By Seamus Hayes
Well known Ennis Track Club athlete Rory Chesser bridged a four-year gap when he won the National 3,000m Steeplechase title at Santry Stadium last weekend.
Chesser has been performing very well in England and from the start of last week’s race, he was up at the front.
He produced a 64-second first lap and he had all the big names on his shoulder, including Tomas Cotter (Dunleer) and Freddy Kerron (Raheny Shamrocks). On the final lap, Chesser had a 20m lead and after getting over the water jump, he powered his way down the home straight to take the gold medal in a time of 8.46:95.
Kilkishen native Sean Hehir, who represents Rathfarnham WSAF AC, competed in the final of the 10,000m and he was in the gold medal position with two laps go to but a strong finish by Mick Clohessy (Raheny Shamrocks) saw him take the gold medal, with Hehir dropping back to third spot on the home straight in a time of 30.17:29.