After delivering on the country's expectations as much as his own Mark English has been named athlete of the year for 2014, perfectly rounding off his breakthrough season which saw him win the bronze medal over 800 metres at the European Championships in Zurich last August.
English was one of several athletes recognised for their achievements in 2014 at the Athletics Ireland awards in Dublin, and indeed the Donegal runner also picked up the best track and field athlete award.
That English won his first championship medal not long after turning 21, in a loaded championship field, suggests there is plenty more to come, and his performance in the Letzigrund Stadium last August certainly reflected that. It wasn’t gold, and for a while it looked like silver, but in winning European bronze - in what was his first championship final as a senior athlete - he also delivered on his obvious running and tactical talents which first shone during his schoolboy days in Donegal.
His time of 1:45.03 also equalled his season’s best, with victory going to Adam Kszczot from Poland, twice a European Indoor champion. Nor are these European medals are easy to come by: in 80 years of these championships, Irish athletes had only ever won 12 medals, and nearly half of those belong to Sonia O’Sullivan.
Endurance award
Fionnuala Britton from Wicklow was named endurance athlete of the year after her two top-10 finishes in Zurich: eighth in the 10,000m, and then 10th in the marathon in what was also her debut over the classic 26 miles, 385 yards. The junior athlete of the year award went to Karl Griffin, also from Donegal, who reached the 800m semi-finals at the World Junior Championships, running a personal best of 1.47.44.
The team performance of the year award went to the Irish men's 4x400m relay team, who broke the Irish record when making the final of the European Championships, while the inspirational performance of the year went to Thomas Barr, who twice broke the Irish record over the 400m hurdles, and also beat then reigning World Champion at the Morton Games in Santry in July.
Hall of fame
Two former athletes were also recognised: Frank Murphy won the hall of fame award, 45 years after winning the silver medal over 1,500m at the 1969 European championships, while the lifetime achievement award went to Phil Conway, who went on to coach several national champions in the throwing events.
The awards also featured a belated medal ceremony, as Roisin McGettigan was presented with the bronze medal over 1,500m now due to her from the 2009 European Indoor Championships in Turin. McGettigan had finished a close fourth on the day, but Russia’s gold medal winner Anna Alminova has since been disqualified for doping offences, and with that the Wicklow athlete was automatically promoted to bronze.
The European Athletics federation, recognising the increasing number of retrospective bans, made a replacement bronze medal available, an exact replica of what was presented over five years ago. McGettigan, now retired, flew back from her US home especially for the medal ceremony.
Athletics Ireland 2014 National Award Winners:
Athlete of the Year: Mark English
Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Mark English
Endurance Athlete of the Year: Fionnuala Britton
Junior Athlete of the Year: Karl Griffin
Emerging Athlete of the Year: Christine McMahon
Team Performance of the Year: Irish Men’s 4x400m Team
Inspirational Performance of the Year: Thomas Barr
Mountain Runner of the Year: Sarah McCormack
Master Athlete of the Year: Brian Lynch
Ultra Runner of the Year: John O’Regan
Male University Athlete of the Year: John Travers
Female University Athlete of the Year: Maria O’Sullivan
Lifetime Achievement: Phil Conway
Hall of Fame: Frank Murphy
Outstanding Coach Award: Michael Lane
Development Club of the Year: Dunboyne AC
Club of the Year: Leevale
