🌟Ratoath AC Claim Bronze at European U20 Club Championships DNA IV🌟

Our club travelled to Leiria, Portugal last weekend to proudly represented Ireland at the European U20 Club Championships aka Dynamic New Athletics IV, bringing home a superb bronze medal in a highly competitive field. The event was held at the Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium Leiria, and featured the innovative Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) format, which delivers a fast-paced, tactical and exciting twist to track and field.

The DNA format is very different from traditional athletics. It emphasises team competition, head-to-head matchups in the field events with a little bit of High jump poker and fast moving scheduling where every performance counts and team strategy is vital. This year’s competition saw 10 mixed teams of 18 athletes each, with two 2.5-hour matches per club and only one event taking place at a time. Day 1 consisted of two matches with the top three from each advancing to the A final on Day 2. Points were scored from 2 to 12 in each of the disciplines, before everything came down to the last event, The Hunt. In the hunt, every single point difference between teams after the first 11 events was converted into a time handicap, with one point equal to 0.33 seconds. This created staggered starts for the Hunt relay and the intensity is ramped up as the first team to cross the line is crowned champions.

On Day 1 we were drawn in Match 2 against Sporting Portugal, SK Elite (Estonia), Blackheath & Bromley (GBR) and Alcorcón (Spain). Our team rose to the challenge brilliantly, producing strong performances across the programme. One of many highlights came in the Hunt Race, where we stormed to victory by nearly five seconds, securing the top spot in the match and a coveted place in the A final.

On Sunday evening the stage was set for the final where the top six clubs battled it out: Rieti (Italy), Skoda (Czech Republic), Sporting Portugal, SK Elite (Estonia), Metz (France) and Ratoath AC. We knew the competition level would be high, we went in carrying a few injuries and niggles, but this wasn’t going to dull the determination of the team as the squad rallied together and our athletes delivered another day of strong team performances, gaining valuable points in each event to put us in medal contention heading into the Hunt.

We started the Hunt in third place, nine seconds behind Skoda of the Czech Republic. Our quartet showed incredible grit and determination, cutting the gap to just below six seconds. As Italy came through to win gold, our athletes held their composure holding off the chasing teams to secure a well-deserved bronze, a fantastic improvement on last year’s sixth-place finish. This was superb racing from our Hunt team of Aisling Shevlin (600m), Cillian Conway (400m), Katie Doherty (200m) and Bobby More (800m).

Ratoath AC Results for the A Final:

4x400m Mixed Relay: 3rd, James Kelly, Niamh Murphy, Saoirse Carrigan, Cillian Conway

Shot Put: 3rd, Enya Silkena

100m Hurdles: 3rd, Enya Silkena

110m Hurdles: 3rd, Ethan Dewhirst

Long Jump: 6th, Daniel De Antolín Rodriguez

800m: 2nd, Lily Flood

400m Hurdles: 2nd, Ethan Dewhirst

High Jump: 3rd, Enya Silkena

100m: 2nd, Katie Doherty

Javelin: 6th, Seán O’Sullivan

200m: 4th, Jesse Osas

The Hunt: 3rd overall, Aisling Shevlin, Cillian Conway, Katie Doherty, Bobby More

Our team reserves: Joy Osas, Tara O’Connor, Olivia Ryan, Dillon Rowland and Jason Murray. 

The bronze medal represents a historic achievement for our club at European level and showcases the depth of talent and commitment across our squad. With 18 athletes, coaches Siobhéal Murray, Peter Doherty, Hugh Kelly and Sinéad McGoldrick, our physio Rachel Doherty and our Child Welfare Officer Joanne Kelly all making the journey, this was a team effort that highlights the progress and dedication within our club over recent years. 

We would like to thank AthleticsIreland , Athletics Leinster and Meath Athletics, who all donated to the costs of the trip and helped make this opportunity possible. A special thank you also to 123.ie who kindly sponsored our club t-shirts for the final.

📸Sinéad McGoldrick. 

A Massive thank you also to European Athletics for a fantastic event and to the LOC of Juventude Vidigalense who looked after us all so well. 

Full details : https://dna.run/leiria/ Youtube link: 3hr:15 for the start of the A Final 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOi8UPyvXgM&t=11730s

Well done to our team of 24 you were amazing. 👊👏💙💛🇮🇪🏆