Project 400 might have narrowly failed to qualify a 4*400m team for the Olympics but they will be abled represented by David Gillick in the individual 400m race.
David enters the race as the 3rd fastest European this season and Project 400 would like to wish him and all the Irish team the best of luck.
Dave starts his campaign at 9.00am on Monday morning (Beijing time).
Gordon Kennedy took his and club Tullamore Harrier’s first gold medal at the National Track and Field Championships on Sunday.
(Image from www.athleticsireland.ie)
Running an agressive race from lane 3, Kennedy lead all the way to the line, taking the victory in 46.90 on a very windy day in Santry. Gordon was pushed closely by the 3 Brians (Brian Doyle, 47.17; Brian Gregan, 47.43, Brian Murphy 47.52). Project 400’s newest member Nick Hogan finished 5th in 48.90.
Video coverage of the Woodies DIY National Athletics Championships, which was broadcast live is available on the RTE Website
In other action this weekend, Paul McKee recorded an excellent season’s best of 46.17 while placing 2nd in Barcelona on Saturday night. David Gillick had to withdraw from his chosen 200m with a slight injury.
Congratulations to Brian Gregan on a superb performance in the World Junior Final this evening.
Running in lane 9, Brian got out well and ran a great last 60m to take fifth place (in a new National Junior Record of 46.60)
Update: Unfortunately Brian was disqualified for running out of his lane, so while the time is voided it was nevertheless a great performance.
Brian Gregan is through to tonight’s World Junior Final in Bydgoszcz in the 400m. Last night’s second place in his semi final in 46.88 saw him progress through to the final as an automatic qualifier.
Brian will run from lane 8 tonight and will be looking for a new personal best in what looks to be a very competitive final. British Eurosport will be covering the evening session of the World Junior’s tonight so tune in and cheer on Brian.
All the lads in Project400 want to wish all our Juniors competing in Poland the very best of luck.
Flying high in Sweden
Gordon Kennedy and Brian Murphy were both in action today in the Folksham GP in Sollentuna, Sweden. Ranked fourth and sixth respectively on the Irish rankings this year, the boys battled well. Taking on a top class field, Gordon led most of the way to be just pipped on the line, coming second in a time of 47.04. Brian, running on the outside lane, ran a brave race and came back to grab third place in a time of 47.73 which was a little outside his SB (47.45) that he set in Wicklow last week.
Brian Gregan through to semi final
Running in the World Juniors Championships today, Brian excelled himself winning his heat in 47.32. This was a crucial move in terms of the lane draw as Brian will now have the enviable position of lane 3 when he takes to the line for his semi-final in the morning. The very best of luck to him in his semi-final.
Gordon Kennedy was racing in the Lugano GP in Switzerland on Friday evening. Running on the outside lane he got off to a sluggish start which cost him dearly in the home straight but still managed to finish strong, claiming fourth in a time of 46.91, his second fastest time this year.
This was the first of 4 races lined up over the next 8 days for Gordon.
Next race will be in Sollentuna Sweden on Tuesday night.
We got the bad news this morning that the 4*400m relay in the Salamanca Grand Prix on Wednesday night has been cancelled.
As things currently stand there are no additional qualification opportunities on the IAAF list. To say we are upset would be an understatement, but we will do what we can to see if another attempt can be made in another meet.
Paul McKee will be running in the individual 400m race at the Grand Prix.
“You control what you can control and don’t worry about things you can’t control”.
It might be the first rule of sports psychology but it was of little consolation for what happened last weekend.
Sunday’s 3:04.43 was a case of controlling all that could be controlled. It was a fantastic run which belies the time recorded. It was a focused, driven, team performance and despite our best efforts we were undone by what we couldn’t control - The Wind.
400m runners thrive on still days and favour a wind that blows down the back straight. What we got was a wind blowing down the home straight up 5.0 m/s. The 40m plus margin of victory was worthy of a top 16 team in the world. What it left us at the end of the day was an average of 18th position. 1/100th of second behind 17th place and less than 2/10ths of a second behind the crucial 16th spot. The day highlighted the inequity of the current relay qualification system where other teams improved their times in other races with superior competition and more favourable weather conditions.
We would like to thank everyone for their messages of support prior to the qualification attempts.
Brian Gregan equaled the Irish junior 400m record today when he finished third in the 400m in Mannheim, Germany in a time of 46:70.
The record was set back in 2000 by project400’s very own Gordon Kennedy. Gordon and the rest of the project400 team send their congratulations to Brian on his superb achievement. (more…)
Both David Gillick and Paul McKee were in action in the Golden Spike tour in Ostrava tonight.
Running from the unfavourable lane 8, David produced a fantastic last 100 to get up for a clear 2nd place in a season’s best equalling 45.65.
Paul lined up in the seldom run 300m alongside training partner and Irish 200m record holder Paul Hession and World 400m Champion Jeremy Wariner. Paul finished in 4th place in a personal best 33.33 while Hession claimed a fantastic new Irish record of 32.47.
The boys will travel on to Namur to meet up with the rest of the team to make their first qualification attempt at the 4*400m.