Eileen Kenny: Outstanding Achievement finalist
Eileen Kenny is a renowned figure in athletics circles across the Midlands and her achievements are an inspiration to everyone. The 74-year-old Athlone resident - who will turn 75 later this year - is not only still running competitively; she continues to accumulate medals and honours.
Eileen recently claimed the gold medal in the over 70 category at the Charleville Half Marathon, which served as this year’s National Half Marathon Championships.
At the end of July, Eileen was part of an Ireland Masters relay team which set a new world record. The Irish O70 4 x 800m quartet broke the previous record by over a minute, recording a time of 13.27.
Eileen competed in the 10km road race at this year’s World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. She narrowly missed out on a medal, placing fourth in her age category in a time of 49.32.
In July 2022, Eileen won two silver medals and one bronze at the World Masters Championships in Finland. One of the silver medals came in the 6k cross country race, where she finished with the same time as the gold medal winner.
Also in 2022, Eileen claimed gold medals in two different European Masters Championships events in Italy and Portugal. Competing in the O70s category, she won the 10k and 5k races in Italy, and the 6.4k cross country event at the European Masters Athletics Championships in Braga, Portugal.
Eileen currently holds the Irish O70s record in outdoor track for 800m, 3000m and 5000m. She also holds the road race record in her age category for 5km (22.20) and 10km (45.28), and has run a highly impressive half marathon time of 1.43.33.
In 2018, Eileen won a bronze medal in the World Masters Track & Field Championships in Malaga. She finished third in the 10km road race despite the misfortune of falling during the race!
She has represented Ireland in international competitions on several occasions.
Originally from Mount Temple, Eileen lives in Athlone after moving back to Westmeath from Cork.
Eileen is now a member of Tullamore Harriers, having previously been a member of Athlone AC, Mullingar Harriers and St Finbarr’s AC in Cork. Eileen’s daughter Michelle is an accomplished athlete with Leevale AC in Cork.
The other Outstanding Achievement finalists are Ben O'Carroll and Chloe Singleton.
The Westmeath Independent Community & Sports Awards 2024 takes place at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel today (Thursday).
The Outstanding Achievement category at the Westmeath Independent Community & Sports Awards 2024 is sponsored by DPD.