Athletics Ireland have selected a team of eight athletes for the upcoming World U20 Championships which will be held in Cali, Colombia from August 1st to August 6th.
The team features extremely talented athletes who have shined in recent years, and they will be hoping that they can rise to the occasion when they travel to South America.
An athlete who will command attention when he travels out is Nick Griggs (Mid Ulster AC) who will run the 3000m. It was only last year that the seventeen-year-old from Tyrone made his breakthrough winning gold in the European Junior 3000m.
Since then, he has gone onto break the Irish U20 records in both the Mile and 3000m. Only two weeks ago at the Cork City Sports he knocked eight seconds off Daragh McElhinney’s previous record to clock 7.53.40 for 3000m making him the ninth fastest U20 in the world for the distance this season and the fastest non-African. Yesterday in Tullamore he took the National U20 title with relative ease. Griggs will be looking to challenge for silverware in Colombia.
Joining Griggs in the 3000m will be training partner Callum Morgan (Candour Track Club). Morgan won bronze in yesterday’s race at the National Championships and back in May ran a PB of 8.10.02 in Loughborough. Both Griggs and Morgan are coached by Mark Kirk.
Dean Casey (Ennis Track AC) will race over 5000m. The Clare man who is coached by Pat Hogan ran an Irish U20 10,000m earlier this summer clocking 28.57.32 in Highgate, London. He also recently ran a 3000m PB at the Cork City Sports going under the old National Record to finish in 8.00.30. Yesterday Casey ran a new 1500m PB of 3.56.94 to underline his credentials before he travels to Cali.
Lucy-May Sleeman (Leevale AC) will travel to these Championships full of confidence. She will compete in the 100m and 200m. Sleeman won an impressive double gold at the National Junior and U23 Championships yesterday running a new PB of 11.63s in the 100m. Her 200m is 24.04 which she ran in Oordegem in Belgium back in May. Sleeman is coached by John Naughton and John Corr.
Joining Sleeman on the plane will be fellow Leevale athlete Reece Ademola who will compete in the Long Jump. Ademola jumped a massive 7.76m (+2.7m/s) to win the National junior title yesterday. He leads the Irish rankings this season after a legal 7.68m jump at the Cork City Sports. Ademola is coached by Liz Coomey.
Oliver Swinney (Speed Development Project Track Club) will run in the 100m. Back in May the Adam McMullen coached athlete ran 10.47s in Dagenham, less than a tenth of a second off Marcus Lawler’s National U20 Record of 10.38s.
Lucy McGlynn (Tír Chonaill AC) will compete in the 400m Hurdles. McGlynn finished third at the recent National Senior Championships in a PB of 60.00s and has also won the national titles in the event this year at U19 and U20 level. Coached by Eamonn Harvey the Donegal athlete will be looking to perform well.
Nicola Tuthill (Bandon AC) will be in action in the Hammer Throw. Tuthill has a best throw this year of 60.92m which was achieved back in February. She has a PB of 61.55m from last year and yesterday took the national junior title with a throw of 57.07m. The Cork athlete is coached by Killian Barry, Kevin Warner, and Ronald Korom.
It is expected that 1500 athletes will compete across 45 events.
