Veale Named in 15 Member Squad for World Junior Track and Field Championships

Athletics Ireland has named reigning world youth walk champion, Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) as part of a 15 member squad to compete at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships to be held in Barcelona from the 10-15th of July. Veale finished an impressive sixth at the recent IAAF World Cup of Race Walking in Saransk, Russia. Emma Prendiville (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) will also compete in the 10k Walk.

Mark English (Letterkenny AC) will compete in the 800m having run an impressive 1.45.77 this season to break his own National Junior Record. This time moved him to fifth on the Irish all-time list, ahead of Marcus O'Sullivan (1.45.87). Fellow Donegal athlete, Karl Griffin (Tir Chonaill AC), is also set to compete over this distance. Karl, European Youth Olympic medallist from 2011 has shown good form this year breaking English's 800m Youth Record, running 1:49.63. 16 year old, Sيofra Cleirigh-Buttner (DSD AC) will compete in the 800m. Her personal best of 2:04.82, set at a Dublin Graded Meet in June, ranks her second fastest Irish woman to date this year.

European Youth Olympic Champion, Ruairi Finnegan (Letterkenny AC) will compete in the 1500m having run 3:46.27 this year. He will be joined in the 1500m by Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) who recently ran 3.46.41 for the distance.

In the longer distance event, reigning Inter club Cross Country Champion Sarah Collins (Finn Valley AC) has been selected to compete over 3,000m with Kevin Dooney (Raheny AC) competing in the 10,000m.


In the Sprints, Marcus Lawler (St. Laurence O' Toole) will compete in the 200m. Lawler has this year so far, set personal bests of 21.42 in the 200m and 10.72 in the 100m, both new Irish Youth Records.
Joanna Mills (Ballymena & Antrim AC) will go in the 400m in Barcelona. Mills ran brilliantly last year to place fourth in 400m final at the 2011 European Junior Track and Field Championships in Estonia.

Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) is selected for the 100m hurdles. Lavin began 2012 in style by equalling Derval O'Rourke's national junior record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.46. Lavin transferred this form to the outdoor season recording an impressive personal best of 13.73 to win the Irish Schools. European Youth Olympic Champion from 2011, Ben Kiely (Ferrybank AC) is set to compete in the 400m Hurdles.

Dempsey McGuigan (Finn Valley AC) will compete in the Hammer having set an Irish Junior Record of 70.02m earlier in the year. McGuigan will be joined in the hammer by newly crowned National Junior champion, James McCabe of Dunboyne AC who has thrown 68.62m this year.

Jacqui Freyne Junior High Performance Manager said "This is a strong team across a variety of events and reflects the immense athletic talent that exists, and the quality of coaches working within the younger ranks in athletics in Ireland at the moment, and we wish all the team the best of luck in Barcelona."