THE BANGOR SPORTSPLEX in Co Down hosted Ulster’s first outdoor Track and Field Meeting of the new season in what were cold but dry conditions yesterday evening.
The outstanding performance of the night was the throw of Lifford Strabane AC’s Brendan O’Donnell in the Hammer Throw. Having achieved a European Youth Championships qualification mark of 64.72 metres in Dunboyne, Co. Meath at the beginning of March, O’Donnell bettered this mark at the with a huge throw of 66.04 metres in the sixth and final round.
The young St. Eunan’s College student placed seventh in the final of the Hammer Throw at the European Youth Olympics in Tbilisi, Georgia last July and is currently targeting a return to the Georgian capital this summer for the inaugural European Youth Athletics Championships.
This weekend O’Donnell heads for England where he has two competitions lined up in Liverpool and Kidderminster on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
There was also a fine performance from Lifford Strabane AC’s Gareth Crawford in the Javelin. Crawford launched the implement to 58.99 metres in the third round in what was a most satisfactory start to the season for the young 16 year old.
With the European Youth Championships standard for the Javelin set at 64.50m, the young Lifford Strabane AC athlete will hope to improve on his Bangor mark when he competes at this Saturday’s National Spring Throws Event in Santry, Dublin.
