Lanky Lilesa runs away with Dublin marathon

Although the lanky Ethiopian 19-year-old, Feyisa Lilesa, missed out on the course record by just five seconds, he almost certainly could have shattered it if he hadn’t taken his foot off the pedal in the last couple of miles on the way to a winning 2 hours, 9 minutes and 12 seconds.
So impressive was Lilesa that he had nearly a minute and a half to spare over Russia’s Aleksey Sokolov in second place while Serem Noah of Kenya finished third in 2:11.14.
The race within a race for the Irish men’s national title was won by Sergiu Ciobanu, originally from Moldova, but now competing out of the Clonliffe Harriers club and thinking of seeking Irish residency. Ciobanu came home in 2:22.06 more than four minutes in front of Pauric McKinney of Donegal in second, with Owen Gahan in third.
The overall winner of the women’s race was Kateryna Stetsenko who took the honors in 2:32.45, while the Irish women’s championship proved to be a keenly-fought affair between Annette Kealy and Pauline Curley as both athletes were threatened with disqualification for receiving coaching advice. Kealy and Curley were given two warnings apiece, and a third would have led to automatic disqualification.
In the end, Kealy edged out her rival in a time of 2:45.43 with Curley 30 seconds in arrears, while Cork’s Claire McCarthy finished third.
A record field of 12,750 took to the Dublin streets in perfect autumnal conditions for the 30th staging of the event. At total of 29 runners, 28 men including 74-year-old Paddy Craddock, and one woman, Mary Hickey Nolan, have now competed in all 30 races.

Belfast Marathon at Javits Center

Sport Northern Ireland is hoping to lure Big Apple marathoners to the 29th Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon on May 3, 2010.
Participants in this weekend’s New York marathon are eligible to enter for an all-expenses-paid trip to the May event. Two winners will be notified on Nov.9. Marathoners can meet race organizers from Sport Northern Ireland this week at the NYC Marathon Health & Fitness Expo at the Javits Center. www.belfastcitymarathon.com.
The Belfast City Marathon booth (#108) will be open Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Javits Center, 655 West 34th St.
For more information go to www.belfastmarathoncity.com

Shefflin and buddies get another 4 in row
Although Kilkenny hurling probably doesn’t need any more notches on its considerable belt, last weekend’s county final created another elite group. Ballyhale Shamrocks’ 1-14 to 1-11 victory over James Stephens at Nowlan Park meant that Henry Shefflin, James “Cha” Fitzpatrick, Michael Fennelly and TJ Reid became the proud holders of both four All Irelands and four county titles in a row.
Typically, James Stephens made it tough for their opponents and the teams were level with just three minutes left until Ballyhale powered away with points from Shefflin, Reid and Colin Fennelly.
“We knew that James Stephens would push us all the way, but we were ready for it,” said Shefflin. “We have plenty of experience of being in this position and it stood to us in the end. Winning the four-in-a-row is special.”
It wasn’t a vintage decider with neither side at its best during the first half, and there was also the unusual sight of Shefflin hitting six wides. But the final quarter more than made up for the earlier disappointment as first Eoin Reid for the winners and then Eoin McCormack for James Stephens struck for goals in the space of two minutes.
Meanwhile, the Ulster title went to Dunloy of Antrim who defeated Down’s Ballycran by 2-16 to 2-11 in the final at Casement Park. Ballycran’s freetaker, Simon Wilson, who finished with 1-6, kept his side in the contest, but two goals by Paddy Richmond tilted the balance Dunloy’s way.
In football, Charlestown made up for defeats in the last two Mayo county finals by at last taking the title with a hard-fought 0-9 to 0-6 victory over Knockmore in Castlebar.
With veteran campaigners, John Casey and David Tiernan who had both appeared in the 1992 decider also against Knockmore, playing pivotal roles, there were major celebrations at the final whistle as Charlestown held out for only the third county championship in the club’s history.
The enduring class of Declan Browne was the difference as Moyle Rovers edged out Aherlow by 3-6 to 1-11 in a tense Tipperary decider at Semple Stadium. Former All Star Browne finished with a superb 2-4 as Rovers took the title for a sixth time.
A strong second half performance by Ulster earned them a 1-14 to 1-10 success over Leinster in the semi-final of the Interprovincial championship at Crossmaglen last weekend. The winners outscored Leinster by 12 points to one with the assistance of a gale-force wind during the second half.
Ulster’s opponents in the final will be Munster who got the better of Connacht by 1-13 to 1-10 in Limerick. A late burst of four points in a row by Connacht got them back into contention, but Munster held out for the win.

Ulster edge Leinster at Ravenhill
The conditions were appalling, but even without floodlights, the smiles of the Ulster players would have lit up Ravenhill last weekend as they recorded a priceless 16-14 victory over Leinster to move to the top of the Celtic League table.
Leinster undeniably chose the occasion to rest several key players such as Shane Horgan, Eoin Reddan and Cian Healy, while Luke Fitzgerald and Jonathan Sexton only came on as subs late in the game, but in truth, they were fortunate to have secured a losing bonus point such was Ulster’s dominance.
The home team decided to play into a gale force wind and driving rain in the first half and went in at the break only 7-3 in arrears. Replacement out-half, Shaun Berne, scored Leinster’s try, but crucially, he was off target with three penalty opportunities.
With the elements at their back, Ulster soon took control with an Isaac Boss try, and then two penalties by the impressive Ian Humphreys opened up a match-winning gap between the sides. Fitzgerald’s last minute try was not enough to spoil Ulster’s night.
Although Brian O’Driscoll showed one or two flashes of his customary brilliance as Leinster chased the game, the energy of Chris Henry, Willie Faloon, allied to the excellent kicking of Humphreys, meant that the margin at the end was much more than the scoreboard suggested.
As for reigning champions Munster, it’s just not happening at the moment. Losing to Edinburgh at soulless Murrayfield is not one of rugby’s most serious crimes, but the manner of last week’s hugely disappointing 12-7 defeat must be a worry for coach Tony McGahan.
At this stage last season, Munster had rattled off five Celtic League victories on the bounce before they ran into Ulster at Ravenhill, and that impressively fast start went a long way to helping them secure the title in the end.
While this time around there have been the mitigating factors of the late return to competitive action of the Ireland squad members, and more recently a front row crisis that has sidelined John Hayes, Marcus Horan, Tony Buckley and Jerry Flannery, even the most red-eyed of the province’s supporters would have to admit that Munster are not clicking.
There were positive noises about how Treviso were eventually polished off in the recent European Cup pool game, but hardly anyone who was at Thomond Park could remember a more dismal first-half performance by the home team.
If we saw pockets of good play at Murrayfield, the forwards lacked their traditional bite, and ball after ball was coughed up cheaply in the opening 40 minutes in particular. While inserting a whole new front row is bound to be disruptive, Doug Howlett was the only other front liner missing, and yet once again, Munster looked sluggish.
The midfield axis of Ronan O’Gara, Lifeimi Mafi and Jean de Villiers is still very much finding its feet. O’Gara is not performing with his customary authority, and following his place kicking return of just three from eight in the Treviso game, he was off target with three penalties against Edinburgh.
Three wins out of six before this Saturday’s match against leaders Ulster in Limerick, and a modest enough mid-table position, certainly doesn’t mean that all is lost for Munster, but it’s not where they would want to be. “A lot of people will probably say that Munster are not playing that well at the moment,” commented Edinburgh coach, Rob Moffat, after the game. A lot of people would be right.
Meanwhile, on the back of a magnificent European Challenge Cup victory in Montpellier, Connacht returned to Celtic League duty in Glasgow confident they could build on their European success, but Michael Bradley’s men ended up on the wrong side of a 34-20 scoreline at Firhill.
Trailing by 24-12 at the interval, Connacht reduced the gap to 27-20 following a try by the prolific Fionn Carr in the 70th minute, and at that stage, they were looking at more than just a losing bonus point.
However, a late try by Glasgow’s international wing, Thom Evans, put paid to any hopes of a late comeback, and Connacht were left to contemplate a fifth defeat in their six league outings to date.