Sweeney and DSD in show of strength

ATHLETICS:RARELY HAS there been a more commanding winner of the National Interclub Cross Country than Joe Sweeney.

His victory in Santry rounded off what was the near-perfect day for his club, Dundrum South Dublin (DSD), who won seven of the eight titles on offer. As if winning all four team titles wasn’t impressive enough, DSD also provided the winner of the senior and junior women.

In winning his debut senior club title Sweeney (25) became the first man since Seámus Power in 2004 to win the interclub and intercounties in the same season.

Galway’s Gary Thornton was the only one capable of presenting him with any challenge (defending champion Mark Kenneally withdrew because of injury), but that disappeared shortly into the 12km race, leaving Sweeney to increase his lead on the chasing runners. “The longer the race went on the more comfortable I felt,” he admitted. “But the plan now is to a take a break.”

It means Sweeney won’t be accepting his automatic selection for next month’s World Cross Country in Spain, and neither will the senior women’s winner Ava Hutchinson, who is targeting some road races in the coming weeks, with the idea of trying for an Olympic marathon qualifying time early next year. Like Sweeney, she also collected her first senior club title. She sat back early on before breaking free around halfway, eventually winning by 33 seconds from Eilish Kelly of Raheny Shamrocks. The senior women’s team title was close, but with Bryony Treston, Linda Byrne and Fiona Clinton all in the top 10, DSD had enough to spare over Raheny.

The only question surrounding the junior women’s race was how much Siofra Cleirigh-Buttner would win by – the answer was 25 seconds. In the junior men’s race Shane Quinn of Ferrybank in Waterford claimed the individual title – 33 years after his father, Brendan, did likewise.

Tori Pena improved her Irish pole vault record to 4.31m when winning the Scottish Indoors title on Saturday.