Jack Sheehy is the National U12 Boys Indoors Champion, a headline performance from a young athlete. Jack opened his account today today with a jump of 4.23m to take the lead in the event. He did not cede that lead and improved firstly to 4.26m in his second jump but kept his best till last. Going into the top 8 final Jack again jumped 4.26m as his nearest competitor closed to 4.23m, a valuable mark should countback come into place but with the gold medal secured Jack jumped last in the final round and he closed out the event with a jump of 4.31m. An exciting moment for Jack, his family and all associated with our club to see an athlete win a National gold medal at such a young age.
In the early afternoon then Conor Slattery competed in the BU13 shot putt and threw further than his old personal best of 8.84m on two occasions and made the final. Conor’s first throw of 8.74m was a good opener but then he fired the shot to 9.01m on the 2nd round and 9m on the 3rd round to show fine consistency. He qualified for the final when all the throws were completed he placed 7th overall with his mark of 9.01 in a tight competition. This was Conor’s first time reaching an individual National final and an experience he relished and is he looking forward to competed in the high jump next weekend.
Closing out the day for the club was Eoin Malik in the BU18 long jump. Eoin’s opening jump of 5.71m put him into contention for the podium positions and he reached the final in 4th place. Working his way through the rounds Eoin’s mark improved in the 5th round where he was rewarded with a season’s best long jump of 5.89m. A slight break on that final jump as he pushed towards the medal positions saw Eoin place 5th overall. Eoin will be back jumping in Athlone next Saturday in the triple jump.
Well done to our athletes today, thanks to their parents for bringing them to the competition and our club coaches for preparing the athletes for today’s events.
Hannah’s Bronze and PB
A second national medal for St Brendan’s and for the Sheehy family and this time it was Hannah Sheehy bringing home a bronze medal in a superb performance in the GU14 race walk in her debut at National level. Hannah was simply irrepressible right from the start going off as a fast pace to ensure a good position. Over the next 5 laps she gave it everything and her level of pure determination whilst maintaining the correct style caused her nearest competitors to draw the eyes of the judges as they tried everything to keep with Hannah. Hannah crossed the line in a massive pb time of 5:26.35, her previous best for the distance was 6.03.03. There was an anxious wait then to see was it going to 3rd or 4th for Hannah and when the judges’ scorecards came in Hannah was confirmed to 3rd place and great celebrations for all. A performance that will stick in the memory for a long time, this is the first national juvenile medal by one of our club walkers since the walks programme resumed at the club under the coaching David Kissane in 2022 and will provide great inspiration for the future.
Maddison’s Triple Jump
Earlier in the day Maddison O’Connor completed in GU16 triple jump. This was Maddison 2nd time competing at national indoors and opened her jumps account of the day with 8.82m. With a pb of 8.96m, Maddison had set target of 9m set for the day she made adjustments in each round to try set a mark across that threshold. With her jumps completed, 8.82m was her best jump on the day as she placed 16th overall in her age group.
John’s New PB and 7th Place
Back to the walks and it was John McCarthy who was next on the track in the BU14 race. John showed great form and jockeyed for position throughout the race. Coming into the home straight it looked like a sub 6 K was on the cards for John and a huge pb (his pb was 6:40.45) and crossing the line there was a broad smile on his face when he saw the time of 5:53.72. His position was confirmed as 7th overall in his debut at national competition.
Oisín’s 5th Place and New PB
Our final athlete in action on Day 2 was Oisín Fletcher who no doubt was inspired by his club mates for his BU15 1K race. Working hard from the start he was in close quarters with other competitors in the event as each place was challenged for. Oisín’s pb going into the event was 6:27.50. He showed good pace over the course and a clean style Oisín crossed the line in a great time of 6:16.35, a new personal and was classified in 5th place for his first time at national indoors.
Thank You
That closes off Day 1 & Day 2 of the national juvenile Indoors. Very well done to all our athletes on their performances and thank you to our club coaches for preparing them to give their best on the day. Thanks as ever to the parents for supporting our efforts and bringing the athletes on the long trip to the middle of the country.
