30-06-2025
Drumiskin's Dearbhla does the double at National Juvenile Track and Field Championships
The club was due to have two athletes in action but unfortunately Dearbhla's sister Niamh had to withdraw due to injury leaving her older sister to carry the St Peter's flag.
As Dearbhla is now in the U19 age category this would be her last juvenile track and field championships and what a championship it turned out to be.
The race scheduling wasn't ideal however, Dearbhla is made of tough stuff and took it all in her stride.
On Saturday she competed in the 3000m U19 race taking an early lead. She drilled out a very impressive performance pulling further away from her competitors with each lap to storm to victory in a new personal best time of 9.50.03.
On Sunday Dearbhla again travelled to Tullamore to compete over 3000m for a second time, on this occasion however, it was in the steeplechase.
Most athletes would have been concerned competing in such a physically demanding race so soon after a 3000 flat race however, if Dearbhla was concerned she didn't show it.
Taking the lead on the second lap, a lead she wouldn't relinquish, Dearbhla managed to pull away from her competitors, most of them with fresher legs having not run the previous day.
As the race came to the closing stages there was only going to be one winner as the St Pater's athlete romped to a championship best time of 10.34.96 knocking 45 seconds off the previous record.
The added bonus for Dearbhla was that for the third time, her finishing time was inside the required European Championship standard.
