There was a good night for Irish 4 x 400 relay running on Wednesday night when both u20 teams qualified for this summer's European u20 Championship in Italy. The women's team qualified and broke the Irish record. That was achieved without the #1 and #2 ranked athletes (at the time) who were unavailable. The quartet of Ciara Deely, Ellie O'Toole, Nicole King and Davicia Patterson guided by their team coach, David McCarthy, acquitted themselves very well. Nicole King in particular ran a 55.28 split (using Dartfish), excellent considering her PB is 56.47.
Two key components to a strong relay programme are strength in depth and athletes who always seem to run well when given a baton. The last Irish relay team to qualify for an Olympics (and only the 4th ever) was the women's 4 x 400 team in London 2012 and they had depth and excellent relay runners. Granted they had a 'once in a generation' in Joanne Cuddihy to spearhead it all but it was a great team.
The Class of 2012 built slowly to that achievement. Four years prior to the London Games, the average SB of the Top 4 was 53.36. By the time they ran in London in 2012 it was 52.90. The Top 6 average in 2008 was 53.94 and in 2012 it was 53.24
How does that compare to the Class of 2020 and the women looking for Tokyo qualification?
Last year, four years prior to Tokyo the Top 4 average was 53.50 and the Top 6 was 53.86. So, they are close and relatively on track but need a big push over the next 12 months. With an Olympic relay qualification there are some significant qualification checkpoints. First of those will be the 2018 European Championships in Berlin. This will be an opportunity for a relay team to post a very fast time and qualify for the 2019 World Championships. Competing at the 2019 World Championships will more than likely allow a team run a very fast time which can then count for qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games. Missing a checkpoint puts a programme massively on the backfoot. Granted there are some other options like World Relays but performances at preceeding major championships seems the best route.
There are some positive signs that depth is building and that there is a migration to the event from shorter sprints. Phil Healy won the Irish Indoors this year after a focused move from 100 and 200. Sharlene Mawdsley ran 53.99 at the Irish Schools. Sinead Denny ran an Irish lead in Geneva yesterday. Catherine McManus ran a massive PB (54.36) in Belfast yesterday and Davicia Patterson, only 16 years old, ran 54.50 to go #4 on the European Youth Lists in the same race. Jenna Bromell (54.06) and Sophie Becker (54.62) both have the European U23 standard for the event. Grainne Moynihan ran 54.09 in Santry in a monsoon three weeks ago. Claire Mooney ran 2:04, a PB, over 800m in Oordegem last month. Christine McMahon had a 54.10 split when helping the u20 squad qualify last Wednesday. Mollie O' Reilly and Ciara Deely both have European U20 qualification strandards. Ciara McCallion is still competing and will be in the mix once fully fit. The remaining survivor from 2012, Jessie Barr, still hasn't gone away and will also be a huge force once healthy. 200m specialist, Cliodhna Manning, has dabbled in 400m and shows huge potential there. There may be more we don't even know about.
So coaches, look at the long game, if you all work together and come together there could be a very exciting end game at the end of all this in 2020 in Tokyo. Paul McKee, lead coach for the 4 x 400 programme, will welcome any athlete and coach willing to go on the journey.
Two key components to a strong relay programme are strength in depth and athletes who always seem to run well when given a baton. The last Irish relay team to qualify for an Olympics (and only the 4th ever) was the women's 4 x 400 team in London 2012 and they had depth and excellent relay runners. Granted they had a 'once in a generation' in Joanne Cuddihy to spearhead it all but it was a great team.
The Class of 2012 built slowly to that achievement. Four years prior to the London Games, the average SB of the Top 4 was 53.36. By the time they ran in London in 2012 it was 52.90. The Top 6 average in 2008 was 53.94 and in 2012 it was 53.24
How does that compare to the Class of 2020 and the women looking for Tokyo qualification?
Last year, four years prior to Tokyo the Top 4 average was 53.50 and the Top 6 was 53.86. So, they are close and relatively on track but need a big push over the next 12 months. With an Olympic relay qualification there are some significant qualification checkpoints. First of those will be the 2018 European Championships in Berlin. This will be an opportunity for a relay team to post a very fast time and qualify for the 2019 World Championships. Competing at the 2019 World Championships will more than likely allow a team run a very fast time which can then count for qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games. Missing a checkpoint puts a programme massively on the backfoot. Granted there are some other options like World Relays but performances at preceeding major championships seems the best route.
There are some positive signs that depth is building and that there is a migration to the event from shorter sprints. Phil Healy won the Irish Indoors this year after a focused move from 100 and 200. Sharlene Mawdsley ran 53.99 at the Irish Schools. Sinead Denny ran an Irish lead in Geneva yesterday. Catherine McManus ran a massive PB (54.36) in Belfast yesterday and Davicia Patterson, only 16 years old, ran 54.50 to go #4 on the European Youth Lists in the same race. Jenna Bromell (54.06) and Sophie Becker (54.62) both have the European U23 standard for the event. Grainne Moynihan ran 54.09 in Santry in a monsoon three weeks ago. Claire Mooney ran 2:04, a PB, over 800m in Oordegem last month. Christine McMahon had a 54.10 split when helping the u20 squad qualify last Wednesday. Mollie O' Reilly and Ciara Deely both have European U20 qualification strandards. Ciara McCallion is still competing and will be in the mix once fully fit. The remaining survivor from 2012, Jessie Barr, still hasn't gone away and will also be a huge force once healthy. 200m specialist, Cliodhna Manning, has dabbled in 400m and shows huge potential there. There may be more we don't even know about.
So coaches, look at the long game, if you all work together and come together there could be a very exciting end game at the end of all this in 2020 in Tokyo. Paul McKee, lead coach for the 4 x 400 programme, will welcome any athlete and coach willing to go on the journey.
We have a mindset in Ireland when we compete as a team in relays that we will achieve. Many athletes perform at a much higher level than they would in an individual event. Every coach should be encouraged to progress their charges this way. An avenue that develops confidence. Well done to the coaches.
ReplyDeleteLiam O Reilly