Schools’ Combined Events International
Last Saturday Ireland hosted the Schools’ Combined Events International for the first time in Athlone International Indoor Arena. U16 & U18 boys & girls teams, each with 4 athletes, from Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland competed in a pentathlon. Diarmuid O’Connor competed for the U16 team and exceeded all expectations by scoring PB’s and CR’s in all his 5 events resulting in a new points record as well. No doubt inspired by the occasion, he topped his team. All of them doing very well making it into the top 10, and being rewarded with a silver team medal behind England. The only fly in the ointment was that Diarmuid missed out on an individual bronze medal by a cruel 2 points, or less than 0.1 sec in the 800m. While he won his 800m heat, with the best placed athletes after 4 events in it, somebody in another heat ran the fastest 800m of the day in 2 min. flat turning the tables. But be like that Cork race walker who used his disappointment of coming 4th in the Olympics to become a world champion. To improve all your events by such margins is an admirable achievement. So big congrats to Diarmuid!
Report by Frank Stam

AAI website review of the event : http://www.athleticsireland.ie/news/silver-lining-for-ireland-at-schools-combined-events

Results: http://www.athleticsireland.ie/downloads/eshop/Final_-_CE_Int_2016_Scores_U16_BOYS.pdf