The Danny McDaid track in Letterkenny was the venue for the Ulster Under 9 to 13 Championships last Sunday 6th
June. Athletes from all over Ulster were in attendance, raising the bar considerably on the Donegal Championships
just two weeks ago. The Lifford club brought twenty athletes in total to the
event, its largest attendance for a number of years.
While inside the Aura, politicians were clinging on to their seats for dear life, outside on the track most patrons
were on the edges of theirs with some thrilling races on display by these youngsters.
The hard training of the past few weeks and months certainly paid off for our athletes with many fine performances
on both the track and field. Most of our athletes were entered in just one event,
a decision the club took due to the high cost of entry to participation at this level.
However, our young athletes did not disappoint and battled with guts and determination in each of the events they competed
in. While several athletes came home with medals, many more came home with personal
bests and several more just missing out on the medal placings. For the medal
winners, these were hard earned and an Ulster medal can hang proud for many years to come.
In the Boys Under 10 Ball Throw, young James Russell earned a silver medal with a throw of 27.07m. In the Girls Under 11 Ball Throw, Niamh Bradley followed up a winning throw at the recent county
Cumann na mBunscol athletics championships with an Ulster bronze, throwing 24.47m.
In the Under 13 Boys High Jump, Conor McKinney earned a bronze medal with a personal best leap of 1.20m,
qualifying for the All Irelands in Tullamore in July. In the Girls Under 13 category,
Loressa McGavigan showed her versatility bringing home a gold medal in the javelin with a personal best throw of 20.65m and
a bronze in the Long Jump with a leap of 3.72m. Both of these performances earned
Loressa qualification to the All Irelands also.
Lifford’s other athletes that put in excellent performances on the day included Rachel McClure
Under 9 60m; Nicole Martin U10 60m and Long Jump; Caitlin Dolan U10 Long Jump; Rory McCafferty Under 10 60m; Vanessa McHugh
U11 60m and Long Jump; Jolene McElchar U11 Long Jump; Zara Russell U11 Long Jump; Conor
Lynch U11 60m and 500m; Rosie Waldron U12 60m and Shot Putt; Barry McLaughlin U12 60m and Shot Putt; Megan Hannigan U12 Long
Jump; Tonicha McGavigan U12 Long Jump; Keeva Patterson U12 Shot Putt; Nikita Mitchell U13 Long Jump, Katie Anderson U13 Long
Jump, Tianna Ward U 13 Long Jump. Well done to all.
Next up for competition will be Bertram Barrett, who will be competing in the Ulster Championships
in Antrim this Saturday. Bertram goes in both the 100m and 200m sprints and will
be hoping to follow up on his recent fine displays at the Donegal Championships. The
Under 18 category should be a tightly contested affair again this year, and while Bertram will be at least hoping for a personal
best improvement on his recent 11.8 in the 100m dash, who knows, a favourable heat or lane draw could see him in amongst the
medals yet.
Anyone with outstanding registration monies or still owing for club gear, we would appreciate if this
could be paid up as soon as possible. Finally, we would also be grateful for
the return of any club vests given out at recent Championship events. The new
vests are available for purchase now from any club coach.
