Jumping the Gun caught up with RTE athletics pundit Jerry Kiernan where we discussed the national championships, the crowds and how the Irish will fair at the worlds along with who will be the international stars to watch out for

Jerry Kiernan Nationals review and worlds preview Part 1

In a return to the podcasting due to social media pressures - which involved seven people liking a tweet - we tee up what should be a cracking edition of the National Cross Country Championships on Sunday. 

Santry Demesne will play host to the best and brightest of Irish athletics, with places on offer at the Europeans in Dublin which, as we learn during our show, is both a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Join us as we update everyone on the reasons our absence from the Irish athletics airwaves over the past six months and run the rule over the fields in the U20 and senior races in Santry, along with expressing our admiration (real) for Andrew Coscoran and our love (fake) for Abbotstown. Let battle commence.

Cross Comeback Podcast

It was a bumper week for Irish and international athletics with Thomas Barr and Mark English putting themselves into medal contention for the European Championships in August to highlight a number of top performances by Irish athletes.

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank) broke new ground when setting a new Irish 400m hurdles record of 48.90 in Geneva, Switzerland last Saturday to place him temporarily on top of the European rankings.

We take a world cup theme and pick our fantasy athletics squad to compete in Brazil.

We pick our athlete of the week and look forward to the week ahead. including the European Team Championships, Tailteann Games and round two of the National League.

We also welcome Gerard O' Donnell to the podcast team.

Thomas raises the Barr as English takes on the King

Athlone's Highs and Lows; Emerald's Rising Star: No Mo Messing from Farah

We look at two main talking points in this week’s podcast: do Masters athletes deserve more respect and why are elite runners not getting the limelight in favour of human interest stories. 

The Irish National Masters Championships were on last weekend and many felt like second class citizens despite it being a national championship – there was no call room, delays and mix-ups with results and times and a fee of €15 per event. We discuss the pros and cons of Masters running and look at some of the top performances. 

Ian O”Riordan wrote an article in The Irish Times recently lamenting the lack of awareness of, and lack of attention given to, Ireland’s elite athletes in favour of human interests. We discuss the travails of the modern athlete and why it’s not necessarily the fault of the running magazines for the lack of attention.  

We also take a look at some of Ireland’s great athletes that featured in Running Times, review last weekend’s action and look forward to the weekend where we will be commentating at the National Juvenile Championships on the Athletics Ireland live stream powered by Aertv.

Podcast: Elites and Masters Fighting for an Audience

Mick Clohissey Interview

Thomas Tanks It; Mulcaire magnificent, and is Gatlin good for the sport?

 
This week, we reflect and celebrate two breakout performances from a pair of young Irish stars and enter into a dark discussion about an ageing villain of the sport who continues to defy logic.

 
Kevin Mulcaire broke John Treacy's Irish record for 5,000m in Manchester, running 14:02.30, and we discuss the Clare man's historic run and ask whether he can medal at the European Juniors.

 
On Friday, Thomas Barr went to Doha for his first diamond league, and rose to the occasion by finishing third. We predict how his season may go from here and just what the 22-year-old may be capable of.

 
In more depressing news, Justin Gatlin ran the fastest 100m for many years in Doha, 9.74, and we debate whether the American is still doping, whether drug cheats deserve forgiveness and whether his presence is actually good for the sport.

Thomas Tanks It; Mulcaire magnificent, and is Gatlin good for the sport?

Part two of this week's podcast reflects on the underwhelming AAI Games, where the atmosphere was distinctly lacking.

In London, the atmosphere proved superb at the Highgate night of the 10,000m PBs as several Irish athletes took to the track. We hear from Liam Brady's coach Rob Denmead and get his thoughts on his protégé's sub-30-minute run.

We run the rule over the best provincial schools action, and highlight the lightning-quick performance of Amy Foster in Clermont, Florida. 

Finally, we tell you about our plans for a head-to-head beer mile.

Ghost town at AAI Games; Highgate hits the right note; Foster flies in Clermont

Listen to the full Mo Farah press conference before the Sainsbury's Birmingham Grand Prix where he responds to the BBC Panorama documentary Catch Me If You Can. Farah is "angry" and believes Salazar has questions to answer

Mo Farah responds to Salazar storm press conference

In this week’s podcast, we digest the stunning news of Asbel Kiprop’s positive test for EPO. Was he scammed? Did he cheat? Is it time to go after his agent? Is his explanation convincing? We debate all of the above.

After that, we turn our attention to some good news: Phil Healy’s scorching hot 100m times at the Tón Le Gaoithe meeting in Waterford last weekend, asking what they might mean for the summer ahead. We round up the best of the Irish performances at home and abroad before hearing from an Irish marathoner who’s packing his bags for Flagstaff, Arizona.

Stephen Scullion, fresh from his 2:15:55 run at the London Marathon last month, explains why he feels the need to train far from home to reach the next level, and in a candid interview, he opens up on the challenge of making it work financially while chasing the running dream.

To close, we look ahead to the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday, running the rule over the best races, telling you what to expect when you’re expecting…a good meeting.

Kiprop Goes Down, Healy on fire, Scullion dreams big

It’s round three of the latest Jumping The Gun podcast reincarnation and we cut our teeth straight into the social media debate sparked by Sonia O’Sullivan’s article in The Irish Times last week. 
Are athletes losing their way on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook instead of getting the ultimate like… performances on the track and field?
We debate the merits of social media and using it as a platform for branding, income and just good old passing the time and entertainment purposes. But has it gone too far or not too far. 
Next up we discuss the quiet, but potentially exciting, development at the Athletics Ireland Congress last month where €3 of every member (there are currently circa 60,000) of the association’s registration will be ring-fenced for investment into coaching. The key question is whether the money will be put into high level coaching or the developmental level. We talk about what we’d do with that sweet cash and how we might get to the next level. 
Having asked for questions from our listeners we delved deep into the plethora (two) and picked out Elizabeth Egan’s: what Irish records will be broken this summer? 
Delving into The Truth, we tell you all about Grant Holloway and the highlights of the American collegiate scene including ANOTHER World U20 record by Sydney McLaughlin and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner winning The Big East 800m title again. 
We close out with being Shanghaied with another Diamond League meeting and what we can remember were the highlights from China. How many athletes are really shining bright like a diamond to draw the public’s attention? 
Of course there are a few more meandering conversations along with Sarah Healy’s rising stock and a 15-year-old, Max Burgin, running a world age best of 1:47.50 for the 800m.

Social Media: Scourge or Saviour?; Cash for Coaching; The Truth and Shanghai

On this week's podcast we're joined by one of Ireland's leading distance runners Kevin Dooney.

Starting with a recap of his running career to date, we then get into an in-depth discussion around mental health, and Dooney's own battle with depression.

In an open and honest interview, Dooney talks about the moment he realised something was not quite right with his mental health, and charts it's progression to date, and the methods he uses to manage it.

We get insights into how both writing and talking have helped him become more self-aware, and how seeking the joy in running will remain a goal for the future.

Kevin Dooney: Running with Depression

In this week's podcast we look at the leading Irish results from last weekend, before delving into our topic of discussion for this episode: the problem with potential and athlete development. 

We then go international to the Prefontaine Classic (31:30 into the podcast) with interviews with Matthew Centrowitz, Christian Coleman and Shelby Houlihan. 

This was the last time the event will be held in the original Hayward Field before it's demolished and rebuilt. Is it really that 'HISTORIC'?  

'Centro' reflects on the Asbel Kiprop doping situation along with his favourite memories from Hayward Field. 

Coleman talks about his hiccups since winning the world indoors while Houlihan talks about her big breakthrough and the gold dust of the Jerry Schumacher/Bowerman Track Club regime.  

There were plenty of good performances from Irish athletes at home and abroad. Phil Healy was one of the headliners at the AAI Games while the juniors grabbed attention at the IFAM meeting in Oordegem - The women's U20 4x100m relay team set a new national record and Sarah Healy broke the youth 1500m record. 

This leads into our discussion on potential. Do we keep going back to the source when a talent hits a roadblock? Should we look at athletic scouts and identify those for the long game.  

It becomes a merry-go-round instead of developing what we have, which would create a consistent path for the next generation. Alternatively we keep going back to the 'talent.'

Problem with "Potential"; Centrowitz-Past Present and Prefontaine

On this week's podcast we get stuck into the rebirth of the vintage Diamond League meetings in Oslo and Stockholm. 

Steeped in history, the meets have flagged in recent years but have come back to prominence with some impressive marketing, great local athletes and top class competition. This was proved with the number of bums on seats.

Cathal caught up with some of the interesting characters on the circuit including teenage sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen, long distance and social media guru Julien Wanders along with the man of the moment Juan Miguel Echevarria - who quite literally nearly jumped out of the long jump pit in Stockholm. 

The NCAA championships proved its outrageous standard of competition once more but equally as outrageous is the lack of drug testing. 

On the doping front we also catch up with the convincing Asbel Kiprop who is giving up his fight for innocence. 

Domestically we chart the rise of Cork sprinting heroine Phil Healy and some of the studs at the Irish Schools championships.

JTG

Popular tracks