The TNT national track and field championships were held in Morton stadium in Dublin over the weekend. Weather conditions were bright and breezy on both days, with some very hot and impressive performances. Leevale’s Mark Carroll ran the 5,000m and recorded an easy victory, never being threatened throughout. He afterwards described it as a good tempo run. A couple of hours later he was back on track for the 1,500m, settling in behind in a very slow first 800m. By the bell he was up with the leaders, and then there was a dramatic last 100m as Niall Bruton opened up a lead of a couple of metres. A fiercely fought sprint ensued as Carroll slowly closed and the two crossed the finish line together. The photo finish showed that the Corkman had won by just one hundredth of a second, thus becoming the first male athlete to achieve the 1,500m/5,000m double. With his injury problems obviously behind him now, all he could say after was “I needed that”. Sixteen year old Sharon Kelly of Leevale had a great run in the 100m to place third in a good class 100m. And there was also great news for her clubmate Derval O’Rourke who chased Susan Smith all the way to the finish to take second, achieving a qualifying standard for the European championships in the process.