The second day of the 123.ie National Juvenile Track and Field Championships delivered another superb day of competition, showcasing the future stars of Irish athletics across a jam-packed scheduled in Tullamore (June 29th).
- Day 1 Report (June 28th) HERE.
With near-perfect conditions greeting competitors on Sunday, following some torrential downpours 24 hours previous, the stage was set for a thrilling day of action – and the athletes did not disappoint.
The morning kicked off with a flurry of activity in the hurdles and field events. Conor Penney (Craughwell AC) stole the show in the U18 110mH race, powering to victory in a championship record time of 14.10 to take down the previous record of 14.18 set by Shane Monagle (Tramore AC) in 2017. Penney’s performance capped off a superb showing from the jumps specialist, underscoring his versatility.
Other standout performances over hurdles included that of Eddie Raicevic (Finisk Valley AC) who clocked 13.27 in the U17 100m hurdles – another record-breaking run for the young Finisk athlete.
The middle-distance races once again provided plenty of highlights throughout the day with tightly contested battles across the 600m and 800m races. Caolan McFadden (Cranford AC) lived up to his billing as one of the stars of the championships, storming to victory in the U19 800m in 1:51.53, a new championship record.
Jennifer O’Leary (Nenagh Olympic AC) looked ultra-composed on her way to gold in her respective U19 800m final, crossing in a winning time of 2:13.65.
In the U15 800m, it was once again Darragh Whelan (Limerick AC) who underlined his potential, claiming gold in 2:00.09 which was just outside the championship record. Nellie Bateman (Belgooly AC) impressed in the U15 Girls 800m, clocking 2:12.93 for gold.
Isabelle Gaffney (West Waterford AC) put in one of the performances of the day in a loaded U16 800m field, setting a new championship record of 2:10.89 with a commanding performance to finish ahead of Freya Renton (Westport AC) in second who would also have been inside the old record in 2:11.58. Clara Casey (Foyle Valley AC) showed great poise to take gold in the U18 Girls 800m in 2:11.82.
The steeplechase finals provided a fitting prelude to the day’s conclusion on the track, with strong performances across the age groups. Dearbhla Allen (St. Peter’s AC) was among those to shine in the Girls U19 event, smashing the old championship record of 11:16.73 (2023) to cross in a winning time of 10:34.96 CR. Second placed Caoimhe Flannery (Skibbereen AC) pushed Allen all the way and also crossed inside the old record in 10:39.06.
In the field, Fionn Naughton (Leevale AC) set a championship record of 4.10m in the U16 Boys Pole Vault, continuing the Leevale conveyor belt of national pole vault champions. Fellow Munster athlete Meabh Purtill (Dooneen AC) is the U18 long jump champion following her best leap of 5.59m today,
Lavr Malejevs (Dooneen AC) threw 50.35m in the U14 Boys Discus to claim gold and a championship record, adding to his Shot Put title (14.91m), while Matt David Duro (Kilmore AC) leapt to 13.07m in the U15 Boys Triple Jump to set another championship record of his own.
Katie Kingston Leevale AC) ensured it was another hugely profitable day for Leevale AC, adding to the Cork clubs medal haul with gold in the U19 javelin with a best throw of 38.29m.
Athletics Ireland would like to congratulate all who competed in Tullamore this weekend. A special thanks to all of the volunteers and officials involved.
Day 3 of the 123.ie National Juvenile Championships is set for Saturday July 12th with a preview to be issued closer to the date.
