Classy Cotter 6th in Europe

Stephanie Cotter (West Muskerry AC) secured a brilliant top 10 finish in her 1500m final this afternoon on the final day of the European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia (July 11th). The West Muskerry athlete showed no ill effects after a busy season to finish 6th in a time of 4:17.21 in a stacked field. A strong final lap saw Cotter, who was ranked 134th coming into his weekend, pick up two additional places in the final 200m as she powered down the home straight. The race was won in impressive fashion by Gaia Sabbatini of Italy in 4:13.98.

Cotter’s attention is now likely to turn to the upcoming cross-country season, the discipline which saw her secure a European U23 bronze medal in 2019.

Ruby Millet (St Abban’s AC) was also in finals action earlier in the day. The St Abban’s AC athlete secured a 12th place finish with a best jump of 5.84m having come into the championships ranked 112 in Europe.

The medals went the way of Petra Farkas (Hun) 6.73m (EU23L), Merle Homeier (Ger) 6.69m PB, and Lucy Hadaway (GB) 6.6m.

Millet will undoubtably be back in the Irish vest for years to come and will look to build on the 6.25m best jump attained in the qualifying round.

The Women's 4 x 100m relay team of Molly Scott (SLOT), Gina Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC Louth), Aoife Lynch (Donore Harriers AC), and Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn AC) secured one of the fastest qualifier spots for the relay final in a time of 44.64 (5th place in heat 1).

Preparations for the evening’s final were impacted by a stadium power outage which resulted in the final being delayed by 30 minutes. The team, who ran from lane 1 were very unlucky to experience issues on the final changeover which resulted in a DNF, but can take great solace in coming away from making a European final. 

The medals went the way of Germany (43.05 CR), Spain (43.74), and France (44.15).

Relay Squad:

• Molly Scott (SLOT)
• Gina Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC Louth)
• Aoife Lynch (Donore Harriers AC)
• Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn AC)
• Sarah Leahy (Killarney Valley AC).

The Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Team of Jack Mitchell (SLOT), Cathal Crosbie (Ennis Track), Eoin Kenny (Waterford AC), and Shane Monagle (Tramore AC) finished in 5th place in heat 2 of the 4x400m. The team crossed the line in 3:11.22 which unfortunately was not enough to progress to the afternoon’s final but will have provided those competing with valuable championship experience as they continue their progress towards the senior ranks.

Relay Squad:

• Jack Mitchell (SLOT)
• Cathal Crosbie (Ennis Track)
• Eoin Kenny (Waterford AC)
• Shane Monagle (Tramore AC)
• Jack Raftery Donore Harriers AC
• David Ryan Moycarkey Coolcroo AC

Full list of results from day 4: Click HERE