Gutsy fourth for Mulcaire

Gutsy fourth for Mulcaire

Kevin Mulcaire just missed out on a bronze medal finishing an agonising fourth in the 5,000m in 14:39.14 at the European Junior Athletics Championships in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

The Clare man was always in contention in a tactical race that only got going with two laps remaining. Mulcaire (Ennis Track) got gapped slightly but then bridged the gap to be in the hunt for a medal. Unfortunately he got detached with 200m remaining with Great Britain's Alex George taking the win in 14:34.42. Jack O'Leary (Mullingar Harriers) finished 19th in 15:18.02.

Mawdsley surprises and makes the final

Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport) exceeded all expectations by making the final of the 200m finishing 8th in 24.09 won by Germany's Gina Luckenkemper in a fast 22.41 (+2.6 wind). Less than two hours earlier she recorded an impressive 23.73 (+4.2 wind) in third. "I'm delighted that I actually got into the final," said Mawdsley. "I never expected it. All the nerves were set aside because I was mostly an underdog. That was basically the highlight of my career to date."

Coscoran digs deep for ninth in 1500

Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea) hung in gamely but had to settle for a 9th place finish in the final of the men's 1500m in 3:52.33. 

Kirwan and Purcell fall just short in the semis

With two automatic qualifiers from each semi-final and two fastest losers it was going to be close to make the final. Cillian Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock) finished 5th in the first semi-final in 1:52.94 behind Germany's Marc Reuther in 1:51.26. Harry Purcell (Trim) looked set for a final berth as he sprinted into the home straight but just ran out of gas in the last 50 meters finishing fourth in 1:51.98. Mateusz Borkowski of Poland came through for the win in 1:51.16. They finished 11th and 17th overall. 

Earlier in the day Eoin Sheridan (North Westmeath) threw 53.74m to finish 16th overall in discus qualification missing out on the final by four places.