The club were represented by Jay Quinlan and Adam Phelan on Saturday last at day 2 of the National Juvenile Indoor Championships, held in Athlone. Both Athlete’s have had a long indoor period and their progression throughout the winter earned their qualification for these championships. As always the standard is exceptional with Athlete’s from across the Country competing and as expected the intensity and quality on show was second to none. Jay who is relatively new to athletic competition had his first real taste and was attending his first of hopefully many National Champs. He had signs of natural ability as a really good high jumper at Munster’s when he qualified for the All Ireland with a 4th place finish at his first High Jump competition back in February. With the guidance of Paddy Doyle, training was ongoing ever since in preparation for this day. He proved he belonged on the mat as he took the occasion in his stride clearing the bar on the first attempts in the first 4 rounds of the U12 competition. By the 5th round the field of 19 whittled down to 9 with the bar raised to 1.25m. Unfortunately for Jay this was a little bit of a stretch on the day and he had to bow out at the height. Non the less he had finished the competition in 8th place overall. This is really an amazing result for a young man who is learning the event. The future is very bright for Jay and we wish him all the best as he progresses. He can look forward to the outdoor season and build on the experience he has gained and hopefully grow in confidence with his jumping. A huge well done to Jay and coach Paddy!
Meanwhile, Adam was prepping for the final of the U17 1500m final. Always an extremely competitive and lightening race, Adam was running well all xc, road and indoor season being so consistent and committed to training which is a credit to him. Adam clocked 5.17.80 on the day, not a reflection of his capabilities but as we know, sometimes things don’t turn out exactly as they should in athletics. Adam though took it on the chin and will push on and deliver his best running as he looks ahead to the track season. Well done Adam!
