Kerry O'Flaherty

Kerry O'Flaherty (born 15 July 1981) is an Irish runner competing primarily in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[2] She competed at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing without qualifying for the final. O'Flaherty competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. She has also competed at two European Championships and one European Indoor Championships.

Kerry O'Flaherty
Kerry O'Flaherty at 2015 European Team Championships First League.
Personal information
Born (1981-07-15) 15 July 1981
Newtownards, Northern Ireland
Height1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
CountryIreland
SportTrack and field
Event(s)3000 metres steeplechase
Coached byRichard Rodgers[1]

Biography

Kerry O'Flaherty was born 15 July 1981 in Newtownards.[3][4] She runs for Newcastle AC.[5]

O'Flaherty completed a sports science degree and studied physical education at Ulster University.[6]

She began competitively training in 2009. She had hoped to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London but was plagued by an Achilles injury.[6]

She improved on her Northern Ireland 3000m steeplechase record at the 2014 International Flanders Athletics Meeting in Oordegem with a time of 9:52.94, finishing fifth. She was injured at the same event the previous year and missed most of the season due to a faulty water barrier. Her time qualified her for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[7]

She qualified for the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics after running a 9:42.61 at the 2015 Letterkenny AC International.[8] She beat her personal best time by ten seconds.[9] O'Flaherty competed in the third heat of the World Championships and finished with a time of 10:05.10. She was disappointed by her finish and did not qualify for the finals.[10]

In the 2016 European Championships, she finished in sixth place, behind her teammate Sara Treacy, and achieved a personal best time of 9:45.53, advancing to the finals.[11] All three Irish athletes advanced to the finals, the first time ever in any event at the European Championships.[12] She finished in 12th place with 9:45.88.[13] She was also part of the bronze-medal winning Irish team that raced at the 2016 European Cross Country Championships.[14]

O'Flaherty competed in her first Olympics, the 2016 Games in Rio, at the age of 35. She finished the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:45.35, placing 14th in the heat. It was her season best, but she did not advance to the finals.[15][16]

She competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2018 European Championships, but did not qualify for the finals after finishing her heat in 10:09.81 and 17th place.[17][18]

O'Flaherty worked on qualifying for Northern Ireland's 2018 Commonwealth Games team, which had a qualification standard of 9:54.00. She tore her calf muscle in May 2017. O'Flaherty finished a June 2017 race at Huelva in 10:06.86 in 11th. At the 2017 Folksam Grand Prix she narrowly missed, finishing in 9:54.40.[19] She successfully met the qualification time at an race four days later in the Memorial Rasschaert.[20] However, since she only met the qualification time once, she was ranked 13th of Northern Ireland's 15 qualified athletes. The team was allocated 11 spots so O'Flaherty was not selected to represent Northern Ireland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[21]

She qualified for the 2018 European Athletics Championships during the IFAM Flanders International. She placed third with 9:53.00, qualifying under the B standard.[22]

In 2019 O'Flaherty was working to qualify for the World Championships. During the European Permit Meeting in Spain, she was hit from behind as she attempted to jump a barrier. When she landed, she broke her fifth metatarsal, ending her hopes to qualify for the World Championships.[23]

Statistics

Personal bests
Event Time Venue Date Notes
1500 metres (indoor) 4:14.63 Athlone 2017 15 February 2017 [24]
1500 metres (outdoor) 4:12.79 Leixlip 2015 13 June 2015 [25]
3000 metres (indoor) 9:11.77 Athlone 2016 27 February 2016 [25]
3000 metres (outdoor) 9:09.50 Banská Bystrica 2009 20 June 2009 [25]
3000 metres steeplechase 9:42.61 Letterkenny 2015 10 July 2015 [26]

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Ireland and  Northern Ireland
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 11th 3000 m s'chase 9:55.94
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 39th (h) 3000 m s'chase 10:05.10
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 12th 3000 m s'chase 9:45.88
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 34th (h) 3000 m s'chase 9:45.35
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 18th (h) 1500 m 4:23.82
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 32nd (h) 3000 m s'chase 10:09.81

References
  1. Dwyer, Ciara (4 February 2019). "Irish Olympian Kerry O'Flaherty starts her day with 'the old Jane Fonda routine'". Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. "Kerry O'Flaherty". IAAF. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  3. O'Toole, Fintan (3 August 2016). "Meet Ireland's Olympic team: Kerry O'Flaherty". The 42. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  4. "Kerry O'Flaherty Biography". Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  5. "Commonwealth Games 2014 – A look at the NI runners set to compete". NiRunning. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  6. Thompson, Sylvia (9 February 2019). "Kerry O'Flaherty: 'You have to set yourself realistic targets and goals'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. McCausland, Malcolm (2 June 2014). "O'Flaherty books her ticket to Glasgow". The Irish News. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  8. "Three Irish athletes run Olympic qualifying times in Letterkenny". The Irish Times. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  9. O'Riordan, Ian (30 July 2016). "Kerry O'Flaherty - Athletics". The Irish Times.
  10. O'Riordan, Ian (24 August 2015). "More disappointment for Irish on day three in Beijing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  11. O'Riordan, Ian (8 July 2016). "Emotional Ciara Mageean celebrates making European Championship final". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  12. O'Sullivan, Sonia (14 July 2016). "Sonia O'Sullivan: Ciara Mageean now destined for a higher level". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  13. O'Riordan, Ian (10 July 2016). "Ireland's Ciara Mageean wins bronze at European Championships". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  14. Haughey, John (13 January 2016). "Kerry O'Flaherty wades through Antrim mud ahead of Rio Olympic trip". BBC. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  15. "Rio 2016 Olympics: Kerry O'Flaherty 14th in 3,000m steeplechase heat". BBC. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  16. O'Toole, Jack. "Kerry O'Flaherty: I waited 22 years for my Olympic dream". Sports Joe. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  17. O'Riordan, Ian (10 August 2018). "Ciara Mageean aware of what's to come in Berlin showdown". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  18. "European Championships 2018: Ciara Mageean cruises through to 1500m final". BBC. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  19. "Kerry O'Flaherty narrowly misses Commonwealth Games standard with season's best in Sweden!". NiRunning. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  20. "LOCAL ATHLETES DELIVER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDALS, NI RECORD AND COMMONWEALTH GAMES STANDARD". Athletics Northern Ireland. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  21. O'Flaherty, Kerry (4 January 2018). "The Lows of Sport". Run Kerry Run. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  22. "Kerry O'Flaherty records Euro 'B' standard as NI athletes impress in Belgium!". NiRunning. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  23. "Kerry O'Flaherty: Olympian's season over after she breaks foot in Spanish race". BBC. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  24. O'Riordan, Ian (3 March 2017). "European Indoor Athletics: Guide to Ireland team in Belgrade". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  25. "Kerry O'Flaherty". European Athletics. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  26. O'Riordan, Ian (4 August 2018). "Team Ireland at the European Athletics Championships". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
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