A Laois teenager excelled on the international stage at the weekend to claim a gold medal for Ireland.
Dan Downey, of Portlaoise Athletics Club, competed in 800 metres at the AAA Championships in Birmingham on Saturday.
The 14-year-old, who plays football and hurling for Park-Ratheniska and Laois, breezed through the heats on Saturday to make the final.
The AAA Championships are organised by English Athletics but allow athletes from other countries who achieve a specified time to compete.
Dan, as National Champion in Ireland, achieved this and lined up against the best in the final.
This included athletes from England, Scotland and Wales who donned the signlets of their clubs while Downey proudly wore the Irish colours.
There were two athletes from St Alban’s and one each from Southampton, Tynedale, Swindon and Newport.
The first lap was tactical enough with Dan always in a prominent position near the leaders.
He made his move down the back straight and kicked for home -pushing clear of the chasing pack.
Downey crossed the line in a time of 1:59.50 – which is a new personal best and shows he is capable of saving his very best for the big occasion.
And his achievement is made all the more impressive as some of the athletes in the field are born in 2008 – a year older than Downey as this is an U-15 event.
After winning a national 800m title, this victory shows that Dan is making great progress and tracking his development will be very interesting in years to come.
It is also a great experience to get the opportunity to run in the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham which has hosted the British National Championships previously.
It also hosted Diamond League events before the development of the Olympic Stadium in London.
Dan’s GAA club Park-Ratheniska posted the full race on their Facebook page and you can check it out below:
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