in 6.61 seconds, improving his previous best of 6.64. O’Reilly held on for silver in 6.69, with Olatunde from Tallaght AC third in 6.72.
“In my head was just ‘execute’, don’t think about anyone else, or anything else,” said Akinola. “Just go through the motions, get my start right. But it was a great race, I was patient with my entire race, didn’t panic, but went through the phases, and it’s all good, delighted.”
Although Olatunde appeared short of the form that saw him win here two years ago in 6.57 seconds, he has been training hard over the winter in Florida alongside Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles.
Mawdsley has also moved on since the Paris Olympics, now working with UK sprints coach Tony Lester, and after enduring a considerable battle to get through the autograph hunters when coming off the track, she declared herself delighted with her effort.
“The support I had today, when they said my name, was just amazing,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that I attacked that first 200m today, because yesterday, in the semi-final, I didn’t do that. I also think that’s why my 200m is so much better this year, because there’s always so much traffic at the break, and I don’t like traffic. But the 400m never gets easier, no matter how fast or slow you run it.”
Healy has now broken a record of some sort every time she’s raced this season, twice improving her own indoor 3,000m mark, plus the 1,500m mark, before twice improving the championship record here. Her 4:08.74 was effectively run solo from gun to tape, with Lucy Holmes from West Waterford winning the battle for second in 4:23.10.
“It felt really good, really strong, sometimes it’s nice to have the track all to yourself,” Healy said. “I wasn’t exactly sure of my splits, I wasn’t too bothered about the time when you’re running on your own. But I don’t get to race at home too often, so that’s nice.”
Sarah Leahy had to battle hard to win back her 60m title, the Killarney sprinter just getting the better of Limerick’s Ciara Neville, 7.39 seconds to 7.41.
Cathal Doyle won a purely tactical men’s 1,500m in 3:58.10, the Clonliffe runner also rounding into form for Apeldoorn, while in the field events, Colm Bourke from Raheny won the long jump after years of trying, with Meabh Corkery from Midleton AC winning the pole vault in 3.40m.
