Latest news with #GabrielaDeBuesStafford
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
DeBues-Stafford stars at Belfast Irish Milers Meet
Canada's two-time Olympian Gabriela DeBues-Stafford produced an outstanding performance at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet to win the women's 3,000m race in a time of 8: finished fifth in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and holds six Canadian national outdoor and indoor records over distances ranging from 1500m to 29-year-old was paced through the first 800m but then had to run on her own the rest of the way and looked full of energy in the closing stages as she opened a gap of almost 200 metres on the battle for second athlete Ide Nic Dhomhnaill finished second in 9:12.63 after a close battle with Cork's Fiona Everand (9:13.38) at the Mary Peters Track. DeBues-Stafford will now set her sights on making her third World Championships in Tokyo later this year hoping to better her finish of sixth in the 2019 1500m final in Doha. The Belfast Irish Milers Meet is regarded as one of the best in Ireland but many of the regular visitors to the annual event were missing this year because of the clash with the World Relays in among the other notable performances, Cork's Darragh McElhinney won the men's 1500m in 3:37.86 which was just 0.14 outside of his personal best. Two-time Irish indoor champion, Katie Bergin, took the women's 200m in 24.35 while Sale Harriers runner Tess McHugh set a new personal best of 52.62 in winning the women's 400m. Ireland qualify for world mixed relay final A brilliant final leg from Sharlene Mawdsley helped Ireland qualify for the World Championships in Tokyo in August in the 4x400m mixed two places available in the heats at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, the Irish quartet of Conor Kelly, Rhasidat Adeleke, Cillin Greene and Mawdsley finished second behind the who took the bronze medal at these championships a year ago, were also the fourth fastest qualifiers for Sunday's race quickly turned into a battle between the USA, Poland and Ireland with Kelly, Adeleke and Greene putting Mawdsley in a position to challenge for second the home straight she passed the experienced Polish runner Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and comfortably held on to claim second behind the United Rachel McCann ran the third leg for Ireland in the women's 4x400m relay heats. Along with Sophie Becker, Lauren Cadden and Phil Healy, the Irish were third behind South Africa and Baird from Antrim was the second leg runner for an Irish men's 4x400m quartet that also included Chris O'Donnell, Marcus Lawler and Jack Raftery. They were sixth and last in their 4x400m squads will get a second opportunity to qualify for the World Championships on Sunday.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Belfast Milers Meet kicks off athletics summer
World-class Canadian athlete Gabriela DeBues-Stafford will lead the entries at Saturday's Belfast Irish Milers Meet which once again is set to be held in perfect sunny conditions at the Mary Peters director Eamonn Christie has had the good fortunate of having the weather gods on his side in recent years and the athletes have responded by producing a series of brilliant runs in included last year's astonishing breakthrough by 17-year-old English talent Phoebe Gill, who broke the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record when smashing her personal best with a one minute 57.86 performance propelled the St Alban's athlete to the Paris Olympics where she went on to reach the 800m was set to return to the Mary Peters Track this year only for injury to rule her out but Christie has still been able to assemble a strong entries list. DeGues-Stafford fifth in Tokyo Canadian DeGues-Stafford finished fifth in the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she clocked her personal best of 3:58.93 as Faith Kipyegon, Laura Muir and Sifan Hassan clinched the coached in Edinburgh by 1988 Olympic 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist Mark Rowland, the 29-year-old had a couple of comparatively disappointing campaigns in 2023 and 2002 and didn't compete in Paris last under Rowland's guidance, DeGues-Stafford is now plotting her second coming and has told Christie that she is targeting a brisk 8:40 pace in the 3,000m, which would be less that seven seconds outside her personal best of 8:33.92 set indoors in 2022."The plan is that two pacemakers will get Gabriela to halfway," Christie told BBC Sport NI."It's her first race of the year so she admits she doesn't know exactly what shape she's in but the plan is to attack the race." The men's 800m field will include twice British champion Daniel Rowden, who set his personal best of 1:43.95 in time is considerably faster that the 1:44.79 achieved by last year's Belfast winner Callum Dodds when Tom Randolph also went under 1: rivals will include his fellow Britons Justin Davies and Tiarnan Croken, who bettered the 1:46 mark 12 months ago, plus Spaniard Ignacio Fontes, who reached the Olympic 1500m final in it's unlikely that anybody will be clocking 1:57, the two-minute barrier could again be under threat in the women's 800m with emerging Britons Erin Wallace, Abigail Ives and Shaikira King in the field and Jenna Bromell leading the Irish finished second behind Gill last year when she was just outside two minutes while Ives clocked her personal best of 1:59.92 at the meeting in 2023 when finishing second behind Ireland's Louise men's 1500m has the makings of a good race with Cork athlete Darragh McElhinney taking on a field that includes four-minute miler and Ciara Mageean's boyfriend Thomas Moran plus English pair Max Wharton and Alex Melloy, who both have bettered 3:40 for the local challenge in the men's metric mile is likely to be led by Callum Morgan and UCD student and Lagan Valley club athlete Lughaidh will be much interest in Bori Akinola's performance in the 100m following an impressive winter campaign which saw him reach the 60m semi-finals at the European Indoor Championships after dethroning Israel Olatunde to win the Irish title.
