Sponsored by
Simple error costs Finnegan gold in Finland
DUNLEER AC athlete Geraldine Finnegan returned home from the World Masters Athletic Championships in Lahti in Finland earlier in the week having broken the 3,000 mark for medals won in her career.
The amazing feat, which makes her the most decorated athlete in the country, was capped with a silver in the heptathlon in Finland – a result which the 43-year-old said she was 'disappointed' with having won gold on her three previous visits to the world event.
The silver medal was her 3,001st medal in an amazing athletics career and she added a further five to that tally at the weekend when she picked up five golds at the All-Irelands in Tullamore in the 100m, 400m, shot putt, javelin and long jump events taking her to a whopping
3,006 medals – more than any other Irish athlete including the likes of Sonia O'Sullivan and Derval O'Rourke.
Speaking to The Dundalk Democrat, Finnegan said she was disappointed not to have taken home a fourth gold medal from the World Masters having finished second to Britain's Kimberly Rothman as a basic human error cost her dearly.
"I was disappointed with the silver in the end," she admitted. "The high jump really cost me.
"I had a great first event in the 80 metre hurdles and after that I thought I had a real chance to win the gold but the high jump was just a disaster. I was sitting down waiting around and I cooled down too much and missed my first jump.
"I just made a mistake but I won't ever let it happen again.
"Of the seven events in the heptathlon I won four but it's based on points and after the high jump incident I lost so many points that it was impossible for me to win. I suppose considering all that happened I did very well to get silver."
Next up for Finnegan is the Northern Ireland multi-events this weekend in Belfast while she is also coaching the Hunterstown Rovers minor team and the athletes of Glenmore AC in Cooley.
However, she is already eyeing up a fourth gold medal at the World Masters next year.
"I'll be back next year when the championships are on in Canada and then the year after that in Sacramento. I'm looking forward to them already," she said.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Dundalk
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
