Sligo kids set for Millrose Games in New York
TWO lucky Sligo kids will get to rub shoulders with some of the best athletes in the world this coming February as they get set to race in the prestigious Fastest Kid in the World at the iconic Millrose Games.
Ciara Schmidtmeier and Glen Carty have Ireland’s fastest feet this year and are all set for The Big Apple and the experience of a lifetime!
Ciara is a student in Rathcormac primary school and Glen attends Strandhill primary school and both topped the charts across various tests to secure their trips to New York this spring.
As well as being speedy, Glen aged 8, is a keen soccer player and talented kick boxer. While Ciara aged only 7 is a dab hand at basketball and has incredible speed. Both will carry the Irish flag and warm up and race along with Olympians and World Champions.
The Millrose Games is famous for the iconic Wanamaker mile, won on numerous occasions by Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan but what makes this meet extra special is that it gives kids a platform to shine with a race in the middle of the programme called the Fastest Kid in the World where the best of talent come together and race over 55 metres live on NBC.
Once again, the trip is put up by Galway man Richard Donovan, famous for so many high profile races set up in some of the hardest places in the world. Some of his epic global sprinting events include the North Pole marathon and the World Marathon Challenge.
The latter, a genius event that sees participants take part in 7 marathons, on 7 continents in 7 days! Richard is a man that supports so many Irish athletes and initiatives and each year he teams up and backs Sligo man Dermot McDemott to find up and coming young Irish talent.
The Talent ID initiative is for 7 and 8 year olds and is run by Believe and Achieve with Donovan’s financial support.
The programme, now in its fifth year has discovered some fantastic talent down through the years and has secured 2 wins at
Millrose so far! The talented kids from previous years have gone on to win national titles and have inspired many more kids to take up athletics.
Every year the Irish kids enjoy the trip of a lifetime and are given the red carpet treatment by Millrose organisers, before taking centre stage at the most exciting indoor athletics event in the world. Both Ciara and Glen will have their schools and communities excitedly tuning in to watch as the Millrose Games is streamed live from the Armory Track and is watched on NBC by Athletics fans all over the world.
No doubt both will return home in February to a hero’s welcome.