Laois teenager Dan Downey was honoured by his club, Portlaoise AC, at an event on Thursday evening.
Downey enjoyed a simply outstanding year on the track and finished it with four gold medals.
Downey was recently crowned All-Ireland champion after his impressive run in the 800m.
The 14-year-old now has eight All-Ireland medals with four of those coming in 2023.
His season culminated in the 800 metres at the AAA Championships in Birmingham in August.
Downey, who plays football and hurling for Park-Ratheniska and Laois, breezed through the heats 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.
On Thursday, Portlaoise AC had a presentation for Dan presented by Mary Mulhare – herself a Euopean Cross Country Bronze medalist.
The evening was a resounding success. Dan participated in a training session and provided words of encouragement for the current juveniles.
Check out some great pictures below:
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