Irish Team Announced For The 2015 World University Games

Irish record holder Thomas Barr (University Limerick) will lead the Irish team for the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea from the 3rd - 14th July. Barr is joined on the team by Ciara Everard (UCD AC) - 800m, Adam McMullen (UU) - long jump, John Travers (Athlone IT) - 1500m/10,000m and Kevin Batt (Adams State University) - 5,000m.

Barr has been in impressive early season form including a third place finish in the prestigious IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha where he recorded a time of 48.99 seconds. He continued his preparations with a fine win at the IFAM meeting in Belgium in a time of 49.50. Barr will be making his debut at the World University Games competition.

At that same meeting in Belgium on the 23rd of May UCD student Everard broke new ground in the 800m. The Kilkenny native placed second in a new personal best of 2.01.27, that time moves her to number six on the Irish all time lists. The last time these championships where held in 2013 Everard reached the semi-final stage of the competition.

Belfast athlete McMullen will contest the long jump event after an encouraging indoor season which included a 7.80m jump to win the GloHealth senior indoor long jump title. McMullen represented Ireland at the European Indoor Championships in Prague in March and has an outdoor season best jump of 7.77m from the Loughborough International on the 17th of May.

European Indoor 1500m finalist John Travers (Athlone IT) is selected in both the 1500m and 10,000m events having achieved the times in both. The talented Dublin based athlete made a big breakthrough in Prague where he made the final in the 1500m finishing seventh in his first major championship final. On the 16th of May at the Highgate 10k in London Travers recorded a new personal best of 29.04.66 for the distance.

Adams State University athlete Kevin Batt goes in the 5,000m event after clocking a time of 13.39.61 at a meeting in Stanford on the 3rd of April. Batt is the current Irish 5,000m champion and also represented Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria last December.