On a balmy evening in Dublin sent straight from the running gods, Andrew Coscoran turned up the heat to win the headline mile race at the Morton Games in Santry, just holding off Cathal Doyle in a frantic, homestretch duel.
Coscoran, the Irish mile record holder, kicked for home with 200m to go, holding on to win in a meeting record of 3:51.12, Doyle just a half stride behind in 3:51.26, with Darragh McElhinney also smashing his lifetime best when clocking 3:51.99 for third. Nick Griggs had to settle for fourth despite running 3:52.42.
Cian McPhillips made the absolute most of the perfect conditions, running a Morton Stadium and Irish all-comers 800m record of 1:44.19, this time judging his run to perfection to nail the win and smash his previous best of 1:45.33 in the process. He’s now the second fastest Irishman after Mark English.
“I’ve been working towards that for a long time now,” said 23-year-old McPhillips, who missed out on recent years with injury. “Delighted with that, but conditions were so good, so very happy with that.”
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Poland’s Maciej Wyderka had kicked early for home but had to settle for second in 1:44.40 – McPhillips simply unstoppable once into the homestretch.
It was a near perfect evening for one-lap running too, although a little breezy, Sharlene Mawdsley a class apart when winning the women’s 400m in 51.61 seconds, a meeting record, timing her season well it would appear with the World Championships in Tokyo still two months away.
“To win in front of a home crowd, with my family up there (in the stand), is a very special feeling,” she said. “I’m glad I committed from the gun, and thankfully I held on. And this weather, in Ireland, wow, it’s great to have that here too.”
Elian Larregina from Argentina clocked the fastest ever 400m on Irish soil when winning the men’s event in 45.08, with 17-year-old Conor Kelly again lowering the Irish under-20 record with an excellent 45.85 in fourth – breaking the 46-second barrier for the first time.
Israel Olatunde also continued his fine form, delighting the home crowd when winning the 100m in 10.20 seconds, although the wind reading was over the limit at +2.3 m/s. For the 23-year-old, coming back within sight of his Irish record of 10.12, it took nothing from the winning feeling.
Jack O’Leary was delighted with a new lifetime best of 13:22.67, finishing fourth in the 5,000m. Valentin Soca from Uruguay the winner in 13:18.22.
