Double gold for Greg, Sarah & Mark in Sligo

​Leitrim athletes won eight gold medals at the Connacht Athletics U14 – 19 Track & Field Championships at ATU Sligo last Saturday with North Leitrim AC’s Greg Lyons, Sarah Mulvaney Kelly and Mark Hazlett all claiming double gold on the day while there were also gold medals for Carrick AC’s Katie McDwyer and Ballinamore AC’s Sean Flynn.

​Leitrim’s medals came in a wide variety of disciplines from sprints to middle distance and throws with Mark Hazlett competing against himself as he won both the U19 110m Hurdles and the Triple Jump, clocking a time of 16.51 seconds with a one metre per second wind behind while he jumped 12.05 metres in the demanding triple jump.

It was a situation both Katie McDwyer and Sarah Mulvaney Kelly experienced in their events with Carrick AC’s McDwyer competing in the 400m hurdles in an outside lane as her race was run at the same time as a boys race, Katie clocking a time of 81.79 in her first ever outing in the event.

North Leitrim AC’s Mulvaney Kelly had no competition in the U18 Girls 400m flat, clocking a respectable 64.83 in the demanding event. She did have competition in the discus as she won by over five metres. In fact, her shortest throw was still more than three metres ahead of the second placed athlete as Sarah registered a best of 26.98m. Sarah made it a trio of medals when she finished second in the 200m Final, clocking 27.56 seconds in a competitive race.

Greg Lyons was one of the more impressive winners on the day as he left the fields in both U17 1,500m and 3,000m races trailing as he took off over the final lap to take two gold medals home. The Dromahair youngster clocked 4.29.35 as he conserved his strength for the longer race later in the day, winning his event by just under 50 seconds with a 9.17.12 clocking.

Leitrim’s remaining gold medal came in the U18 Boys 400m as Ballinamore AC’s Sean Flynn clocked 61.07 in his debut in the event with Carrick AC’s Seamus Redican winning silver in a time of 63.69 in his first outing over the distance. The Fenagh athlete would later add two bronze medals, taking third in the 1,500m less than 15 minutes after his 400m ahead of Redican in fourth, closing 4.57.52 to 5.12.26. Completing his haul, Sean finished third in the 800m in a time of 2.15.71 to complete a busy and tiring day.

North Leitrim AC’s Jan Golas had a silver sprint double as he took second in both the U14 80m and 200m races. Jan clocked 27.53 in the morning to take second behind Roscommon’s Nathan Hoban in the 200m and the Roscommon athlete again prevailed in the 100m, clocking 10.36 to the Manor athlete’s 10.68.

Carrick AC’s Alannah McKiernan was another to bring home a medal as she claimed the silver medal in the U17 Girls Javelin. Her best of 21.85 metre saw her take second place behind the impressive Niamh Walsh of Erris AC, Alannah having earlier finished sixth in the 200m in a time of 30.10.

There were a few near misses for Leitrim athletes with Caoimhe Murphy (North Leitrim AC) and Kevin English (Longford AC) both taking home a pair of fourth place finishes to qualify for the nationals. Caoimhe finished fourth in both the 800m and 1,500m in time of 2:37.76 and 5.16.09, the longer race a particularly high standard event. Kevin English finished fourth in both the U15 100m and 200m events, clocking a time of 12.44 in the shorter distance and 25.28 in the longer race where he missed out on the bronze by just six hundreds of a second.

Carrick AC’s Lola Gilmartin finished an excellent fifth in the U14 Girls 80m, clocking a time of 11.13 and missing out on a qualifying spot by just two hundreds of a second. She also claimed eighth in the 200m in a time of 29.84, just ahead of her clubmate Robyn McGarry who was ninth in 29.87. Their clubmate Darcy Hanley also made the top eight as she finished eighth in the U16 Girls 100m in a time of 14.51 seconds. Ballinamore AC’s Harry & Scott Townsend finished ninth and 11th in the U14 Boys 800m in times of 2.30.11 and 2.40.02.