Amy Foster equals NI 100m record at Santry meeting
Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Amy Foster equalled Anna Boyle's NI 100m record as she took an impressive victory in 11.49 seconds at Friday's Clonliffe 125 meeting at Santry.
Foster intended to race in Belgium but changed plans after studying the weather forecasts for both locations.
Ciara Mageean proved her fitness for the upcoming European Junior Championships as she won the women's 800m in a personal best 2:03.21.
Jason Smyth achieved a sprint double in times of 10.39 and 20.94.
The double paralympic champion won the men's 100m in 10.39 as he edged out Jamaican Kemar Bailey-Cole and was under 21 seconds for the first time over 200m as he finished .03secs ahead of Honduran Rolando Palacios.
Foster started off a successful evening for Northern Ireland athletes with her record-equalling 100m win.
"I was supposed to be running in Belgium tonight but thankfully the gamble of switching to here paid off," said the City of Lisburn athlete, who finished well ahead of second-placed Irishwoman Kelly Proper (11.60).
Foster ran 11.52 in Switzerland last weekend but a plus .6m per second wind in Dublin helped her equal Boyle's 2006 mark.
"I'll be running at quite a big meeting in Heusden in Belgium next weekend so hopefully I will go even faster there," added Foster.
Foster's main target for the summer is the World University Games in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in August.
Mageean, who also runs for for City of Lisburn, looked in superb form in the 800m as she took over from male pacemaker Paul Fleming at the bell and ran strongly to clip .29secs off the previous best she ran when winning silver at the World Youths Championship in 2009.
"I felt good out there tonight. I always aim to run fast so tonight was the ideal final race before the European Juniors," said Mageean.
Smyth, who has clocked a personal best of 10.22 this season, finished ahead of two sub 10.30 runners in the men's 100m but the Derryman was not altogether content with that run.
"I would have liked a quicker 100m time but I suppose it was my first race back after not racing for a couple of weeks," said Smyth, who finished .06secs ahead of Jamaican Bailey-Cole.
"It was good to finally get under 21 seconds in the 200m although hopefully there is a lot more to come in that event.
"I haven't run that many 200m so I'm still kind of learning the event."
Smyth heads to Amsterdam on Monday to link up with the training group of American coach Lance Brauman.
The Londonderry man trains with Brauman's group in Florida in the winter and spring with the likes of Tyson Gay and Steve Mullings.
His work with the world-class sprinters has put the Derrymen in the frame for next year's Olympics as the qualifying time for London is 10.18 - only .04secs quicker than Smyth's personal best.
Smyth's Irish paralympic team-mate Michael McKillop improved his 1500m personal best by over a second as he clocked 3:52.53 to finish third.
Emerging Irish athlete Ciaran O'Lionaird broke the four-minute barrier for the first time as he finished an excellent third in an exciting Morton Mile.
O'Lionaird clocked 3:57.99 after leading at the bell with US athlete Jordan McNamara winning in 3:56.82.
Kildare man Paul Robinson was also under four minutes for the first time as he clocked 3:59.99 to finish seventh while John Coghlan, son of 1983 World 5,000m champion Eamonn Coghlan, was ninth in 4:00.79.
Letterkenny runner Mark English also ran well to win the 800m in 1:48.96.
Earlier on Friday, Ireland's Kate Veale won a gold medal in the women's 5,000m walk at the World Youth Championships in Lille.
