Longford athletes enjoy great success at the European Masters Championships

It’s been a week to remember for three Longford women at the European Masters Athletics Championships in Poland. Held in the city of Toruń, the event primarily comprised indoor competition but also included road running and cross-country.

Fiona Gettings had a busy few days beginning on Sunday last when winning a silver medal in the W45 category of the 5km. In a closely contested road race, Fiona showed her strength to clock 17:48. Having then won her indoor 800 metres heat on Monday, she lined up in Tuesday evening’s final and a great sprint to the finish earned her second place for another silver medal win.

Taking in Wednesday’s cross-country race was Ashley Ryan who, like Fiona, also competes for Longford Athletics Club. The energy-sapping 8km event was held in a park next to the indoor arena with Ashley putting in a superb run to win a bronze medal in the W35 category. She was in a close battle to the end with a Polish athlete and displayed good endurance to ensure her spot on the podium.

There was further local interest with Edel Maguire (née Kilemade) who enjoyed much success in the past when competing as a juvenile in the Longford vest. A member now of Dublin club Clonliffe Harriers, she is one of Ireland’s leading master athletes winning international titles, setting multiple national records as well as a 400m age category world record.

This week, Edel added a further medal haul to that list of accolades with a trio of golds in the W65 sprint events (60m, 200m, 400m) and a silver in the high jump. 

Congratulations to the three ladies on their medal winning exploits in the Irish singlet!

Concluding on Thursday, the European Master Athletics Indoor Championships is a week-long event for entrants aged 35 and upwards. A wide range of competitions saw entrants from 52 different countries including 150 Irish athletes.