Tipperary Athletes to the fore at National U20 & U23 Championships

Tipperary athletes enjoyed a hugely successful weekend at the 123.ie National Under 20 & 23 Track & Field Championships in Tullamore, producing an impressive collection of national titles, medals, personal best performances, and top-six finishes across a wide range of events.

The county's athletes demonstrated tremendous depth and quality throughout the two days of competition, excelling on both the track and in the field.

The field events proved particularly fruitful, highighted by Laura Frawley of Nenagh Olympic AC who emerged as one of the stars of the championships.

The versatile athlete claimed four national medals across the weekend, winning gold in the U23 Long Jump with a superb personal best leap of 6.20m and securing a second gold in the U23 100m Hurdles with another personal best performance of 14.27s. Frawley also claimed silver in the U23 Shot Put with 11.58m and bronze in the Javelin with a throw of 32.32m.

The endurance events produced several podium finishes. Laura Cooney of Clonmel AC secured a bronze medal in the U23 Women's 5000m, clocking 17:15m. In the U23 Men's 5000m, Luke Purcell of Nenagh Olympic led the county challenge with a fifth-place finish in 15:28m, while clubmate Jamie Moloney finished seventh in 15:57m and Thurles Crokes athlete Tom Tracey placed sixth in 15:46m.

Nenagh Olympics’ Cian Hodgins delivered a fine performance to claim bronze in the U23 Men's 1500m, crossing the line in 3:56.34m. In the U20 Men's 5000m, Diarmuid Moloney added another national medal for Tipperary, taking bronze in an impressive time of 15:03m.

Clonmel AC's Emer Brennan enjoyed an excellent championships. She finished second in her heat of the U20 Women's 400m in 57.30s before returning to place fourth in the U20 Women's 800m final in a time of 2:16.43m.

In the sprint events, Newport AC's Sophie Walker finished third in her heat of the U20 Women's 400m in 58.95s and later placed third in her heat of the 200m in 25.74s. Nenagh Olympics’ Ben Deegan competed in both the U20 Men's 100m & 200m, finishing fifth in his 100m heat in 12.04s and sixth in his 200m heat in 24.01s. Clubmate Ruairí Walsh placed fourth in his heat of the U20 Men's 400m in 54.89s. Despite strong performances, no Tipperary athletes progressed from these highly competitive sprint heats.

Clonmel AC's Cara Ryan captured the U20 Long Jump title with a winning jump of 5.85m, while Nenagh Olympics’ Áine Frawley secured silver in the same event with 5.59m.

Carrick-on-Suir AC's Sarah Bartley continued her excellent season by taking silver in the U20 Triple Jump with another jump beyond the 11-metre mark. Nenagh Olympics’ Clodagh Donohoe finished eighth with 9.96m.

Another gold medal went to Carrick-on-Suir AC's Emma O'Neill, who won the U23 Triple Jump with a best effort of 10.87m. She also claimed bronze in the U23 Long Jump with a leap of 5.40m.

In the throws, Morgan Deasy of Borrisokane AC delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend, winning gold in Weight for Distance with a superb throw of 9.27m, finishing over two metres clear of her nearest rival. He later finished sixth in the U20 Discus with 40.90m.

Niamh Madden of Nenagh Olympic AC secured bronze in the U20 Shot Put with a throw of 11.13m and followed up with fifth place in the Discus with 32.30m. Emily Stapleton of Borrisokane AC finished sixth in the U20 Hammer with 41.49m.

The U20 Men's Hammer saw three Tipperary athletes finish in the top six. Templemore AC's Bobby Gleeson claimed an excellent silver medal with 56.99m, while Jack Tierney of Borrisokane AC was fourth with 50.76m and Templemore AC's Jeffrey Myles sixth with 49.11m.

Templemore AC's Cathal Ryan added another silver medal in the U20 High Jump, clearing 1.65m to finish second. Nenagh Olympics’ Ella Ryan rounded off the county's performances with eighth place in the U20 400m Hurdles in 71.90s.

Across the two days of competition, Tipperary athletes secured an outstanding haul of national medals, including multiple championship titles, while numerous athletes achieved personal best performances and top-six finishes.