|
Dec
18th
-
Dublin
Winter
Racewalking
Challenge
 The
Phoenix
Park
provided
the
venue
today
for
the
second
winter
racewalking
challenge
which
took
place
under
ideal
conditions.
Shercock
was
represented
by
seasoned
walkers
Peter
Muldoon,
Paul
Fitzpatrick
and
Bernadette
Muldoon
in
the
older
age
groups
and
by
four
first-time
walkers
in
the
younger
juvenile
events.
Peter
came
off
his
winter
conditioning
programme
only
recently
and
was
looking
forward
to
his
first
race
of
the
new
season.
Working
of
a
negative
splits
approach,
he
completed
the
first
5km
of
the
junior
10km
race
just
outside
his
24
minute
target
in
24:11
in
the
company
of
junior
international
Ann
Loughnane
(left)
 Peter
then
increased
pace
steadily,
hitting
even
4:42
kilometer
splits
up
to
8km
before
letting
loose
a
strong
surge
over
the
closing
2km.
Completing
the
second
half
of
the
race
in
23:25
minutes,
Peter
crossed
the
line
in
47:36,
knocking
more
than
a
minute
off
his
previous
best
mark,
to
win
the
race
from
Michael
Doyle
(48:59)
and
Brendan
Boyce
(52:45).
Peter
was
delighted
with
his
early
season
form
which
he
hopes
to
build
on
in
the
New
Year
with
the
European
Racewalking
Cup
in
May
as
his
main
goal
for
2005.
Paul
Fitzpatrick
(right)
was
also
showing
the
benefit
of
some
strong
winter
training
as
he
also
knocked
chunks
off
his
3km
best
to
take
the
under
17
gold
in
15:26.
Paul
was
the
only
competitor
in
his
age
group,
however
the
group
start,
which
had
all
the
walkers
start
at
the
same
time,
gave
him
the
chance
to
work
off
some
of
the
stronger
juniors
and
seniors
to
achieve
his
new
PB.
Bernadette
Muldoon
started
the
under
17
3km
with
the
hope
of
breaking
the
19
minute
mark,
a
challenge
which
she
achieved
with
plenty
to
spare
as
she
was
helped
all
the
way
by
veteran
Bernie
O'Callaghan
who
paced
her
to
a
very
useful
time
of
18:12.
Bernadette,
like
Paul,
was
the
sole
competitor
in
her
age
group,
however
she
was
nonetheless
thrilled
to
accept
the
gold
medal.
The
younger
age
groups
saw
some
new
faces
feature
for
Shercock
-
Barbara
Ward
won
the
under
11
1km
while
team
mate
Darina
Fitzpatrick
was
third
in
the
same
race.
In
the
boys
under
13
1km
Micheal
Gargan
finished
second
and
Daniel
Muldoon
was
not
far
behind
in
third
place.
|
|
 |
|
|
| Bernie
Muldoon
pushes
for
home
at
the
end
of
her
u17
3km
race. |
Barbara
Ward
enjoys
her
racewalking
debut,
taking
first
place
in
the
under
11
1km. |
Darina
Fitzpatrick
shows
good
form
to
take
3rd
place
under
11. |
Daniel
Muldoon
keeps
up
the
family
tradition
to
finish
third
in
the
under
13
1km. |
July
11th
-
AAI
Juvenile
Championships
 The
Shercock
racewalking
squad
produced
some
sparkling
performances
at
the
Irish
juvenile
championships
in
Tullamore.
Irish
junior
champion
Peter
Muldoon
(right)
was
up
against
strong
opposition
from
Irish
schools
winner
Michael
Doyle
in
the
under
18
5000m.
In
a
classic
battle
between
the
endurance
specialist
and
the
sprint
finisher,
Peter
used
his
superior
fitness
to
hammer
out
a
relentless
pace
at
the
head
of
the
field.
After
3km
Peter
had
established
a
40m
lead,
however
rather
than
settle
for
the
gap,
he
cranked
up
the
pace
for
the
final
2km
and
the
the
gap
opened
up
further
to
over
200m
by
the
time
he
crossed
the
line
to
win
the
title.
There
was
a
double
reward
for
Peter
when
he
dipped
under
the
23
minute
mark
to
record
a
new
personal
best
of
22:57.
Doyle
struggled
in
the
closing
stages
and
was
eventually
passed
by
Milford's
Brendan
Boyce,
who
was
competing
concurrently
in
 the
under
19
age
group.
Shercock's
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
finished
cautiously
in
third
place
after
picking
up
two
warnings
on
the
first
kilometer.
Hugh's
younger
brother
Paul
Fitzpatrick
never
looked
troubled,
however,
as
he
won
the
under
16
3km
racewalk
comfortably
to
complete
a
double
of
Irish
indoor
and
outdoor
titles.
Paul
conserved
his
energy
in
the
closing
stages
as
he
was
also
competing
in
the
pole
vault
which
was
being
held
at
the
same
time.
James
Muldoon
won
his
third
medal
of
the
championships
when
he
finished
second
to
Paul
Murphy
from
Dooneen
in
the
under
17
3000m
walk.
James
and
Paul
(left)
will
represent
Ireland
at
the
schools
international
in
England
on
Saturday
following
their
performances
at
the
Tailteann
Games.
July
4th
-
AAI
Junior
&
Under
23
Championships
Peter
Muldoon
produced
his
best
10km
walk
to
date
in
Tullamore
today
when
he
set
a
new
PB
of
48:45
on
his
way
to
winning
the
Irish
junior
title.
In
the
same
event
club
mate
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
tied
up
in
the
closing
stages
after
a
strong
start
however
he
held
off
the
challenge
of
Milford's
Brendan
Boyce
to
take
the
silver
medal.
Peter
and
Hugh
are
pictured
left
with
AAI
president
Michael
Heery.
|
The
annual
Dublin
Grand
Prix
of
Racewalking
provided
a
great
day's
sport
as
leading
racewalkers
from
throughout
the
world
gathered
to
try
to
achieve
the
qualifying
times
for
the
Olympic
Games.
Shercock's
Peter
Muldoon,
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
and
Michael
Muldoon
had
less
lofty
ambitions
as
they
tackled
the
junior
international
10km
event
however
all
three
acquitted
themselves
well.
Peter
crossed
the
line
in
second
place
behind
Sweden's
Ato
Ibanez,
covering
the
distance
in
50:20
minutes,
his
second
fastest
time
for
the
event.
Hugh
got
off
to
a
slow
start
but
increased
his
pace
over
the
closing
5km,
which
he
covered
inside
his
5km
PB,
to
finish
third
in
a
new
PB
of
51:04.
The
medalists
are
pictured
above
with
AAI
President
Michael
Heery
and
Shercock
coach
John
McGeever.
Michael
Muldoon
was
attempting
to
complete
his
first
10km
race
and
was
happy
to
reach
the
finish
line
in
62:37.
Michael
was
accompanied
for
the
distance
by
Irish
veteran
racewalker
Sean
Pender
(left).
Peter
Muldoon
and
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
took
part
in
the
opening
event
(literally)
when
the
AAI
Games
were
held
at
the
new
track
in
Sligo
to
mark
its
opening
today.
Competing
in
the
5km
racewalk,
which
included
visiting
athletes
from
England
and
Germany,
Peter
finished
seventh
in
a
new
PB
of
24:22
and
Hugh
also
broke
into
new
territory
with
another
PB
of
24:57
when
finishing
eighth.
The
race
was
won
by
Ireland's
Robert
Heffernan,
who
has
already
qualified
for
the
Athens
Olympics
in
the
20km
racewalk.
May
22nd
-
International
Racewalking
Match,
Denmark
The
Cavan
team
in
the
inter
county
3x1km
racewalk
at
the
national
indoor
relay
championships
has
shown
steady
progress
in
recent
years,
finishing
third
in
2001
and
second
in
2002
&
2003.
This
year
the
team
trained
with
renewed
determination
in
the
hope
of
challenging
national
champions
Carlow
for
the
title.
The
team
was
strengthened
by
the
addition
of
James
Muldoon
to
the
experienced
pairing
of
his
brother
Peter
and
Hugh
Fitzpatrick.
The
trio
were
surprised
when
Carlow
failed
to
appear
on
the
start
line
to
defend
their
title
leaving
Bernie
O'Callaghan's
resurgent
Donegal
team
as
the
main
challenge
to
Cavan's
title
ambitions.
The
first
leg
saw
a
contrast
in
experience
as
Cavan's
youngest
walker,
James
Muldoon,
went
head
to
head
with
the
impressive
Gabriel
O'Donnell
from
Donegal
(left).
James
matched
O'Donnell
for
the
opening
laps
until
the
Donegal
man's
longer
stride
carried
him
clear
of
his
young
opponent.
James
battled
on
with
a
determined
effort
and
recorded
an
impressive
split
of
4:33
for
the
opening
kilometer
before
passing
the
batton
to
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
(right).
Hugh
set
off
in
pursuit
of
Donegal's
Nicola
Alcorn
who
had
a
50m
advantage
at
the
start
of
the
second
leg.
With
a
strong
purposeful
effort
the
Shercock
man
bore
down
on
Alcorn
and
passed
her
on
the
second
lap.
Hugh
then
set
to
work
to
increase
the
lead
as
Cavan
were
carrying
a
30
second
handicap
for
entering
an
all-male
team
instead
of
the
recommended
two
male
an
one
female
format.
At
the
end
of
the
second
leg
Hugh
passed
the
batton
to
Peter
Muldoon
having
covered
the
kilometer
in
an
impressive
time
of
4:23.
Peter
was
well
clear
of
the
rest
of
the
field
as
he
entered
the
final
leg
however
his
pace
was
as
relentless
as
it
was
effortless
as
he
cruised
around
the
indoor
circuit
with
his
characteristic
smooth
technique
to
cross
the
finish
line
well
clear
i
n
first
place
after
recording
a
very
useful
time
of
4:10
for
the
kilometer.
Cavan's
overall
time
was
13:08
to
which
the
30
second
handicap
was
added
for
an
official
total
of
13:38.
Despite
a
characteristically
strong
finish
by
Bernie
O'Callaghan
for
Donegal
he
was
unable
to
close
sufficiently
on
the
Cavan
men
who
secured
their
first
gold
at
senior
level
with
Donegal
second
and
Clare
third.
It
was
a
fitting
reward
for
four
years
hard
work
by
the
young
racealkers
from
Shercock
(right).
March
20th
-
Peter
&
Hugh
Represent
Ireland
at
Leamington
Racewalking
Grand
Prix
The
Irish
junior
championships
proved
a
rich
hunting
ground
for
Shercock's
track
and
field
athletes
as
they
returned
from
the
trip
to
Nenagh
with
four
titles
under
their
belts.
The
men's
5km
walk
proved
to
be
an
absorbing
race
as
Peter
Muldoon
moved
gradually
up
the
field
to
challenge
for
the
lead.
Peter
and
Michael
Doyle
from
Cushinstown
closed
down
a
large
gap
to
overtake
early
race
leader
Brendan
Boyce
from
Milford
and
then
battled
for
the
lead
until
Doyle
fell
foul
of
the
judges
and
was
disqualified.
Peter
was
left
out
in
front
on
his
own
and
kept
his
form
all
the
way
to
the
line
to
secure
the
title.
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
was
visibly
in
discomfort
for
much
of
the
race
due
to
blistered
feet
however
he
showed
characteristic
determination
and
eventually
worked
his
way
into
third
place
to
take
the
bronze
medal.