Brendan finished in a highly respectable twenty-ninth place in what was his first major senior international in the 20km event.
His performance, however, is even more impressive when you consider that he had his knee broken after being hit by a bicycle while out training 6 weeks before the event. His original plan was to race over 50km but his injury meant changing event only two weeks out from the race.
Brendan commented: “I had a week off after the accident and then was told my kneecap could be fractured. I was advised to rest for 4 weeks but this race was too important so I went straight out and got some painkillers and trained like that for the next 4 weeks instead.”
An x-ray later confirmed the fracture and it became clear that 50km was too much to take in such a condition so a change to 20km was the only way to make it to the start line.
On race day, Brendan started off at a conservative pace and was rewarded as the hot and windy conditions took their toll, with 15 athletes failing even to make it to the finish line.
Consequently, Brendan was able to work his way through the suffering field and crossed the line in 1hr 32min, almost 7 minutes slower than the time he set at the Lugano Grand Prix in Switzerland back in March, just before his injury.
That time, incidentally, was enough for Brendan to qualify for this summer’s World University Games, which take place in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
“It’s been a tough day but 29th was better than I could have hoped for, it’s a strong position and now I can focus on the World University Games this summer. However, it means I will not even race 50km until at least the autumn when I will try to qualify for the Olympics,” said Boyce, who is currently inside the 50km at Olympic ‘B’ Standard and is hoping to progress up to the ‘A’ Standard in time for next summer’s extravaganza.
Brendan has already had 2 PB performances over shorter distances this year, at 10k in London and then 5k at the national indoors in Belfast where he placed 3rd. The Milford man is currently the number one ranked Racewalker in the UK.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, Donegal News
Boyce targets improvements ahead of Rio
DAYS after competing in his first Olympic Games, Brendan Boyce has already switched his long-term focus towards Rio de Janeiro and is confident of trimming more time off his personal best between now and then, following a debut to remember in London last weekend.
The 25-year-old race-walker smashed his previous PB of 3:57:03 by setting a new time of 3:55:01 en route to finishing in a highly respectable 29th in the exhausting 50k Walk.
The Milford man only really began to compete on the senior international stage two years ago and in the meantime has managed to trim over ten minutes off a time he first set in Slovakia in 2010.
“I knew that I would need experience if I was going to make it to the Olympics so I decided I would do a 50k back in 2010 just to see what it was like and I did it in 4 hours 8 minutes,” said Brendan after returning home to Donegal this week.
He added: “So I was preparing for the A-standard 18 months on to have a crack at that in Germany and I took over ten minutes off, doing 3 hours 57 minutes.
“I consolidated that result again in Dudince in March, getting a new PB by a few seconds and in London I just wanted to take another chunk off that again and thankfully it’s all worked out.”
Boyce, a member of Letterkenny AC who has been based in Leeds for the last three years, was one of three male race-walkers representing Ireland at the Olympics.
Standard-bearer Robert Heffernan just missed out on a medal despite a late surge through the field, while Colin Griffin was disqualified after being red-paddled on three occasions.
Thursday, July 16, 2012, Donegal News
Donegal’s Olympic connections
THE FIRST of Donegal’s 2012 Olympians is in action this weekend.
On Sunday evening at the Wembley Arena, Raphoe girl Chloe Magee takes on Hadia Hosney from Egypt in the women’s singles badminton tournament at the Games of the 30th Olympiad in London.
Magee is one of four Donegal athletes to take part in this year’s Games. She is joined by Finn Valley AC pole vaulter Tori Pena, Letterkenny woman Caitriona Jennings in the women’s marathon and Milford 50k race walker Brendan Boyce.
The draw has been favourable enough to Magee, who is ranked number 44 in the world.
Her opponent in her opening game is ranked 113 in the world – and a win on Sunday would give her a real chance of getting out of the three-woman group.
The other woman who will stand between her and a place in the last 16 is France’s Pi Hongyan, who is ranked 25th and who she faces on Tuesday evening.
“The draw is very favourable. All I wanted was to have a chance of getting out of the group,” Magee told the Donegal News.
“All I wanted really was to avoid the Chinese.
“I can’t wait now to get started. I’m in good shape.
“I’m in with a chance. Look, the draw was never going to be ‘easy’ as such – this is the Olympics after all. I feel good. Training is going well and everything has been going to plan.”
On Sunday night, the 23-year old will become only the second double-Olympian from the county – following in the footsteps of Danny McDaid, who ran the men’s marathon in Montreal and Munich in the 1970s.
Donegal’s other competitors have a little longer to wait to get their slice of Olympic action. Next Saturday, August 4th, Tori Pena lines up for the women’s pole vault. The Californian has been with the Finn Valley club for the last couple of years and will be aiming to break her Irish record to aim for qualification for the Monday 6th final.
The following day, Sunday August 5th, Letterkenny woman Caitriona Jennings goes in the women’s marathon. Running out of the Rathfarnham club, Jennings has been in excellent form over the last twelve months. Brendan Boyce must wait until the penultimate day of the Games before he sees action – on Saturday August 11th the men’s 50k walk takes place.
Boyce, Jennings and Pena are part of the Athletics team which is managed by Finn Valley stalwart Patsy McGonagle. Joining the backroom team is nutritionalist Sharon Madigan, who is a native of the Ramelton Road in Letterkenny.
Elsewhere, Donegal is well represented. Some of the world’s top athletes, including men’s 100m star Usain Bolt, are looked after by the Pace Sports Management Agency, run by Milford man Ricky Simms. He has on his team Raphoe pair Grainne O’Dea and Darren O’Dea, who are also heavily involved on Olympic duty.
The Donegal connections don’t end there.
Female triathlete Aileen Morrison, from Derry, has strong ties to Donegal as her grandparents hailed from Malin, while canoeist Eoin Rheinisch will also have fans in Donegal cheering him on.
His aunt Anne Crossan – a sister of his father Donal – lives in Conwall. Her daughter-in-law, Maria McCambridge – married to four-times Irish marathon champ Gary Crossan – just missed out on a place in London, as she was pipped for selection for the women’s marathon team.
Friday, April 27, 2012, IAAF
Ireland to send biggest-ever team to Saransk - IAAF World Race Walking Cup
Heffernan is in his usual top class form, taking a recent fourth place in the 20km at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Rio Maior which was the Cork man's best ever performance at an IAAF Challenge event, finishing in a time of 1:21:28, which was only 14 seconds off a podium position.
Heffernan is targeting the 50km Race Walk at this summer's Olympic Games in London and will use the 20km race in Russia to sharpen up and gauge his competitive progress.
Heffernan will be joined in the 20km event by Brendan Boyce who has already achieved the 50km qualification standard for the Olympics. Boyce has been in great form lately setting a personal best of 3:57:53 for 50km in the Dudince Grand Prix which should secure his selection for London.
Such is the depth of 50km Race Walking in Ireland at the moment that the selectors may yet be required to leave one qualifier at home. .....read more
Thursday April 26 2012, Athletics Ireland
Irish Elite Race Walkers Target World Cup
Robert Heffernan will be part of the Irish Race Walking team that will travel to Saransk, Russia for the prestigious IAAF World Race Walking Cup on the 12-13th May. A record number of 67 countries have entered to compete. The prominent Russian athletes on home soil are expected to claim the majority of the podium spots.
Heffernan (Togher AC) finished in fourth position in the men’s 20k event at the recent race walking grand prix in Portugal. This was Heffernan’s best ever performance at a race walking grand prix, finishing in a time of 1:21:28, which was only 14 seconds off a podium position. Heffernan is likely to target the 50km in London and will use the 20km race in Russia to sharpen up and gauge his competitive progress.
Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) has already achieved the 50km qualification standard for the Olympics and will line up alongside Heffernan in Russia. Boyce has been in great form lately setting a personal best of 3:57:53 for 50km in the. .....read more.
Monday March 26 2012, Independent.
Olympic agony for Griffin
TWO of Ireland's top 50k walkers, Waterford's Jamie Costin and Leitrim's Colin Griffin, had their latest Olympic qualifying bids foiled in Slovakia.
But Donegal's Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny), who had already achieved the Olympic 'A' standard, copperfastened his selection for London 2012 by knocking five seconds off his best at the same event in Dudince.
Boyce finished in 3:57.53 but Griffin (Ballinamore) was agonisingly disqualified at the 42km mark when he was on course to meet the 3:59 standard.
Two-time Olympian Costin (West Waterford) struggled with the heat and dropped out at the 32km mark.
Sunday March 25 2012, Donegal News
Boyce’s Olympic place all but cemented
BRENDAN Boyce all but cemented his place at this summer’s Olympic Games after setting a new personal best of 3:57:53 at the 50k Walk in Dudince, Slovakia on Saturday.
The Letterkenny AC clubman, who had already achieved the Olympic A standard in Germany last year, survived gruelling temperatures of over 20 degrees to finish seventh in a stellar field of 110 walkers, including current Olympic champion Alex Schwazer.
With only three race-walking spots up for grabs on the Irish Olympic team, Boyce needed another A standard time to help aid his nomination ahead of the likes of Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin.
And, after both men failed to finish (Costin dropped out at the 32k mark and Griffin was disqualified with 8k to go), Boyce was able to power home and shave five seconds off his PB, eventually finishing seventeen minutes behind eventual winner Schwazer.
Brendan won’t receive official confirmation of his place on the Irish Olympic team until June, but after recording back-to-back A standard times it would be a travesty that he be overlooked in favour of Costin or Griffin, both of whom have struggled badly for form in recent months.
“The way it’s stacking up at the moment, I cannot see any conceivable way he will not be selected. I will be nominating him and that’s end of story as far as I’m concerned,” Irish Olympic team manager Patsy McGonagle said after the conclusion of Saturday’s event in Slovakia.
Sunday March 25 2012, Independent
No Olympic joy for Irish pair
ATHLETICS: It was a disappointing day for Irish 50km race walkers Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in Dudince, Slovakia yesterday.
Both athletes were trying for the Olympic 'A' standard time of three hours 59 minutes, but Costin dropped out at 32k and Griffin was disqualified 10km later after a third warning flag.
However, it wasn't all bad news as Brendan Boyce hit the 'A' standard for the second time in six months. The Donegal race walker now looks a certainty to be on the Irish team for London after he knocked six seconds off his personal best time of 3:57:58.
Saturday, March 24th, 2012, Athletics Ireland.
PB for Boyce at European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting
At the European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting in Dudince today there was mixed results for Irish 50k International Walkers. Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC), who has returned to competition following a recent rib injury was on track for the Olympic qualification standard at the 25km mark but with temperatures soaring he dropped out at the 32km mark. While there was heartache again for Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC), he was also on track for qualification but he was disqualified at the 42k mark. There was good news for Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) who dipped under the qualification standard again setting a personal best.
Athletics – Boyce Set For London Olympics (Highlandradio) - 24th March
Milford’s Brendan Boyce has all but secured his place on the Irish team for the London Olympic 2012 Games. The 50k walker was in Slovakia today where he set yet another personal best time and for the second time he was inside the Olympic A standard. With a 3.57.51 walk the Letterkenny AC man is set for a team nomination from Patsy Mc Gonagle the Ireland Manager.
Highland Radio – Latest Donegal News and Sport » Sport.mp3
Saturday 24 March 2012, Yorkshire Evening Post.
Race walking: Boyce walking tall in Olympic quest
IRISHMAN Brendan Boyce originally came to England to train as a physiotherapist at Coventry University.
Five years later, a chance meeting with national race walking coach Andi Drake has the adopted Leeds athlete on the verge of this summer’s Olympics.
Boyce, 25, is one of those sportsmen who thrived at everything as a youngster back in his native Donegal.
Sprinting, long jump and long distance running all came naturally to the youngest of seven children, but it is in race walking that a blossoming sporting career was born.
After starting the sport by chance as a youngster, Boyce arrived at Coventry University in 2007 as an enthusiast, but his involvement with the sport stepped up a gear after meeting national coach Drake – then also based in the west midlands city.
His influence quickly took Boyce to a new level – so much so that when Drake left for Leeds Met University and its high-performance centre in 2009, Boyce followed.
A decision to chase international sporting glories was made and while recent Leeds recruit Boyce could be forgiven for targeting the 2016 Rio Olympics, it is the London 2012 Games that are very much on his mind.
“This year’s Olympics is definitely the one,” Boyce told LS1. “You’ve got to make the most of what’s coming up now.
“my aim is to try and get in peak condition for the Olympics this year. There’s no point leaving anything and hoping that next year will be better.
“If I could get to the Olympics it would be massive and from my country I would be the first athlete for 36 years to compete in this event at the games.”
Boyce now trains alongside fellow internationals Johanna Jackson, Thomas Bosworth and Alex Wright in Headingley.
The campus is barely two miles from Boyce’s Kirkstall pad which he shares with some of his training colleagues and five years on from leaving Ireland, Leeds is now very much home.
Explaining how the switch across the Irish sea developed, Boyce said: “I came to the UK five years ago and at first I went to Coventry to study physiotherapy.
“I was doing race walking before but I was kind of self-coached and I didn’t really have much direction.
“Then I met Andi Drake in Coventry which was just a coincidence as it was the course that brought me to Coventry. The Olympics were a long way off and education came first.
“I started training with Andi with a bit more focus for the first time and then I got a few senior internationals under my belt.
“after two years there, Andi got his job in Leeds and I followed.
“It was a great opportunity to train in Leeds with the centre of excellence and with the set-up and professional coaches.
“There’s none in Ireland so it was a phenomenal opportunity and I swapped my course to a sports development one.
“It took probably a month of discussions with different people and my parents back home – trying to convince them that I could make the Olympics and that it wasn’t just a dream.
“But, ultimately, it was down to me.
“Now I’ve finished uni so I just live and train full time in Leeds – I live with the other race walkers in Kirkstall and I don’t really get homesick too much.
“I find it hard to go home and train because it’s in the middle of nowhere. In Leeds everything is on my doorstep.”
The move has worked wonders for Boyce, who was highly commended in last week’s Leeds Sports Awards in the sportsman of the year category alongside fellow runner-up Jonathan Brownlee and behind winner Alistair Brownlee.
“Even to get a nomination for the awards was a bit of a surprise,” said Boyce. “To be even considered in the same category as the Brownlees is a tremendous confidence boost.”
another confidence boost could be on the cards this weekend as Boyce seeks to go a long way to booking his place at the London Games.
He has already achieved the qualification time once and is now out to impress selectors further by repeating it in Slovakia.
Reflecting on his amazing progression in just two years in Leeds, Boyce said: “My first year in Leeds was big.
“I took chunks off my personal bests over all the distances and I only just missed out on the European Championships.
“Then last year I had my first breakthrough when I competed in the European race walking cup – that was my first senior international and then there was the World Student Games which was my first global event.
Obstacles
“A couple of weeks after that I got the Olympic A-standard so the last year was a really big one.
“but there’s potentially four or five Irish guys going for the 50k walk.
“I’m racing in the 50k this weekend and if I get another A-standard it will show form for the season. Hopefully that will be enough to get the nod from the selectors.”
Boyce has had his fair share of obstacles, including a cyclist who knocked him over when training in Leeds last April.
He fractured his kneecap yet just seven weeks later was competing in the European Race-Walking Cup where he finished 29th.
Boyce was a sprinting sensation as a seven-year-old, but shrewdly chose to pursue the less popular race walking.
“I was second in Ireland in the sprints, but I did most of the events in athletics – long jumps and middle distances,” he said.
“Then an opportunity came up to do a race walk so I entered it and I won without really knowing what it was about.
“There were opportunities in race walking – it’s not very popular and it’s an easier way to get yourself known.
“Well, not easy maybe, but there’s not as many people so you can get talent spotted quite easily.”
That race walking is not easy is not in doubt.
The Irish star, though, is just making it look it.
Five years later, a chance meeting with national race walking coach Andi Drake has the adopted Leeds athlete on the verge of this summer’s Olympics.
Boyce, 25, is one of those sportsmen who thrived at everything as a youngster back in his native Donegal.
Sprinting, long jump and long distance running all came naturally to the youngest of seven children, but it is in race walking that a blossoming sporting career was born.
After starting the sport by chance as a youngster, Boyce arrived at Coventry University in 2007 as an enthusiast, but his involvement with the sport stepped up a gear after meeting national coach Drake – then also based in the west midlands city.
His influence quickly took Boyce to a new level – so much so that when Drake left for Leeds Met University and its high-performance centre in 2009, Boyce followed.
A decision to chase international sporting glories was made and while recent Leeds recruit Boyce could be forgiven for targeting the 2016 Rio Olympics, it is the London 2012 Games that are very much on his mind.
“This year’s Olympics is definitely the one,” Boyce told LS1. “You’ve got to make the most of what’s coming up now.
“my aim is to try and get in peak condition for the Olympics this year. There’s no point leaving anything and hoping that next year will be better.
“If I could get to the Olympics it would be massive and from my country I would be the first athlete for 36 years to compete in this event at the games.”
Boyce now trains alongside fellow internationals Johanna Jackson, Thomas Bosworth and Alex Wright in Headingley.
The campus is barely two miles from Boyce’s Kirkstall pad which he shares with some of his training colleagues and five years on from leaving Ireland, Leeds is now very much home.
Explaining how the switch across the Irish sea developed, Boyce said: “I came to the UK five years ago and at first I went to Coventry to study physiotherapy.
“I was doing race walking before but I was kind of self-coached and I didn’t really have much direction.
“Then I met Andi Drake in Coventry which was just a coincidence as it was the course that brought me to Coventry. The Olympics were a long way off and education came first.
“I started training with Andi with a bit more focus for the first time and then I got a few senior internationals under my belt.
“after two years there, Andi got his job in Leeds and I followed.
“It was a great opportunity to train in Leeds with the centre of excellence and with the set-up and professional coaches.
“There’s none in Ireland so it was a phenomenal opportunity and I swapped my course to a sports development one.
“It took probably a month of discussions with different people and my parents back home – trying to convince them that I could make the Olympics and that it wasn’t just a dream.
“But, ultimately, it was down to me.
“Now I’ve finished uni so I just live and train full time in Leeds – I live with the other race walkers in Kirkstall and I don’t really get homesick too much.
“I find it hard to go home and train because it’s in the middle of nowhere. In Leeds everything is on my doorstep.”
The move has worked wonders for Boyce, who was highly commended in last week’s Leeds Sports Awards in the sportsman of the year category alongside fellow runner-up Jonathan Brownlee and behind winner Alistair Brownlee.
“Even to get a nomination for the awards was a bit of a surprise,” said Boyce. “To be even considered in the same category as the Brownlees is a tremendous confidence boost.”
another confidence boost could be on the cards this weekend as Boyce seeks to go a long way to booking his place at the London Games.
He has already achieved the qualification time once and is now out to impress selectors further by repeating it in Slovakia.
Reflecting on his amazing progression in just two years in Leeds, Boyce said: “My first year in Leeds was big.
“I took chunks off my personal bests over all the distances and I only just missed out on the European Championships.
“Then last year I had my first breakthrough when I competed in the European race walking cup – that was my first senior international and then there was the World Student Games which was my first global event.
Obstacles
“A couple of weeks after that I got the Olympic A-standard so the last year was a really big one.
“but there’s potentially four or five Irish guys going for the 50k walk.
“I’m racing in the 50k this weekend and if I get another A-standard it will show form for the season. Hopefully that will be enough to get the nod from the selectors.”
Boyce has had his fair share of obstacles, including a cyclist who knocked him over when training in Leeds last April.
He fractured his kneecap yet just seven weeks later was competing in the European Race-Walking Cup where he finished 29th.
Boyce was a sprinting sensation as a seven-year-old, but shrewdly chose to pursue the less popular race walking.
“I was second in Ireland in the sprints, but I did most of the events in athletics – long jumps and middle distances,” he said.
“Then an opportunity came up to do a race walk so I entered it and I won without really knowing what it was about.
“There were opportunities in race walking – it’s not very popular and it’s an easier way to get yourself known.
“Well, not easy maybe, but there’s not as many people so you can get talent spotted quite easily.”
That race walking is not easy is not in doubt.
The Irish star, though, is just making it look it.
Friday March 23 2012, Sports news Ireland.
50km Walkers Target Olympic Standard
Following on from the impressive performances from Irish athletes at last weekend’s Lugano Race Walking Grand Prix in Switzerland. Three more of Ireland’s elite Race Walkers are set to go the distance on Saturday in Dudince, Slovakia.
There is a full set of Walk races on the programme; however the men’s 50km is where the Irish interest will lie. Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC), Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) and Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) are all set to compete; a qualification time for the London Olympics will be the ultimate target for both Griffin and Costin. The qualification time stands at 3:59:00.
Boyce recorded a personal best of 3.57.58 last September, to achieve the standard for his first Olympic Games. Boyce will look to gain further racing experience on Saturday over the grueling 50km distance. Griffin was also part of the same race last September; however there was heartbreak for Griffin as he was disqualified at the 48km mark when he was comfortable on track to achieve the standard. Griffin will be aiming to put things right and post a time that reflects his undeniable talent and ability.
Costin has sufficiently recovered from a recent rib injury and with a personal best of 3:51:32 for the 50km distance. Costin will be quietly confident of making the standard for the forthcoming games.
It is an encouraging reflection on the Irish Race Walking scene to have such an abundance of talent vying for Olympic selection.
Friday March 23 2012, independent
Boyce joins band of Walker brothers
TWO of the three Irish race-walkers competing in Slovakia tomorrow will have the Olympic Games 50km qualification time (3:59) on their minds, while the third -- the least known of the trio -- has already achieved it.
Unlike veterans Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin, Donegal's Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) can use the event in Dudince to practise his race tactics because the personal best of 3:57:58 he clocked when finishing sixth in Naumburg last September was well inside the qualification mark for London.
That was a massive breakthrough for the relatively unknown 25-year-old from Milford, and it was all the more remarkable considering that Boyce suffered a fractured kneecap last spring when a cyclist hit him while he was out training.
However, the dog-eat-dog nature of Olympic qualification means he could yet face a battle to hold on to a place for London if Costin and Griffin go faster than him.
"There are only three 50km spots available for Irish competitors," explained Boyce. "Rob (Heffernan) and myself already have it and there could be five of us because Michael Doyle is also hoping to get the standard.
"It does put more pressure on you, but it's great for the sport in Ireland that we have so many people of that standard, it means no one can rest and we're all pushing each other to get better."
progress
Boyce, who has been living and training in a high-performance climate at Leeds Metropolitan University, has made huge progress over the past year and that earned him his first elite grant.
Largely self-coached until his late teens, he originally went to Coventry to study physiotherapy, but when his coach Andi Drake was appointed head of British race-walking and moved to UK athletics' elite walking centre in Leeds, Boyce moved too.
He graduated with a degree in sports performance last year and now trains there full-time, sharing a house with several ofBritain's top walkers, including Jo Jackson.
Boyce said the low-impact nature of his event allowed him recover more quickly from last year's potentially disastrous accident, costing him just three weeks of complete rest.
He also cites training with Heffernan on Athletics Ireland's high altitude camp in South Africa last year as a huge influence.
"I put in a bigger block of endurance last year, but being around Rob, seeing the level of his professionalism and the fact that he's right up there at World and Olympic level, that was very inspirational," Boyce said.
He is just back from 18 days' altitude training at Sierra Nevada where he trained with Griffin (29), who was 11th in the 50km at the 2010 European Championships.
The Leitrim walker was heartbroken to be disqualified at the 48km mark in Naumburg last year when he was on course to qualify.
Griffin has since lost his elite grant so he will be putting everything on the line tomorrow -- as will Costin (34), already a three-time Olympian with a 3:51 personal best, who has recovered from a recent rib injury.
Meanwhile, Athletics Ireland and the sport's schools organisation have just launched the 'Aviva School Mile Challenge', designed to encourage mass participation in secondary schools.
Tuesday 21 February 2012. donegal democrat
Letterkenny AC’s Brendan Boyce was a silver medal winner at the Woodie’s DIY National Indoor 30 Walk championship in Claremorris on Sunday.
Boyce came home second nine seconds behind Colin Griffin from Ballinamore in a nail biting finish with Michael Boyle from Tara in Meath in third place
After letting Griffin take a huge early lead of nearly one minute, the Letterkenny man fought back well and over the closing 10k to reel in Griffin and was closing rapidly on the Leitrim man approaching the finish line. It was generally felt afterwards had the race been 100 metres longer Boyce may well have taken the title.
Defending champion Robert Heffernan did not start due to a hamstring injury and Jamie Costin was a late withdrawal due to a rib injury.
Boyce has along with Robbie Heffernan achieved the qualifying time for the 50K Walk at the London Olympic Games and is one of four athletes chasing the three places on the Irish team for the Games.
The other two, who still have to make the qualifying times, are Griffin and Costin and all four are expected to go head to head at 50K race in Turkey, in April.
Irish 30 km Walk Championships
(1) Colin Griffin, Ballinamore, 2.15.17
(2) Brendan Boyce, Letterkenny, 2.15.26
(3) Michael Doyle, Tara, 2.20.23
Sunday February 12 2012
Claremorris hosts 30k Walking Championships
Some of Irelands leading athletes are set to compete in the Woodies DIY AAI National 30k race walking championships in Claremorris on Sunday 19th February. A number of these will be using the event as one of the last chances to gain an Olympic qualifying time, while others who have already qualified for London, will use it to gauge their fitness and compete for national awards.
Athletes expected to compete include:
Michael Doyle (Tara AC) represented Ireland at the World University Games 2011;
Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) has already qualified for London in 50k, and also represented Ireland at the World University Games 2011;
Jamie Costin (Double Olympian);
Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) is the reigning champion and he broke the Irish 30k record winning in Cork last year in 2.07.48. Last Saturday he won his 14th Irish Indoors 5k title in 19.06.58. He is a double Olympian and has already qualified for London in 20k and 50k.
Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) another 50k Olympian, is hoping to qualify for London in a 50k race in Slovakia next month.
Other national champions expected to compete include local Cian McManamon, Niall Prendiville and World Junior Champion Kate Veale.
Over 50 competitors are expected to be on the starting line.
The race starts at 11a.m and consists of 15 2k loops. The 2k lap will offer a great opportunity for spectators to view the race. The course begins close to the race track in Claremorris and loops around near the CBE offices just off the Kiltimagh road.
Friday February 10 2012
O'Rourke centre of attention 'indoors'
Ireland's world-class race walkers Robert Heffernan and Olive Loughnane should also prove crowd pullers, while the field for the men's 5km walk includes Letterkenny's Brendan Boyce, who has already qualified for the Olympics, Jamie Costin and also Colin Griffin.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2012
O’Rourke bids for useful Odyssey
Marian Heffernan (Togher AC), a driving force behind Ireland’s bid to have a women’s 4 x 400m relay team for the London Olympics, competes in both the 60m and 200m at the weekend. She is the champion at 400m but has dropped back to the shorter distances to improve her start.
Her husband, racewalking star, Robert Heffernan, bids for a record 14th indoor title in Belfast. He set a national record (18:51.46) at the Odyssey in 2008 and, a couple of months later, set a new Irish 20k record (79:22) to become the first Irishman to break the 80 minute barrier.
Heffernan, back in Ireland after winter training in Australia, is relishing a return to action. "Over the next two weeks I will be competing over 5k indoors in Belfast and then 30k outdoors in Claremorris. I’ve had a long spell of uninterrupted training both in Australia and at home. I have qualified for the Olympics but there are a number athletes competing for the other two spots and the younger fellows are threatening to take me down. I had a message from Brendan Boyce last week telling me I’m too old and my time is up so it is time for me to put them back in their box!"
Irish Examiner - Friday, December 16, 2011
Heffernan walking tall for Olympics
ALREADY qualified for the 20k walk at next year’s Olympic Games, Robert Heffernan can fight for a medal on two fronts after posting his qualifying standard for the 50k walk at Naumburg.
The Corkman took second place in 3:49.28 secs and young Letterkenny racewalker Brendan Boyce also laid claim to a place in the 50k with a lifetime best of 3:57.58 when finishing sixth in the same race.
Heffernan is training in Australia with his wife, Marian, a member of the women’s 4x400m squad with sights on London 2012.
Boyce would appear to be a shoo-in for the Olympics but these are not normal times as athletes are queuing up for qualification, and there are still two other athletes in frame for the 50k race.
Jamie Costin (West Waterford), who made his Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000, is primed for a big shot at qualification and Colin Griffin from Manorhamilton, who had qualification at his mercy until he was disqualified in the closing stages of the 50k at the world championships in Daegu, is also in line.
Everything points towards a three-way shoot-out between Boyce, Costin and Griffin, possibly in Saransk in May — there is no walk or marathon at the European championships in Helsinki in June, so qualification will have to be secured before then.
Anyway, it appears certain Ireland will have a three-man team in the 50k at the Olympic Games with Heffernan — a medal hope in both events — doubling up at 20k and Olive Loughnane likely to build on her sensational performance in Beijing when she lines up for the women’s 20k walk.
Independent - Monday, September 26, 2011
Irish pair achieve Olympic standard
TWO Irish athletes qualified for the Olympic 50km Walk next summer in an international in Germany on Saturday, but there was heartbreak for another.
World-class Corkman Robert Heffernan (Togher) came second in 3:49.30, well inside the 3:59 'A' qualifying time for the London Games. But it was not his experienced team-mate and 50km specialist Colin Griffin who joined him but Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny).
Griffin (Ballinamore) was well on track to qualify but got disqualified just two kilometres from the finish and Boyce got the Olympic standard after finishing sixth in a personal best of 3:57.58.
The Donegal walker had achieved the 'B' standard for the World Championships but chose to compete in the 20km Walk at the World University Games instead, where he finished 15th.
RTE - Saturday, September 24, 2011
Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) and Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) today achieved the Olympic qualification standard in the 50km walk in Nuamburg, Germany. Heffernan finished second in 3:49.30, which follows on from the personal best he set at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna last Saturday in the 10km walk, where he finished sixth in 39.19 minutes. Boyce achieved a personal best of 3:57.58 to finish sixth - just inside the qualification standard of 3:59.00 - and achieve the standard for his first Olympic Games. The Donegal man had achieved the B standard for the World Championships but he choose to compete in the 20km Walk at the World University Games where he finished 15th. There was heartbreak for Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC), who was disqualified at 48km mark when he was comfortably on track to achieve the qualification standard.Irish walkers achieve Olympic qualification
Olympic Sports Council of Ireland - Saturday, September 24, 2011.
Boyce and Heffernan OQS
Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) and Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) today achieved the Olympic qualification standard in the 50km walk in Nuamburg, Germany.
Heffernan finished second in 3:49.30 and Boyce achieved a personal best of 3:57.58 to finish sixth - just inside the qualification standard of 3:59.00.
Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) was disqualified at 48km mark when he was comfortably on track to achieve the qualification standard.
Donegal Daily - Saturday, September 24, 2011
DELIGHT AS DONEGAL MAN QUALIFIES FOR LONDON OLYMPICS
ATHLETICS supporters in the county are celebrating again after Letterkenny's Brendan Boyce today qualified to compete in the London Olympics next summer.
He achieved the Olympic qualification standard in the 50km walk in Nuamburg, Germany.
Brendan achieved a personal best of 3:57.58 to finish sixth - more than a minute inside the qualification standard of 3:59.00 - and achieve the standard for his first Olympic Games.
The Donegal man had achieved the B standard for the World Championships but he choose to compete in the 20km Walk at the World University Games where he finished 15th.
Fellow Irishman Robert Heffernan, from Togher AC, finished second in 3:49.30, which follows on from the personal best he set at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna last Saturday in the 10km walk, where he finished sixth in 39.19 minutes.
There was heartbreak for another Irish walker Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC), who was disqualified at 48km mark when he was comfortably on track to achieve the qualification standard.
The Irish Times - Friday, August 19, 2011
SPORTS DIGEST: UNIVERSITY GAMES: Brian Gregan narrowly missed out on a medal in the 400 metres final at the World University Games in Shenzhen yesterday, but was rewarded with a personal best time of 45.96 in fifth – his first ever sub-46 second clocking, writes IAN O’RIORDAN .
The DCU student had mixed feelings on the result, but had to be content given three other finalists also ran lifetime bests.
“I wasn’t feeling my best today but came out focused and set a new personal best so I am really happy with that,” said Gregan. “I ran as hard as I could and to be with three other guys who also set PBs is a race to be proud of.”
Kourosh Foroughi, also of DCU, placed ninth in the high jump final after clearing 2.18 metres – having equalled his PB of 2.20 metres to make the final. Amy Foster of UUJ advanced to the 200m semi-finals after a superb second place finish and new PB of 23.53.
Temperatures soared to over 35 degrees Celsius in Shenzhen but that didn’t hinder the performance of the 20km Race Walkers Brendan Boyce and Micheál Doyle. Boyce finished the race with a final time of 1:29.48 which will serve as the groundwork for his attempt at Olympic qualification in the 50km in September; Doyle followed suit by finishing strong with a time of 1:32.48.
www.cusai.ie/?p=940 Follow all the athletes progress at the world university games on the Cusai website.
August 17th – Teammates gotta support one another!
We are definitely a young team this year as many of us have never been to the World University Games but even though I might be nervous or anxious about my event, it doesn’t stop me from supporting other sports in their events. Today I ventured out to get some fresh air and myself and Micheál went to support the swimmers. Of course we cheered our loudest and liked to think that they heard us and appreciated us being there. It’s such a great experience to be here at the Games and I don’t want to miss anything. No one is ever glad they stayed in their room the whole time! Tomorrow is my big day for race walking and it will be great to see the support of Team Ireland.
- Brendan Boyce, 20km Race Walker
 | BBC Look North pop into the Leeds Met race walking centre to do a feature on the facilities and progression of athletes training there. In shot is Brian Hanley the worlds leading biomechanist in the field of race walking being filmed by Neil Smallburn from the BBC Look North team as Brendan Boyce shows how it is done. |
Donegal News
Boyce targets 2012 Olympics
Brendan Boyce (IRL) after 20K European race walking cup, Senior Men,
Independent - 23 May, 2011
Athletics: Veale's star stays on rise with bronze
THERE was major disappointment for Olive Loughnane and Robert Heffernan at the European Race Walking Cup in Portugal, but some consolation for Ireland in the medal-winning performance of rising West Waterford star Kate Veale.
Veale (17) knocked 11 seconds off her own Irish record when taking bronze in the junior 10km race in 46:32.
But Loughnane was most unlucky in the senior women's 20km. The Galway star was second when she was disqualified on the last lap for 'lifting.'
She had received her first yellow card after 11km and was unaware where she had picked up her second.
"I'm not sure if I would have caught the Russian but it would have been close," Loughnane said. "I was hunting the gold and maybe I was hunting a little too hard, but I will bounce back and it will come together soon for me."
There was disappointment too for fellow Olympian Heffernan, who had to settle for 10th in the men's 20km.
Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny) and Michael Doyle (Tara) were 29th and 33rd in men's senior; Mohill's Laura Reynolds was 21st in women's senior.
In the junior men's 10km, Clonmel AC's Evan Lynch was 24th, while Colin Griffin (Ballinamore) had to drop out of the men's 50km with injury.
Athletics Ireland -Monday, March 21st, 2011
Irish Race Walkers Perform well in Lugano
Irish Race Walkers were in great form at Sunday’s European permit meeting in Lugano Switzerland.
Rob Heffernan got his season off to a solid start by finishing 5th in a high class 20 kms race.
The race was won by Chinese athlete Wang Chin. Indeed Chinese Walkers filled the top 3 places, with Heffernan finishing as top European in a very impressive 80 minutes 53 seconds, his fastest ever opening to a season over the 20kms distance.
” Initially I was quite disappointed to get beaten, but on reflection its a good opening to the season, and of course its an Olympic qualifying time, so its handy to have that out of the way”
In the same race Brendan Boyce showed the benefit of 3 weeks altitude training in South Africa by clocking a personal best of 85 minutes 56 seconds which provides Boyce with a world student qualifying time.
Michael Doyle paid the price for a fast opening 10 kms and had to drop out at 15 kms. Unfortunately Colin Griffin fell foul of the judges when on for a sub 85 mins finish.
Leitrim athlete Laura Reynolds also showed the benefit of South Africa by smashing her personal best by almost 2 minutes, recording 95 mins 34 secs.
In the junior 10 kms Emma Prendiville continued a day of P.Bs for the Irish, finishing 3rd in a European Junior qualifying time of 50 mins 51 secs.
Results from the Memorial Mario Albisetti Walking Race in Lugano:
Men
1 Zhen Wang (China) 1:18:36
2 Yafei Zhu (China) 1:18:37
3 Ding Chen (China) 1:19:38
4 Hassanine Sebei (Tunisia) 1:20:19
5 Robert Heffernan (Ireland) 1:20:53
6 Nazar Kovalenko (Ukraine) 1:21:33
7 Petr Trofimov (Russia) 1:21:47
8 Bertrand Moulinet (France) 1:21:49
Women
1 Hong Liu (China) 1:29:28
2 Tatiana Sibileva (Russia) 1:30:36
3 Ni Gao (China) 1:30:45
4 Ana Cabecinha (Portugal) 1:31:07
5 Zuzana Shindlerova (Czech Republic) 1:32:10
6 Yanfei Li (China) 1.32:59
7 Irina Umanova (Russia) 1:33:08
8 Lingling Tong (China) 1.33:13
Athletics Ireland - Monday, March 14th, 2011
AI Race Walking Camp Progressing Well
The Athletics Ireland altitude training camp for Race Walkers is now nearing the end of its third week.
The camp is in Johannesburg South Africa and has been an outstanding success with a blend of youth and experience managed by Ray Flynn the High Performance Chairman.
Athletes taking part are:
Olive Loughnane
Laura Reynolds
Robert Heffernan
James Costin
Colin Griffin
Michael Doyle
Brendan Boyce
Picture shows the Irish contingent with some South African athletes and coaches.
