Knight & O'Loughlin On Form For Irish Squad In Athens

Josie Knight and Michael O'Loughlin were the standout performers for the Irish squad on Day Two of the European Track Championships in Athens, Greece today.
Kerry teenager Knight finished 15th out of 23 riders in the Under 23 Individual Pursuit with a time of 3m43.982s, the third fastest time ever by an Irish woman over the full 3km distance.

Given that Knight is still eligible to ride as a junior and racing individually in her first senior championship event, her performance is all the more noteworthy.
Following Knight into the Athens Olympic Velodrome were Men's Junior riders Michael O'Loughlin and Declan Mulholland who finished 16th and 17th respectively from 24 starters in the Men's Junior 3km pursuit.

O'Loughlin's 3m25.429s set a new national junior record and was just under six tenths of a second faster than Mulholland.
The Men's Team Pursuit squad of Fintan Ryan, Thomas Fallon, Mark Downey and Cormac Clarke were next up for the Irish, finishing 12th in the 4km qualifying round with a time of 4m12.969s.

The final Irish competitor of the day, Cathal Clarke recorded a time of 1m06.858s on his way to 17th in the Men's Junior Kilometre Time Trial.
Afterwards Irish High Performance Coach Brian Nugent expressed his satisfaction with the performances of his relatively untried squad at championship level:-
"It was great to see Josie perform as she did in the 3km Pursuit, looking strong throughout. Riding against the U23 competitors is a great opportunity for her to learn and develop further before the winter World Cups.

"The National record by Michael in the Junior Men's Pursuit was pleasing to see and it's encouraging to see the records chipping away.
"The U23 Men's Team Pursuit squad recorded their fastest time ever, just one second behind the national elite record, and one second quicker than last year. The Junior squad knocked a few tenths of their national record yesterday. It's small advancements, but it's progress and the team are moving forward. That's the main thing."