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Three Ulstermen called into Ireland squad for Antwerp trip

Three Ulstermen called into Ireland squad for Antwerp trip

Belfast Telegraph19 hours ago

Johnny McKee has been called into the squad for the first time since the Paris Olympics for the trip to Antwerp, where Ireland will face hosts Belgium, Australia and Spain twice each.
McKee will be joined in the squad by fellow Banbridge man Luke Witherow and Lisnagarvey's Jonny Lynch. YMCA's Sam Hyland also joins the panel for the six-match block of fixtures.
Coach Mark Tumilty said: 'We have four new players coming into the squad for Antwerp. The team have worked hard this year on their physical condition and should be ready for the challenges over the next ten days.'
Ireland have struggled to compete in the elite division, which features the world's top nine international teams. The Green Machine have lost nine and drawn one of their ten fixtures so far.
Ireland will face Belgium on Saturday and Sunday. Next up is a double header with Australia on Tuesday June 17 and Wednesday June 17, with all four games set to start at 2.30pm BST.
Tumilty's team then face Spain on Saturday June 21 and Sunday June 22, with pushback for both matches at 9.30pm.

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Eilish McColgan: I've run a marathon, now I feel pressure-free
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The National

timean hour ago

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Eilish McColgan: I've run a marathon, now I feel pressure-free

Firstly, she can finally call herself a marathon runner. And secondly, she'll almost certainly never tackle a marathon that challenges her as much as her debut did. McColgan has a stellar record on both the track and the road, but having decided she was going to move up to the marathon, it took her literally years to reach the start line. A number of injuries, including knee surgery in late-2023, served to delay and further delay her marathon debut. But finally, at the London Marathon in April of this year, McColgan ran her first marathon. And from almost the second she crossed the finish line, a wave of relief crashed over McColgan and she's spent the past weeks basking in a pressure-free state that she's never before experienced in the entirety of her decade-long elite career. 'This is the first time in my career I'm in no rush to get back into things. 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I knew it was going to be a very long slog, and it was made even harder given I was running by myself because I had never visualised doing the whole race solo. 'I definitely had moments of thinking of stopping. From halfway, I had cramp in my right quad so in my head I was just telling myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 'So I honestly don't think I'll ever run a marathon that feels as hard as that again. 'It wasn't until I got in that last half mile stretch heading on to the Mall that I actually believed I was going to be able to finish.' Despite her struggles throughout the two-and-a-half hours of the race, though, McColgan admits her first marathon experience was something she'll treasure. Despite having raced on the biggest stages of them all - she's a four-time Olympian and produced one of the most memorable moments of the Commonwealth Games in 2022 when she won 10,000m gold - the experience and the atmosphere of her debut marathon was, she admits, unique. 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'I've been trying to get on the start line of a marathon for two years and it had never happened so of course there was a little bit of doubt in my own mind wondering if it's going to happen,' she says. 'So, on reflection, I'm really proud of finishing it because it would have been much easier to have called it a day early doors.' There is, unsurprisingly, a number of things McColgan will take from her run in London into her upcoming training, and into future marathons. The Scot will focus almost exclusively on the road going forwards and while she remains uncertain quite when her next marathon appearance will be, she's sure of what she wants to achieve on her hermit outing over 26.2 miles. 'Sub 2 hours 20 minutes is a big goal - that's when you start becoming more competitive and giving yourself a chance of being on the podium at the major marathons,' she says. 'I definitely feel like 2:20 could potentially be the next step for me given how tough London felt so next time, if I could feel normal until halfway, I think that would make a big difference to me and to my time. 'I don't know exactly where my next marathon will be but the great thing is there's a major marathon every few weeks so if I aim for Berlin but amn't quite ready, I can push it back to New York or Chicago or even London next year. 'So I feel like I'm in a great position.'

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