Golds for Kildare at All-Ireland Juvenile finals

ALL Ireland Juveniles Day two of the All-Ireland juveniles was held last Sunday in Tullamore. Kildare athletes came away with three gold medals and several silver and bronze. The first gold of the day was won by Ella Hanlon (Suncroft) in the u14 discus. Hanlon finished over five meters ahead of her nearest opponent as she threw a massive throw of 30.94 in the fourth round to take the gold ahead of Meave McGeehan (Olympic Youth). This is Hanlon’s second medal of the championships. On day one she took second place in the u14 shot.

Alex Heeney (Clane) has been having a fantastic season. The Clane AC athlete set a new personal best two weeks ago at the National League of 1.93. Clearing all heights on the first attempt up to 1.86m, Heeney was unlucky to knock the bar at 1.89. A sudden shower interrupted the series of jumps.

The third gold medal went to Aidan Bayon (Celbridge) in the u19 boys walk. Bayon is in his final year of juvenile competition and rounds off his juvenile career nicely with yet another gold medal.

Leigh O’Brien (Celbridge) was drawn in a fast heat against the eventually winner of the 400m Andrew Hayse (DSD). O’Brien who runs conservatively for the first half of the race, left himself a lot to do as he approached the penultimate bend. Rounding off the final bend, O’Brien was only in fourth place. A rapid final 100m saw him power through to take silver in 50.25. Tuan Lee (Clane) produced another silver medal. Lee led the competition until the final round when Andrew Mellerick (Newport) jumped 5.27m out of nowhere to clinch the gold. This was Mellericks first jump over five meters, compared to all of Lee’s surpassing the five meter mark. There were screams of delight as Henry McCormack (Newbridge) jumped 5m even to take fourth place.

Seven bronze medals were won. Saoirse Ballesty-Byrne took Naas AC’s first of two medals of the day as she ran a superb 100m to take bronze. The other medal, also a bronze went to Aoibhinn O’Sullivan in the u18 pole vault. Also taking bronze was Cara Wright (Crookstown-Millview) in the discus. In the u16 long jump Rachael Beattie (Crookstown-Millview) jumped 5.60m just eight centimeters off the silver medal position. 5.60m is a new personal best. Her clubmate Georgia Myerscough finished 8th after fouling her two final jumps. Beattie was unlucky in the final of the 100m. A close finish saw her loose out to Ballesty-Byrne by just one hundredth of a second. There was no losing out for Daniel Hanlon (Crookstown-Millview) as he took bronze in the u14 80m in a new personal best.

Tir na Mona had two athletes competing on the day. In the u14 walk Senan Markey took third after the disqualification of Sean Walsh Adamstown for lifting. Later in the day, Lucy Gill ran a suberb 80m to take second in her heat and qualify for the final. A stumble out of the blocks cost her time in the final and she finished eight.

3000m 3 Rachael Keaney (Newbridge) worked hard for her u16 3000m bronze medal. A fast start to the race was Eve Haugh (Foyle AC) and Ciara Rohan (Waterford AC) break away from the field. While Haugh stayed ahead, Keaney ran a smart race, gradually reeling in Rohan. In the final lap Keaney along with Sophie Maher (Ennis) passed an exhausted Rohan, relegating her into fourth place. Keaney secured the bronze. Her medal was presented to her by her uncle Ray Flynn, who still holds the Irish mile record, forty two years after he set it.

Finally to mention Ryan O Neill (Newbridge) who was fourth in the u14 javelin. O’Neill was so close to bronze, just 6cm off with a throw of 35.04. Lucy Hannon (Crookstown-Millview) competed in the u19 100m sprint. In her final juvenile competition, she put in a great performance to finish fourth, missing out on a bronze medal by two hundredths of a second.