Mooney sets new record as Donegan competes among elite

Offaly athlete Laura Mooney raced to a new Irish Under-23 record in the 10,000m when competing in the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina last week.

The depth of distance running by Irish athletes at present is such that Laura only held on to that new record for a few hours as Anika Thompson broke it in a race in California a few hours later.

Laura’s time of 33:00.20 was over 23 seconds faster than her previous personal best of 33:23.95, which itself was an Irish record.

Cappincur native Mooney had committed to the fast pace right from the start and went through 5000m in 16:35.

She continued to grind out the laps in the second half of the race and was always on for a PB. However, in the final two laps she was able to pick up the pace significantly and ran 2:30 for the last 800m to finish 11th in a very competitive field.

Laura now moves to 20th on the Irish all time list and is excited for the season ahead. She looks forward to more races with the Providence College squad in the USA before returning to Ireland for the national seniors in June.

Tullamore Harriers AC, the club which Laura has represented with distinction on many occasions, has congratulated the US-based athlete on her performance.

Meanwhile, Tullamore Harriers athlete Danielle Donegan put in a very impressive performance at the World Cross Country Championships at Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday last.

Wearing the Irish vest for the first time in the senior ranks, Danielle was up against ferocious competition among the world's best senior athletes.

The 10,000-metre race was on a course that was a far cry from what Danielle, and indeed many of the participants, would be used to when racing in cross country competition. In sweltering temperatures, the ground was very solid for the most part, making for a fast but very testing and energy sapping run.

Danielle thrives in the muckier underfoot conditions but should be extremely proud of her performance to finish in 65th position. The other Irish competitor, Fiona Everard of Bandon AC finished just ahead of Danielle in 63rd place.

Race favourite Beatrice Chebet was the winner with Lilian Kasait Rengeruk second and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi third. All three are Kenyan athletes.