Five local athletes named on Ireland squad for U20 Europeans

FIVE of West Cork’s top young athletes have been included in the Athletics Ireland team selected for this month’s European U20 Championships.

Ballineen bullet Phil Healy was last week officially named on the Team Ireland squad for the Olympics later this month, but before the Games in Tokyo roll around, West Cork’s talented teens will take centre stage at the European U20s in Tallinn, Estonia this weekend (15th to 18th).

Current Celtic Ross Hotel West Cork Junior Sports Star Nicola Tuthill, who has been in terrific form in recent weeks, will fly the Irish flag in the women’s hammer. The Kilbrittain teen threw a new PB of 61.55m at the recent senior national championships.

Doheny AC’s Maeve O’Neill, who last week smashed the 800m South Munster Schools’ record held by Sonia O’Sullivan since 1987, has been selected to compete in both the 800m and the 4x400m relay.

Also on that relay team is Bandon AC sprinter Lauren McCourt, another who has been breaking records and who also set a new 200m PB of 24.16 at the recent senior national championships. McCourt will also compete in the 200m at the European U20s.

The Irish women’s 4x400m relay team also includes national 200m record holder Rhasidat Adeleke, who finished a very close second to Phil Healy at the recent national championships.

Joining his Bandon AC club-mates on the plane to Estonia is Diarmuid O’Connor who will compete in the decathlon. O’Connor is also in fine form and recently produced his best-ever performance with a score of 7316 points, just 20 points off Barry Walsh’s 34-year old Irish record.

Also, Fionn Harrington is the fourth Bandon AC athlete named on the Ireland team and the talented Bandon teen (18), who is starting an athletics scholarship in the States next month, will compete in the 3000m.