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The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Conor Kelly smashes Irish record to win European U20 400m gold
Conor Kelly produced a blistering 45.83 to shatter his own Irish Under-20 record and power to gold IRELAND'S Conor Kelly delivered a sensational display to storm to gold in the 400m at the Under-20 European Athletics Championships.. The Finn Valley AC star smashed his own Irish U20 record in Finland on Saturday. Advertisement 2 Gold medalist Conor Kelly of Team Ireland celebrates after the Men's 400 Metre Final 2 The Irish star broke his own record in Finland to seal top place He clocked 45.83 to comfortably beat France's Milann Klemenic. Kelly - who only turned 18 three weeks ago - had set the previous national record of 45.83 at the Morton Games last month but lowered that mark in Tampere. The London-born sprinter - whose parents are Irish - took bronze at last year's European Championships in Slovakia. But this time stood on top of the podium and lapped up the glory. Advertisement He became the ninth Irish athlete to win gold at the championships, cementing his place as the continent's leading Under-20 400m runner. Speaking after the stunning, he said: "It's special. Honestly, I've dreamed about this everyday. Every minute of every day," he told Athletics Ireland after his victory.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Gold for Kelly at U20 Euro Athletics Championships
Donegal sprinter Conor Kelly claimed gold at the European U20 Athletics Championships in Finland on 18-year-old from Finn Valley AC produced a stunning performance, finishing in 45.83 to set a new Irish U20 flew out of the traps to dominate the race and come in ahead of France's Milann Klemenic (46.44) and Czech Republic's Ondrej Loupal of the Czech Republic (46.62) who took silver and bronze respectively. Ireland's Sean Doggett finished seventh in win makes it six gold medals over the last three European U20 championships for Ireland and Kelly, who took bronze at last year's European U18s, spoke of his delight at the win."This is a dream come true, it's really special," he said."The lactic acid has really sunk in now, it was a tough race."Last season hurt, this season had to be special. That bronze was like a dagger and it's been sitting there all season, but I've finally pulled it out. I've dreamt about this every minute of every day since then."There was an agonising fourth-place finish for Louth's Precious Akpe-Moses in the 200m final, but did help the women's 4x100m relay team reach Sunday's women's 400m relay team missed out on a place in the final with a sixth-place finish, while fourth was not good enough for the men's 400m team to advance.
Sunday World
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Sunday World
Ireland's Conor Kelly storms to gold at European U-20 Championships
Kelly set a new personal best in thrilling 400m final run in Finland Conor Kelly produced a remarkable performance to claim gold for Ireland at the European U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Saturday evening, as the 18-year-old dominated the men's 400m final to win in 45.83 seconds. That broke his previous Irish U-20 record of 45.85 and brought him home well clear of France's Milann Klemenic (46.44) and Czechia's Ondrej Loupal (46.62). Kelly is the ninth Irish athlete to have won gold at the European U-20 Championships, which date back to 1970, with Elizabeth Ndudi the most recent winner before him, the Dubliner taking long jump gold in 2023. His time moves him eighth on the Irish all-time list. 'An incredible day at the office,' said Kelly. 'I need a bonus – I'm working overtime here. I just want to enjoy this achievement. It's taken a lot of work and I'm so proud.' Kelly had gone into the championships as the favourite and the Finn Valley athlete, who broke the Irish U-20 record indoors with 46.54, proved a class apart throughout, winning his heat in 46.94 and his semi-final in 46.58. Kelly was born and raised in London to Irish parents – his mother Mary-Jo hailing from Derry while his father, Steve, was born in Lisburn and grew up in Dublin. Last year, he smashed the Irish U-18 400m record to win bronze at the European U-18 Championships in Slovakia and then helped the Irish men's 4x400m team reach a final at the World U-20 Championships in Peru. 'Last year's bronze was great, but it hurt me,' he said. '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, dietician, physio and all the people around me – it's a big team. This feels amazing.' Conor Kelly of Finn Valley AC, Donegal. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile News in 90 Seconds - Aug 9th Sean Doggett was also in action in the 400m final, finishing seventh in 47.16, while earlier in the evening, Precious Akpe-Moses – the younger sister of former European U-20 100m champion Gina – finished fourth in the women's 200m final, clocking 23.72 (-2.0m/s). Gold went to Germany's Judith Bilepo Mokobe in 23.40. 'The bend was so good and then I just think after all six races I've done, I might have lost it a bit,' said Akpe-Moses, who finished seventh in the 100m final on Friday. 'But I'm okay with where I came. Fourth in Europe was the best I could do, so I'm content.' Akpe-Moses returned to the track soon after to help Ireland to second place in their heat of the women's 4x100m, clocking 45.27 to automatically advance to Sunday's final alongside Fatima Amusan, Molly Daly and Leila Colfer. Switzerland took victory in 44.63. Cian Crampton had a strong showing in the men's discus final, the Edenderry athlete throwing his leading mark of 57.76m in the final round, which was good enough for sixth, with gold going to Dutch athlete Jarno van Dalen with 63.18m. 'I would have liked a bit more but I can't complain with sixth,' said Crampton. 'I was looking for a medal, but it didn't work out in my favour.' Dubem Amah was 'over the moon' to reach the men's 200m final after clocking 21.30 in his semi-final. The 17-year-old Tallaght sprinter went on to finish seventh in 21.76 into a stiff headwind (-2.9m/s), with gold going to Italy's Diego Nappi in 20.77. Cormac Dixon came home ninth in the 3000m in 8:48.27, while the Irish men's 4x400m team of Alex Cullen, Andrew Hayes, Ethan Dewhirst and David Davitt fell short of the final after clocking 3:12.28 to finish fourth in their heat.
RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Conor Kelly claims gold for Ireland at European Under-20 Athletics Championships
Ireland's Conor Kelly produced a stellar performance to win gold in the 400m at the Under-20 European Athletics Championships in Finland. The Finn Valley AC athlete lowered his own Irish Under-20 record, clocking a time of 45.83 to win by a comfortable margin from France's Milann Klemenic who finished over half a second behind. Kelly, who turned 18 three weeks ago, had set a new national record of 45.83 at the Morton Games last month but improved on that time in Tampere. Last year, he claimed bronze at the European Championships in Slovakia but has climbed to the top of the podium this year, becoming the ninth Irish athlete to take gold in the championships and underline his status as the leading Under-20 400m sprinter on the continent. Kelly, who was born in London to Irish parents, said he had dreamt in finishing top of the podium at an international podium. "It's special. Honestly, I've dreamed about this everyday. Every minute of every day," he told Athletics Ireland after his victory. In the same race, Athenry's Seán Doggett placed seventh in a time of 47.16. Earlier, Cormac Dixon finished ninth in the final of the 3000m, while Precious Akpe-Moses was run out of the medals in the 200m, finishing fourth in a time of 23.72.
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Conor Kelly's stunning run scoops 400m gold at European Under-20 Athletics Championships
An utterly dominant performance by Conor Kelly has earned him the title as the best under-20 400 metres runner in Europe. No one else came close, as the 18-year-old powered to victory on day three of the European Under-20 Athletics Championships in Tampere, Finland. Kelly went into Saturday evening's final ranked number one in his event, thanks to the 45.85 seconds he clocked at the Morton Games last month, but he still had to produce the goods when it mattered. Undaunted, he again improved his Irish Under-20 record to 45.83 seconds, winning gold by over half a second. The Finn Valley AC athlete, who only turned 18 last month, afforded himself a punch of the air after crossing the line, as well he might. The silver medal went to Milann Klemenic from France in 46.44, the track belonging to Kelly, who also landed the first Irish medal of these championships. In the now 50 years since John Treacy claimed Ireland's first medal at these Under-20 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. READ MORE Kelly adds his name to that list, becoming only the ninth Irish athlete to win gold at this level, his potential over the distance now clear for all of Europe to see. Ireland's Conor Kelly celebrates his victory in the 400m final in Tampere. Photograph:for European Athletics Kelly has already won the Irish indoor senior title this year, and delivered on all his potential in Tampere. Born in London to Irish parents, his mother from Derry, his Lisburn-born father growing up in Dublin, he also continues the Irish athletics medal rush of this summer, the 12th medal won across European underage and World University Games level. In the same race, Seán Doggett from Athenry AC finished seventh in 47.16, having put himself in medal contention over the first half of the race. Doggett had improved his lifetime best to 46.58 in the semi-final. Cormac Dixon was the top-ranked athlete going into the 3,000m final, after running 7:56.59 indoors in the US earlier this season, but the Tallaght AC athlete found himself in the midst of a slow-burn race. In the last lap sprint, Hakon Moe Berg from Norway kicked for gold in 8:43.20, running a 53-second last lap. Dixon chased hard down the backstretch, still in fourth, but had to settle for ninth in 8:48.27. Precious Akpe-Moses was also just run out of the medals in the 200m, finishing fourth in 23.72, having finished in seventh in the 100m final, while Cian Crampton also produced a fine performance to finish sixth in the discus with his best throw of 57.76m. Ireland's Precious Akpe-Moses comes home fourth in the 200m final. Germany's Judith Bilepo Mokobe took the gold. Photograph:for European Athletics Akpe-Moses also played a part in the women's 4x100m, making Sunday's final along with Fatima Amusan, Molly Daly and Leila Colfer, with the prospect of another medal to come. In the last month alone, Irish athletes have already won 11 international medals, 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) 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.
