Top Tipperary athlete abandons Australian training camp because of raging bush fires

Clonmel athlete Sean Tobin is one of three Irish athletes who has been forced to abandon a planned training camp in Australia because of the bush fires that have turned parts of the country into a disasater zone.

Tobin travelled to Australia following his stunning win in the MSD 4-mile race in his home town on St. Stephen’s Day when he set a new national record for the distance.

But the Irish Times reports today that Tobin, Paul Robinson and Michelle Finn have been unable to reach their camp at Falls Creek due to the proximity of bush fires.

Falls Creek is a fire hour drive from Melbourne but the three athletes were turned back by police and fire fighters  at the foot of the mountain.

The entire area has now been given an evacuation order as temperatures are expected to top forty degrees on Sarturday and the risk of further bush fires rises.

The Irish Times’ Ian O’Riordan reports that Tobin and the other two runners had planned to use the high altitude training in Falls Creek as part of their preparations for the European championships in Paris and the Tokyo Olympics.

The Clonmel man was Ireland’s top finisher at the European cross country championships in Lisbon