Latest news with #EuropeanUnder20Championships
Irish Times
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Conor Kelly follows Rhasidat Adeleke's path as he commits to University of Texas
The first question which follows any spectacular underage success such as Conor Kelly has just achieved is inevitable: so what happens next? Just a month after turning 18, Kelly utterly dominated the 400 metres final at the European Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Saturday. His winning time of 45.83 seconds have him a margin of victory of well over half a second and improved his own Irish under-20 record. It was the only medal won by Ireland over the four-day championships, but historically one of the very best. Kelly won't be resting his recent laurels for long. Next week, he's heading to Austin, committing his immediate future to the University of Texas, where Rhasidat Adeleke also progressed her considerable talent after winning a European Under-20 sprint double in 2021. READ MORE For an athlete such as Kelly, who clearly relishes the competition, that also offers him to the chance to develop against the best teenagers in the world, most of whom are in US colleges. 'I couldn't stop smiling, it was special,' Kelly said of his medal presentation on Sunday, also referencing the bronze medal he won in the European Under-18 event last year. 'Last year's bronze was great, but it hurt me. There's such a huge amount of work you have to put into this: food, going to bed early. There's so much day-to-day work at 100 per cent. My coaches, dietitian, physio and all the people around me – it's a big team. This feels amazing. 'I just want to enjoy this achievement. It's taken a lot of work and I'm so proud. It's my last week, before I'm off to Texas, and that's big. We can seriously get to work now.' Kelly becomes only the ninth Irish athlete to win a European Under-20 gold, coming 50 years after John Treacy claimed Ireland's first medal at this level, bronze in the 5,000m in Athens in 1975. Plenty of other successful names have followed in his footsteps, including Mark Carroll, Ciara Mageean, Sarah Lavin, Sarah Healy, Kate O'Connor and Adeleke. Born in London to Irish parents, his mother Mary-Jo from Derry, his Lisburn-born father Steve growing up in Dublin, Kelly is coached by Paul Miller at Hercules Wimbledon AC in London, while representing Finn Valley AC here. There were other encouraging performances in Tampere, Precious Akpe-Moses making the 100m and 200m final, before anchoring the women's 4x100m relay to finish eighth in their final. Seán Cronin also finished eighth in Sunday's tactical 1,500m final. Away from Tampere, Nick Griggs, a European Under-20 champion from 2021, smashed his own Irish Under-23 record over 5,000m when clocking a brilliant 13:05.75 in Oordegem, Belgium. Darragh McElhinney also improved his best to 13:02.06, second fastest on the Irish all-time list.
Irish Times
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Precious Akpe-Moses run out of a podium place in 100m final at European Under-20 championships
The Irish medal hunt will have to wait for another day after Precious Akpe-Moses was run out of a podium position in the 100 metres final, finishing in seventh place on day two of the European Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. After qualifying for the final ranked fourth, Akpe-Moses didn't enjoy the best of starts in a race dominated by Kelly Ann Doualla Edimo from Italy, who is still only 15, and clearly a star in the making, winning in 11.22 seconds. For Akpe-Moses, who will also target a medal in the 200m, there was no making up ground and she finished seventh in 11.79, down on her lifetime best of 11.62 set when qualifying on Thursday. Britain's Mabel Akande won silver in 11.41, Uliana Stepaniuk from Ukraine winning bronze in 11.53. Apke-Moses was competing eight years after her older sister Gina won this 100m title at the European Under-20 championships back in 2017, running 11.71 on that occasion. READ MORE Conor Kelly once again went into his 400m semi-final the top ranked under-20 in Europe, his 45.85 clocked at the Morton Games in July the only sub-46 second entry. The Finn Valley AC athlete, who only turned 18 last month, again qualified with ease, winning in 46.58. Ireland's Conor Kelly won his semi-final in the men's 400m at the European Athletics Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty 'Today everything was nice, everything was flowing' said Kelly, admitting he'd been feeling a little ill before Thursday's heats – but ready to deliver his best in Saturday evening's final. A similarly impressive run from Sean Doggett in his semi-final also saw him qualifying for the final, the Athenry AC athlete improving his lifetime best to 46.58 to nail second. The win there went to Ondrej Loupal from Czechia, who also improved his best to 46.36 'I know there's way more in me for this final tomorrow, I'm really excited to run it, it's great experience,' said Doggett. Ireland's Sean Doggett qualifying for the final of the men's 400m at the European Athletics Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty In the shot put final earlier on Friday, Theo Hanlon from Suncroft AC finished 11th, with a best of 17.06m: 'Very happy overall with 11th, throwing against the best throwers in Europe and pretty much the world,' he said. Cormac Dixon is the top-ranked athlete in the 3,000m, running 7:56.59 indoors in the US earlier this season, and the Tallaght AC athlete also cruised into the final on Thursday, that race also set for Saturday's evening session. In the 50 years since John Treacy claimed Ireland's first medal in these championships, winning bronze in the 5,000m in Athens in 1975, plenty of other successful names have followed in his footsteps, including Mark Carroll, Ciara Mageean, Sarah Lavin, Sarah Healy, Kate O'Connor and Rhasidat Adeleke.
Irish Times
07-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Precious Akpe-Moses storms into 100m final at European Under-20 Championships
The race is already on for the latest addition to the Irish athletics medal rush, Precious Akpe-Moses putting herself into contention by making the 100 metres final on day one of the European Under-20 Championships. Akpe-Moses stormed through her heat and semi-final during Thursday's opening sessions in Tampere, Finland improving her lifetime best to 11.62 seconds when nailing her automatic final spot by finishing second in her semi-final. The younger sister of Gina Apke-Moses , who won this 100m title at the European Under-20 100m title back in 2017, her semi-final time improved her previous best of 11.64 and she'll go into Friday's final ranked fourth fastest overall. Racing in the third of three semi-finals, Apke-Moses needed to make the top two to ensure qualification, and did exactly that – the athlete from Blackrock AC, in Louth, finishing second to Uliana Stepaniuk from Ukraine, who is still only 17, and who improved her best to 11.50 when winning. READ MORE Conor Kelly went into his 400m heat the top ranked under-20 in Europe, his 45.85 clocked at the Morton Games last month the only sub-46 second entry. The Finn Valley AC athlete, who turned 18 last month, qualified with ease, winning his heat in 46.94 seconds, clearly keeping plenty in reserve. Sean Doggett, from Athenry AC, also finished second in his heat in 47.59 to secure automatic qualification for Friday's semi-finals. Cormac Dixon is also the top-ranked athlete in the 3,000m, running 7:56.59 indoors in the US earlier this season, and the Tallaght AC athlete also cruised through, finishing fourth in his heat in 8:19.80 – that final set for Saturday's evening session. Cian Crampton, from Edenderry AC, ranked fourth overall with his best throws of 57.94m. Photograph: Maja Hitij/ Getty Images for European Athletics Cian Crampton, from Edenderry AC, made it safely through to Saturday's final of the discus, ranked fourth overall with his best throws of 57.94m to finish second in Group A. A big performance from Theo Hanlon (Suncroft AC) in the men's shot put qualifiers also landed him in the final, with a best of 18.00m. There were a couple of near misses, Gemma Galvin, from Ennis Track AC, flailing just short of making the 1,500m final after running 4:25.06 to finish seventh in her heat. She ended up ranked 13th overall, with the top 12 progressing. Oisin Lynch, from Killarney Valley AC, also missed out on a place in the 800m final, running 1:50.88 to finish fifth in his heat, while Ethan Dewhirst (Tir Chonaill AC) was disqualified for a false start in his 400m hurdles heat. In the 50 years since John Treacy claimed Ireland's first medal in these championships, winning bronze in the 5,000m in Athens in 1975, plenty of other successful names have followed in his footsteps, including Mark Carroll, Ciara Mageean, Sarah Lavin, Sarah Healy, Kate O'Connor and Rhasidat Adeleke. In the last month alone, Irish athletes have won 11 international medals, Kate O'Connor winning gold in the heptathlon at the World University Games , before Nicola Tuthill added silver in the hammer . Tuthill also won the silver medal at the European Under-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway, one of four Irish athletes to win medals there, along with Anika Thompson (gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000), Nick Griggs (silver in the 5,000m) and Eimear Maher (bronze in the 1,500m). Heptathlete Kate O'Connor won gold in the heptathlon at the World University Games. Photograph: INPHO/ Morgan Treacy At the European Youth Olympics in Skopje, North Macedonia last month, another four Irish athletes won medals: Erin Friel and Ben Sykes won bronze in the 400m and 100m respectively, before Ellis McHugh and Joe Burke also won bronze in the 400m hurdles and 200m respectively. Elsewhere, Sarah Lavin was back in action days after winning her 10th Irish title in the 100m hurdles, and took another impressive win at the Serbia Athletics Meeting in Belgrade, which is part of World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze series, clocking 12.90 seconds.
Irish Times
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Top-ranked 400m runner Conor Kelly leads Irish medal hopes at European Under-20 championships
Conor Kelly and Cormac Dixon will be looking to maintain the Irish athletics medals rush of recent weeks when the European Under-20 Championships get under way in Tampere, Finland on Thursday morning. It is 50 years since John Treacy claimed Ireland's first medal in these championships, winning silver in the 5,000m in Athens in 1975. Plenty of other successful names have followed in his footsteps, including Mark Carroll, Ciara Mageean , Sarah Lavin, Sarah Healy , Kate O'Connor and Rhasidat Adeleke . At the last edition of these championships, two years ago in Jerusalem, Elizabeth Ndudi won gold in the long jump and Nick Griggs won silver in the 3,000m. There are similarly high expectations for the team of 38 athletes in Tampere. Kelly is the top-ranked Under-20 European in the 400m this season, his 45.85 clocked at the Morton Games last month the only sub-46-second entry. The Finn Valley AC athlete only turned 18 last month, but has considerable experience, winning his first Irish senior title indoors earlier this year. READ MORE Dixon is the top-ranked athlete in the 3,000m, running 7:56.59 indoors in the US earlier this season, where the Tallaght AC athlete is on a running scholarship at Providence College, the same alma mater as Treacy. Precious Akpe-Moses wins the 100m at the National Championships in Tullamore, Co Offaly, last month. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile Precious Akpe-Moses from Blackrock AC is the top-ranked Irish athlete in the women's 100m and 200m. She is hoping to emulate her older sister Gina, who won the European Under-20 100m title in 2017. The Irish men's 4x400m team are also the top-ranked team in Europe this year. They can draw on individual qualifiers Kelly, Seán Doggett (Athenry AC) and Alex Cullen (Kilkenny City Harriers), along with David Davitt (Clonliffe Harriers), Andrew Hayes (Dundrum South Dublin AC) and Christopher Lynch (Clonliffe Harriers). [ Athletics Nick Griggs: 'It very quickly went from a running injury to a serious medical illness' Opens in new window ] In the field events, 2024 European Under-18 medallist Cian Crampton (Edenderry AC) competes in the discus, after throwing a national Under-20 record of 58.32m at the start of June. Tampere has played host to Irish success before. In 2018 it was the venue when the Irish women's 4x100m relay team of Adeleke, Molly Scott, Ciara Neville, Gina Akpe-Moses and Patience Jumbo-Gula won the silver medal in the World Under-20 Championships. Enya Silkena (Ratoath AC) will have been inspired by the success of Kate O'Connor in the heptathlon in recent times, achieving a personal best to qualify for the championships. Pia Langton (Kilkenny City Harriers) and Saoirse Fitzgerald (Lucan Harriers) will both race the 800m, with Gemma Galvin (Ennis Track AC), who made the national senior 800m final last weekend, opting to focus on the women's 1,500m. The men's 400m heats are part of the opening session on Thursday morning. Irish tea m Men Dubem Amah (Tallaght AC) 200m & 4x100m; Conor Kelly (Finn Valley AC) 400m & 4x400m; Seán Doggett (Athenry AC) 400m & 4x400m; Alex Cullen (Kilkenny City Harriers) 400m & 4x400m; Ethan Dewhirst (Tir Chonaill AC) 400mH & 4x400m; Oisín Lynch (Killarney Valley AC) 800m; Seán Cronin (Clonliffe Harriers) 1,500m; Frank Buchanan (St Michael's, Enniskillen) 1,500m; Cormac Dixon (Tallaght AC) 3,000m & 5,000m; Cillian Gleeson (Celbridge AC) 3,000m & 5,000m; Séamus Clarke (Moy Valley AC) 10km walk; Cian Crampton (Edenderry AC) Discus; Theo Hanlon (Suncroft AC) Shot Put; Jesse Osas (Ratoath AC) 4x100m; Luke Timlin (Crusaders AC) 4x100m; Joe Burke (Templemore AC) 4x100m; Ben Sykes (Orangegrove AC) 4x100m; Cillian Doherty (Crusaders AC) 4x100m non-travelling reserve; David Davitt (Clonliffe Harriers) 4x400m; Andrew Hayes (Dundrum South Dublin AC) 4x400m; Christopher Lynch (Clonliffe Harriers) 4x400m. Women Precious Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC, Louth) 100m, 200m & 4x100m; Gemma Galvin (Ennis Track AC) 800m & 1500m; Pia Langton (Kilkenny City Harriers) 800m; Saoirse Fitzgerald (Lucan Harriers) 800m & 4x400m; Dearbhla Allen (St Peter's AC) 3,000m SC; Caoimhe Flannery (Skibbereen AC) 3,000m SC; Enya Silkena (Ratoath AC) Heptathlon; Destiny Lawal (Dooneen AC) 4x100m; Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers) 4x100m; Leila Colfer (St Laurence O'Toole AC) 4x100m; Fatima Amusan (Leevale AC) 4x100m; Uche Disu (Tallaght AC) 4x100m non-travelling reserve; Erin Friel (Letterkenny AC) 4x400m; Daisy Walker (Monaghan Phoenix AC) 4x400m; Maria Zakharenko (Kilcoole AC) 4x400m; Róisín Murray (Bray Runners AC) 4x400m; Emer Brennan (Clonmel AC) 4x400m non-travelling reserve.
