Gold for athletes at National Junior and U23 championships

THE GloHeath National Junior and U-23 championships took place in Tullamore last Saturday and there were some fine performances from local athletes.

Shona Heaslip (An Riocht) was a double medal winner, picking up silver in the U-23 Women’s 1,500m in the morning and then following this up with gold in the U23 Women’s 5000m later in the day.

In the Junior Women’s long jump Aoibheann O’Brien (Tralee Harriers) won gold with her first jump of 5.53m – only a few centimetres off her personal best.

There was gold too for Kayleigh Cronin (Farranfore/Maine Valley) in the U23 Women’s discus and Mairead O’Neill (Gneeveguilla) in the U-23 Women’s hammer.

Andrew McCarthy (Gneeveguilla) finished in bronze medal position in the U23 Men’s discus and was 4th in the shot.

Adam King (Iveragh) won silver in Junior Men’s hammer with a throw of 69.50m. Adam has been selected to represent Ireland at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 19 to 24. Adam will be competing at the end of the morning session on Wednesday, July 20.

Also competing were Rachel Bowler (Tralee Harriers) who battled illness to finish 5th in the Junior Women’s long jump, Leanne Cronin and Niamh de Hora from Farranfore Maine Valley and Sarah Leahy, Erin Brosnan and Dion Marcus from Killarney Valley.

Meanwhile, last Sunday saw Stephanie Reid and Robyn Cahill from An Riocht take part in the GloHealth Juvenile Team Championships. The girls combined throws in the turbo javelin gave them silver medals, with just 8cm separating first and second place.

The Cork City Sports International Athletics Meet was held at CIT last Tuesday week with several Kerry athletes representing Ireland at this high profile event.

Laura Crowe (An Riocht) won gold in the Women’s 800m, holding off a last minute challenge from Mihaela Nunu from Romania to cross the line in 2.05.73. Aoife O’Mahony (Lios Tuathail) took part in the Junior Women’s 800m, finishing 4th in a time of 2:14.24.

The Tralee Harriers jumping duo of Rachel Bowler and Aoibheann O’Brien competed in the Women’s long jump with 5th and 6th place finishes respectively.

In the Men’s Open 3,000m, Tim O’Connor (An Riocht) was 6th overall in a very fast and competitive race.

In the Juvenile Gala, which was held before the main event, Jack Greaney from Gneeveguilla finished second in the U-14 boys race.

Photo by Sportsfile Shona Heaslip of An Riocht A.C. (no.152) competing in the U-23 Womens 5000m during the GloHealth National Junior and U23 Track & Field Championships at Tullamore Harriers Stadium in Tullamore.

Aoibheann O’Brien, Tralee Harriers, on her way to winning the Junior Women’s Long Jump