Saturday, May 21, 2011

Kate Veale takes Bronze in the European Cup of Race Walking

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC and representing Ireland finished 3rd in the Junior Womens 10km European Cup of Race Walking Competition in Olhao in Potugal on Saturday, the 21st of May 2011.

Kate who is 17 years old recorded a time of 46:32 for the distance.

From the race website....
Veale clawed back the 23-second deficit on Liudmyla Olianovska – who clearly got carried away by the success of her Ukrainian Junior men – bronze belonged to Ireland.
Veale was a delighted medallist and paid tribute to the man who got her there.


In an after race interview, Kate said..."My inspiration is my coach and clubmate Jamie Costin. He’s been to the Olympics four times, and made sure I peaked just right,” she said.
“The key was not to go off too fast, and it worked. I'm suprised and very happy. It's fabulous to be here, in the track, competing with the best of the world. And have this score is even better.
I was 4th in the last youth championships, but i always thought it was a bit soon to try to win a medal in this championships. Fortunately, all went well.


I really enjoyed the venue and the track. It is a bit hot, but i think i have better scores with this kind of weather. Portugal is a very nice place to be, and i will always remember this race."

Full Results HERE



From the European Athletics Website.......
The athlete from West Waterford AC club defeated some top quality opposition when finishing in third place in hot conditions in the Algarve town this weekend, placing ahead of capable walkers from Italy, Germany, Britain, the Ukraine and one of the three highly favoured Russian team members.
I am surprised but delighted with my performance. It’s fabulous to be here competing against the best in the world, and even sweeter to win a medal. It was very warm but the venue was great and so was the circuit,” said Veale.
Veale now plans to continue her international progression and aim to compete in the European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn in July and the World Youth Championships in Lille this summer.

No comments: