Dagg set for Irish pentathlon call

DAVID Dagg, a pupil at St Benildus College and a member of Dundrum South Dublin Athletic Club, broke his own personal record and picked up bronze in the All-Ireland schools indoor combined events for intermediate boys last weekend.
On a day when the overall winner broke the Irish record, and second to fourth places were all up for grabs going into the final event, Dagg was delighted to outperform his previous best and secured a place on the Irish team to compete in the schools international combined events in Glasgow next month.
In the combined events, each athlete competes in five events over one day with the boys participating in the 60m hurdles, long jump, 200m sprint, shot putt, and 800m with around 30 minutes between each event. Each event scores points based on time rather than final placing.
To qualify for the All-Ireland combined events, athletes must finish in the top four in their provincial competition and Dagg improved significantly from his Leinster showing.
His final total of 3,218 points was a new best and featured three significant new personal marks. He ran 8.79 seconds in the hurdles, down from 9.18 and reduced his 200m time from 24.4 by a second to 23.4. Dagg’s 800m time was also lowered by six seconds, coming home in 2.06 minutes.
He now looks forward to representing Ireland on December 12 as part of the Irish team.
Elsewhere, DSD athletes were in imperious form in London in Stevenage at the London Metropolitan League, winning the Under-13, 15 and 17 levels.
It was part of their step up in preparations for the national cross-country championships and they surprised even themselves with a dominant performance against teams from Shaftsbury Harriers, Thames Valley Harries, Highgate and a number of other top English clubs.
Indeed, the Under-17 girls teams filled the first five positions from the first lap through to the finish line despite a field of over 200 athletes.
Abi Taylor led home the field to claim both the Under-15 and Under-15/17 combined title. Conor Halpin narrowly missed out on the gold in the Under-17 boys while Eimear Maher took third in the Under-13 girls .
In the senior women’s race, Fiona Clinton was a gallant third in a field of over 250 athletes.