Michaela Walsh Smashes Irish Junior Hammer Record

The final day of the European Throwing Cup in Gran Canaria produced another two positives for Irish throwing.  The highlight was undoubtedly Michaela Walsh (Swinford AC). After being a little disappointed with her Shot Put performance on Saturday, she put all that behind her and smashed her own personal best and the Irish Junior Hammer record with 59.64m. This left her 2nd in her pool. The previous record of 57.98m Cara Kennedy was set in 2011. Walsh backed up her record performance with other throws of 59.10m and 57.97m. The performance also puts her 5th on the Irish best performances of all time.

Finn Valley’s John Kelly produced an outdoor personal best in the Under 23 Shot Put with 16.84m to finish 3rd in his pool. Kelly was disappointed himself with his throw, but he should take the positives. He is well ahead of where he has ever been at this early stage in the season, and his indoor throws indicate that he will push towards 18m very soon.

Padraig White was a little under par with his Hammer throw of 61.21m and Stephen Rice never looked comfortable in the under 23 javelin but will have learned a lot from the experience.

Together with the positive day one performances of Adam King and  Eoin Sheridan, this competition was an important development event for Irish throws. Another group of Irish throwers arrive in Gran Canaria on Tuesday to build on this momentum for a week’s training camp.

Day one report can be found HERE