Dundalk athlete Finegan smashes her own World Decathlon record

Dundalk athlete Geraldine Finegan has once again written her name into the history books after breaking her own World Masters W60 Decathlon record with an outstanding 7,912 points in the Netherlands.

Having set the previous world record of 7,796 points earlier this year in April, Geraldine travelled to Holland determined to move closer to the elusive 8,000-point barrier.

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Competing over two days in temperatures reaching 30°C, she faced one of the strongest and most diverse fields of athletes she has encountered, lining up against 11 competitors ranging from under-20 and under-23 athletes to senior competitors, over-35 athletes and another woman in the over-60 category.

Not only did Geraldine improve her own world record, but she also finished overall winner of the entire competition, scoring more than 2,500 points ahead of the next highest athlete.

“The heat made it one of the toughest decathlons I’ve ever competed in,” she said. “I’m used to competing in rain and wind, so racing for two days in 30 degrees really took its toll.

“My first day wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be, so I knew I’d have to fight much harder on day two if I was going to stay on target.”

She responded in spectacular fashion. Only a week after setting a new national pole vault record, Geraldine cleared 2.54 metres to improve that record by a further four centimetres during the decathlon.

Everything then came down to the final event – the 1,500 metres.

Knowing she needed to run under 6 minutes 18 seconds to achieve her target, Geraldine admitted she was nervous. Her previous best, set only a week earlier in Germany, had been 6:20, meaning she needed to find another two seconds.

“I still believed I could do it,” she said.

She tucked in behind two younger athletes for the opening 300 metres before moving onto the shoulder of a 23-year-old competitor for the next 700 metres.

As runners began to tire in the intense heat, Geraldine kept pushing before launching her finishing kick with 500 metres remaining. Spectators realised history was within reach and cheered her all the way to the finish.

“We were being handed water-soaked sponges because of the heat,” she explained. “I carried one in my hand to cool my neck and help me breathe. The last 300 metres actually felt surprisingly comfortable because I knew I only had about a minute left.”

Crossing the finish line, Geraldine looked up to see 5:57 on the clock.

“I couldn’t believe it. Everyone was speaking Dutch, and I kept asking, ‘Is that my time? Is it really my time?’ When they confirmed it, I realised I’d done it.”

The performance lifted her to 7,912 points, adding another 116 points to her own world record and securing another remarkable chapter in her athletics career.

Although she narrowly missed her personal ambition of reaching 8,000 points, Geraldine described the achievement as one of the proudest moments of her career.

“Training for a decathlon means preparing for ten completely different events. It takes training twice a day, seven days a week, along with enormous commitment, dedication and sacrifice.”

She also paid tribute to those who helped her achieve the record.

“I’d like to thank all of my coaches who have helped me with the individual events. I couldn’t have achieved this without the people who believed in me and helped me reach another world record.”