Power breaks 800m record once again
By Daire Walsh
Templeogue’s Nadia Power maintained her whirlwind start to 2021 by setting yet another 800 metre Irish indoor record at the World Indoor Tour in Torún, Poland on Wednesday.
Just 18 days earlier – at an International Meet in Vienna – the Dublin City Harriers AC member had broken a record that had been held by Síofra Cléirigh Büttner since 2018.
On that occasion, she clocked in at a time of 2:02.44 to finish second in the Austrian capital – a full three seconds better than her previous personal best time.
The 23-year-old former St Jude’s camogie player has continued to make positive strides and that was once again evident in Torún. She crossed over the line in a time of 2:00.98 to not only shatter the Irish record that she had created at the end of the last month, but to add another feather to her already considerable cap.
It also ensured she claimed third spot in the race, behind Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu and Polish runner Jóźwik. Alemu secured top prize in a time of 1:58.19, a new meeting record that served to highlight the intense competition that Power encountered on the night.
This was her final race in advance of the European Indoor Athletics Championship, which is also set to take place in Torún, from March 5-7. She couldn’t have hoped for better form heading into such a crucial event.
In between breaking the 800 metre record on two separate occasions, she emerged victorious at the IFAM Indoor meeting in Gent, Belgium last Saturday.