The profile of Donegal athletics has never been higher.
Just last weekend we had the incredible sight of watching two Donegal athletes –Mark English and Karl Griffin – take to the start line of the 800m Final at the European u23 Athletics Championships in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. English, at the age of 22, incredibly has two European championship medals to his name already – a silver medal won in March at the European Indoor Championships in Prague, and a bronze medal won at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich.
Griffin is younger again having just turned 20 last month and is already building up an impressive CV having competed at last year’s World Junior Championships in Oregon. Both have come up through the ranks of juvenile athletics in Donegal and their achievements to date are testament to the work being done in the development of young athletes within the county.
This weekend, another, younger generation of Donegal athletes take to the international stage. Six local athletes who have really blossomed at national level in recent years head to Grangemouth Stadium in Scotland to compete in the annual S.I.A.B Schools Track and Field International between Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
Aaron McGlynn (Gairmscoil Chu Uladh), Arlene Crossan (Loreto Convent, Letterkenny), Brendan O’Donnell (St. Eunan’s College, Letterkenny), Fergus Cox (Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana), Janine Boyle (St. Columba’s College, Stranorlar) and Sommer Lecky (Strabane Academy) fly out of Dublin Airport this evening, Friday with sights firmly set on outperforming their English, Scottish and Welsh counterparts in Grangemouth Stadium near Falkirk. All six were selected following outstanding performances at the recent Irish Schools Athletics Championships held in Tullamore and last month’s Tailteann Games Interprovincial in Dublin.
Aaron McGlynn, who has been in outstanding form this season, will compete n the 400m
McGlynn has been in outstanding form this season over both 400m and 800m and gains international selection based on his outstanding victory over 400m in the Schools Interprovincial where he ran a superfast 49.81 seconds. Relatively new to the 400m, the Glenfin lad has taken to the distance like a duck to water and with greater experience over the distance can certainly go under 49 seconds.
Crossan, meanwhile goes in the Long Jump. With a jump of 5.95m to her name this season, the Letterkenny student is in the form of her life and with the right conditions, can surely go close to the 6 metre mark. Indeed it will be a busy day for young Crossan as she doubles up as a member of the Irish 4 x 300m relay team.
O’Donnell too has had an outstanding season to date. His 63.70m hammer throw at the Tailteann Games gave him a well-deserved victory over his nearest rival by a margin of 8 metres. This is a second International Schools vest for the St. Eunan’s College student, having competed at the corresponding fixture in Cardiff in 2014. This experience should stand to O’Donnell on Saturday as he seeks a first Schools International medal.
Fergus Cox, like O’Donnell, maintains the county’s strong tradition in the throws events. The Buncrana based student competes in the Javelin by virtue of his Tailteann Games victory where he got the spear out to 54.29m. Cox has since gone over 58m and will hope to go close to that mark again in Grangemouth.
Janine Boyle recently broke the Donegal Senior Women’s 100m record and has got under 12 seconds for the distance on a couple of occasions this summer. Her 11.92 seconds when finishing runner up to Ciara Neville in the Irish Schools Finals was particularly impressive. The St. Columba’s College student runs the 200m in Grangemouth and will also run a leg of the 4 x 100m relay.
Sommer Lecky, a student at Strabane Academy is another to come up through the ranks of Donegal athletics. The Castlederg girl competed in this event in Cardiff last year and won a brilliant silver medal in her favoured event the High Jump. Lecky has gone over 1.75m several times this season and were she to give a repeat performance in Grangemouth, should once again find herself among the medals.
For McGlynn, Crossan, O’Donnell and Lecky, the international outing in Grangemouth represents the beginning of a very busy week, as the four head for Tbilisi on Wednesday next to represent Ireland at the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival in the Georgian capital. The future of athletics in the county has never been brighter.
