It has been a relentless week of activity at Finn Valley AC with athletes in action at home and abroad.
Mark English finished third in his semi-final of the men’s 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The Finn Valley AC man finished in 1:45.47 but alas it was not enough to secure qualification for the final.
It was an aggressive race by Mark, who was left to wait agonisingly in the hot seats for the other semi-finals, but unfortunately he bowed out.
However, it has been an exceptional season by Mark, who of course won a European Indoor bronze medal in Apeldoorn in March.
It was brilliant for the club to have two athletes, Mark and Conor Kelly – who competed in the mixed 4x400m relay – in action at the Worlds.
Finn Valley AC athletes Oisin Thompson and Kathy Bannigan had quite the time of it at the World Athletics Championships.
Oisin and Kathy enjoyed a VIP experience during the Championships after Kathy was the lucky winner of a World Athletics competition.
They caught up with some of the world’s leading athletes, including: Kenyan Faith Cherotich, the 3000m steeplechase gold medallist; Long jump gold medallist Mattia Fulani from Italy; Jamaican Tajay Gayle, the long jump silver medallist; and Shi Yuhao, the bronze medal winner from China; Katie Moon and Sandi Morris from USA as well as the Slovenia’s Tina Šutez who won pole vault gold, silver and bronze medallists; and Jake Wightman, GB’s 1500m silver medal winner.
Oisin also got the measure of Christian Taylor (who won two Olympic gold and four World Championships) in a 10m dash at the National Stadium!
The Finn Valley men’s masters team.
There were some exciting tussles at the Donegal Masters Cross Country, which was held at Finn Valley AC on Sunday.
Finn Valley AC’s Gerard Gallagher led the charge to win the men’s title, edging out Charlie ‘Postie’ O’Donnell from Rosses AC after a neck-and-neck battle.
Finn Valley AC’s Enda Doherty took the individual bronze medal having been in a leading trio from gun to tape.
Gerard and Enda guided Finn Valley AC to team gold, ahead of Cranford and Rosses, with Barry Gallagher and Darren Toland also on the scoring team with Peter McMenamin and Michael Penrose providing able back up.
In the women’s race, Leoni Cooke of Finn Valley AC was inched into second by winner Helen McCready.
Leoni earned silver and Catriona Devine was the third woman to finish, taking the O50 gold medal in the process.
Finn Valley AC women took both O35 and O50 team silver medals while Kay Byrne of Finn Valley was second O50.
Leoni, Catriona and Kay were joined in action by fellow Finn Valley AC athletes Martina Quinn, Ita Kelly, Noreen Bonner, Geraldine Browne and Gloria Donaghey.
Finn Valley AC celebrate with the McGonagle Champions Cup on Sunday.
Over 1,000 participants were at Finn Valley AC this week with the primary schools cross country, secondary schools cross country and Champions Cup cross country events all taking place.
These three events have all become staples of the local cross country calendar and our own Finn Valley AC athletes topped the charts in many races.
Indeed, Finn Valley AC retained the McGonagle Cup on Sunday at the Champions Cup. Captain Holly McNulty took receipt of the prize from former Irish athletics team manager Patsy McGonagle after a dominant day on Sunday.
Full reports, results and photos are available across the Finn Valley AC social media.
Well done to Finn Valley AC athlete Maggie O’Hara who finished the Moy Park Belfast City Half Marathon in Belfast on Sunday in 1:29:37.
FVACs John McElhill clocked 1:14:32 to finish 25th overall in the same race.
Blathnaid Patton who competed in the Berlin Marathon.
In Germany on Sunday, Finn Valley AC athlete Bláthnaid Patton ran in the Berlin Marathon and clocked a new personal best time.
Bláthnaid finished in 3:18:18. In baking hot temperatures, this was an excellent run for Bláthnaid.
There was plenty to cheer about for Finn Valley AC on Friday night at the Donegal Athletics Board Awards.
Mark English won the senior male athlete of the year award with Conor Kelly taking the junior male athlete of the year gong. Catriona Devine was named as the female masters athlete of the year.
Club awards were presented to Zach McKinley, Saorla Gilligan, Mark Alexander and Beth Malone.
Finn Valley AC award winners at the Donegal Athletics Board awards.
The latest programme of Little Athletics kicked off at Finn Valley AC last week under the direction of FVAC schools coach Ann Slevin.
There was massive interest in this popular programme which was oversubscribed this time.
Further blocks of Little Athletics will be held during the course of the school term. Keep an eye out for any announcements, which will be made on the FVAC social media pages
Busy week for Finn Valley AC at home and abroad was last modified: September 23rd, 2025 by Contributor
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