Drogheda ACE athletes Nugent and Cooney shine at U23 and U20 National Championships

Irish Independent

06-07-2025

Athletics
Ace AC's Maeve Reynolds in action at the Blackrock AC's beach races last Thursday.
Danny Nugent marked a major milestone in his athletic career winning bronze in the 5000m at the U23 National Championships.
Last weekend top athletes from across the country made their presence felt at the U23 and U20 National Championships, with standout performances from Ace AC's Danny Nugent and Eimear Cooney, both of whom secured national medals in their respective events.
Danny marked a major milestone in his athletic career by winning his first ever national medal in the 5000m at the U23 National Championships. At 19 years old, he clinched a hard fought bronze medal in an impressive time of 14.47.
This result is a testament to his discipline and consistent training. Due to his relatively young age, Nugent still has a few years left to compete in this category.
Danny has been an Ace AC member since he was a young child and now also trains with the Dublin Track Club. He is a perfect example of how hard work and perseverance pay off.
Meanwhile, Eimear continued to build on her impressive season securing another national medal, this time, a silver in the U20 1500m.
Fresh off her success at the U19 National Championships, where she claimed silver in the 3k, Eimear showcased her versatility in the shorter distance. Competing against older athletes, 17 year old Eimear made her move with 250 meters to go, when she surged into the lead.
In the final 50 meters she was overtaken for gold by a late push. Despite this, she finished comfortably in second, securing an impressive silver.
Eimear's performance speaks volumes about her ability to compete at the highest level, even when faced with older athletes.
In other results, U19 Shea O'Donnell competed in the U20 1500m, narrowly missing out on a national medal after finishing in an agonizing fourth place.
The race was decided by just hundredths of a second, with Shea giving a strong performance in a sprint finish.
Racing against older athletes, Shea showed tremendous promise and he will be hoping for an even better result next week, when he competes in his own age category at the All-Ireland finals.
Additionally one of the club's most successful athletes over the past few years has been Neil Culhane.
Neil faced a tough field in the U23 men's 800m. After qualifying for the final finishing second to Nick Griggs earlier in the day, he raced hard but ultimately finished outside the medal positions in the final. It was still a solid performance against some of the country's top middle distance runners.
In other Ace AC news, some of the younger Ace AC athletes competed in very poor condition in the annual Blackrock beach Races last Thursday with some good performances.
Medals were awarded to the top six in each race. In the U10 race, Cathryn Cumming was fourth in the girls race while Ruairi Cooney was sixth in the boys U12 race, while Hannah Black, Sophie Black, Finn Murphy, Maeve Reynolds, Aidan O'Connor, Muireann Chamass and Adam Cumming all competed well.
Meanwhile Ace AC's Angela Kearney and daughter Maeve Nolan successfully completed the Achill half marathon over the weekend.
Overall the future looks bright for Ace AC and we can expect even more success from these young stars in the seasons to come.