Girl Power: Longford ladies blaze triumphant trail

Five talented and dedicated Longford women triumphed and enjoyed wonderful success in their respective fields during the weekend in three very different sporting arenas.

Clare Farrell, the lead performance nutritionist with Arne Slot's Liverpool FC, certainly had a memorable day last Sunday.

She hugged and embraced backroom staff and players as they celebrated winning the English Premier League and sang the club's anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' with fans in front of the Kop End at Anfield.

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The Longford Slashers All-Ireland intermediate club championship medal winner joined Liverpool FC as lead performance nutritionist in the summer of 2024 working with the men's senior team at their AXA Training Centre.

Her role oversees nutrition strategies at the club to support the players' health, performance and recovery around training and matches.

Her dad JJ Farrell said the family and her friends and former teammates are absolutely delighted for her.
"We're all very proud of her in Longford and at Slashers.

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"It's fantastic for her, she is a really hard worker behind the scenes and they appreciate that," he added.

Clare also works with members of the Liverpool FC squad on a one-on-one basis to individualise their training and game-day fuelling and recovery.

Prior to joining the new Premier League champions, Clare, lined out for Longford Slashers and Longford inter-county player as an accomplished player.

She was formerly the lead performance nutritionist with the Munster Rugby men's team and was part of a successful 2023 season, which yielded a URC (United Rugby Championship) title.

Elsewhere, there was further glory when Nikki Glynn was crowned Calisthenics World Champion last weekend.

The Longford town woman achieved glory in the strength training discipline that uses body weight as resistance to build strength, muscle mass, and endurance.

Nikki, from Ardnacassa, was one of almost 300 calisthenics athletes from all over the world who competed in Sofia, Bulgaria and she received lots of messages of congratulations.

The talented athlete did her county and country proud when she achieved first place and became Female Veteran Power World Champion.

A delighted Nikki, who was supported in Sofia by her husband Keith, also finished in a very credible third place in the Female Veteran Strength and Endurance category.

She posted a heartfelt message on social media where she described her emotions and she thanked all of her supporters.

"I just wanted to say a massive thank you to every single person who has reached out to congratulate me on (Sunday's) wins and performances at the World Championships.

"I have been absolutely blown away by the level of support, encouragement and love from you all over the last few months.
Thank you, honestly, from the bottom of my heart," she added.

Nikki, who lives in Dublin, stated she was taking a well deserved holiday in Bulgaria following her exploits.

The new World Champion also described how she felt incredibly lucky to have had so much support on this 'rollercoaster of a journey'.

"The past year of blood sweat and tears has all been worth it," she concluded.

There was more success as the Longford Athletics Club trio of Michelle McGee, Fiona Gettings and Ashley Ryan combined superbly to win the masters women’s three-person relay last weekend.

The Longford women performed fantastically at the annual Athletics Ireland championship event in Raheny, Dublin on Sunday afternoon.

Running the one mile first leg of the relay was Michelle who was making a very welcome return to National Championship racing having enjoyed past cross-country successes.

She showed her speed to ensure Longford had the lead before handing over to Fiona on the second leg.

A multiple time medal winner at recent masters road, track and cross-country championships; Fiona showed her strength to open up a sizable advantage at the front during her two-mile leg of the relay.

Running the final leg for Longford was Ashley who has already won medals this year at cross country and indoor championships.

She powered her way around her one-mile relay leg to further extend the lead before crossing the finish line in first place with 22:00 on the clock.

A fantastic collective display with the ladies’ team time almost one minute quicker than that of runners-up Sportsworld AC which included Longford native Lorna Quinn in their ranks.

Longford’s Gold medal success in the F35+ category was notable as it was the first time a senior team from the county has ever won a national title at an athletics championship either on the road, track or cross country.