ATHLETICS European Junior Championships

While the Irish Junior Team did not bring home medals this was a very successful Track and Field European championship for the Irish Team with seven finalists out of an expected eight.

Niamh Whelan’s fourth place in the 100m final, in a personal best in 11.63 seconds was the highlight of the championships. The Waterford woman followed this up by finishing seventh in the 200m final.

Kourosh Foroughi of Star of the Sea AC and Barry Pender of St. Abbans both made the High Jump Final. It was a rare but welcome sight to see two Irish athletes compete in a field final at a major championships. Foroughi of Star of the Sea finished a very credible fifth clearing 2.11m.

Mark Patterson represented Irish middle distance well by making the 800m final finishing eighth in 1.52.22. The Down man ran exceptional well in the heat and semi-final, coming very close to his personal best of 1:51.25 in both.

The Irish team also displayed their sprinting depth with the women’s 4×100m and men’s 4×400m relay making the final. The Men’s 4 x 400m quartet of Fearghus Hannon, Eoin Mulhall, Billy Ryan and Jason Harvey finished sixth in the final in 3.15.79. They qualified for the final when finishing 3rd in their Semi-Final. The women’s 4×100m relay team finished seventh in the final today in 46.61 seconds. The quartet of Steffi Creanor, Eilish Fitzpatrick, Catherine McManus and Niamh Whelan had earlier won their semi-final in 46.79 seconds

For Further Information: www.athleticsireland.ie