Healy goes long

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Healy the headline act

Sam Healy headlined an excellent first day for the Irish team at the 23rd European Junior Athletics Championships by qualifying fourth overall into tomorrow's long jump final with a best of 7.38m. 

The young Leevale  star was understandably delighted with his performance. "I'm absolutely delighted," said Healy who became the first man since Eoin Hannon to qualify for the European junior final in 2007. "I didn't expect it at all to be honest," continued the Cork man who has half an eye on Ciaran McDonagh's national junior record of 7.73m going into tomorrow's final.


Star of the Sea tradition rekindled ten years on

Andrew Coscoran sparked the imagination when he put in a gutsy performance to qualify as a fastest loser in the men's 1500m with an outdoor season's best of 3:47.81. It's ten years since his Star of the Sea clubmate Colin Costello won the gold over 1500m in the European Junior Athletics Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was was a good sight to see the sallow skinned Coscoran mixing it with Europe's best metric milers and will hope for more in the final. 

Invaluable experience for Ciara Neville

15-year-old Ciara Neville (Emerald) made the semi-finals of the 100m finishing fourth in her heat in 11.81. She finished 6th in her semi in 12.06. "I felt better in the warm-up that I did this morning. I was hoping to run close to my pb or even but obviously it wasn't meant to be. I'm really happy that I made it out of the heats. I'm just going to build and hopefully do better in the EYOF. I feel like I handled the nerves better than before I came here. I'm looking forward to resting and running the relay on Sunday."

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