Another weekend and three more national senior indoor records on an incredible night of athletics at the Millrose Games in New York, which also included two new world marks.
Andrew Coscoran, Sarah Healy and Mark English all wrote, or re-wrote, their names in the annals of Irish athletics at a meeting which had Longford man Ray Flynn as director.
However, it was Eamonn Coghlan’s former indoor world record mark of 3:49.78 that Coscoran bettered by more than half a second.
The 28-year-old Balbriggan man finished seventh in the Wanamaker Mile with a 3:49.26 timing behind Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Yared Nuguse of the USA, who set a new global mark of 3:46.63.
It was the second national mark for Coscoran in a week after his indoor 3000m record of 7:30.75 in Boston.
It was also a second national 3000m record for Healy who clocked a time of 8:30.79 to finish third behind American Whittni Morgan (8:28.03).
The 23-year-old Dubliner had run 8:35.19 at the same meeting as Coscoran in Boston the previous weekend and impressively moved past Australia’s Olympic 1500m silver medallist Jessica Hull to snatch third in the closing metres.
Donegal man Mark English (31) made it a trio of national records when he took almost a second off his own mark, finishing fourth in the 800m and stopping the clock at 1:45.15.
The race was won by Josh Hoey in an American record of 1:43.90.
Another American, Grant Fisher, set a second world record of the night in the 3000m with a time of 7:22.91.
Meanwhile, three Irish athletes were in action at the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor in France.
Jodie McCann ran a massive personal best to finish sixth in the women’s 1500m in 4:09.18.
Sharlene Mawdsley finished second overall in the women’s 400m. The Tipperary athlete won her heat in 51.86 but Lieke Klaver of The Netherlands ran faster in the other race clocking 51.70 seconds.
Darragh McElhinney was sixth in the 3000m in a time of 7:45.25.
On Friday night Cathal Doyle recorded his fastest 1500m indoor time of 3:37.56 finishing fourth in Karlsruhe while in Valencia Louise Shanahan was fifth in the 800m (2:04.46) and Tyrone’s Roisin Flanagan eighth in the 3000m (9:03.46).
At home, Omagh Harrier Eoin Mullan was runner-up in the National Masters Cross Country Championships in Westport behind Colm Rooney from Clonliffe Harriers.
Conan McCaughey was first M35 in third and led North Belfast Harriers to team bronze.
Inishowen also took bronze medals in the over-50 team race while City of Derry Spartans went one place better in the women’s over-50.
Leevale Clonliffe Harrier Helen Butterly won the women’s Intermediate title while Abaas Adam Edris from Castlegar AC in Galway was the Intermediate men’s champion.
On Saturday, Jimmy Sloan was the first man home in the Civil Service Cross Country at Stormont, leading Annadale Striders to a facile men’s team victory.
Similarly, 16-year-old Emily Morris took the honours in the women’s race with her club Willowfield emerging as team winners.
