Athlone was the centre of Irish juvenile athletics this weekend as the National Juvenile Indoor Track and Field Championships delivered two action-packed days of competition, with club athletes producing an impressive haul of medals, personal bests, and standout performances across track and field events.

Leading the celebrations was Penelope McMahon, who stormed to national gold in the Girls U13 60m Hurdles, clocking an outstanding 9.72 seconds in the final after qualifying strongly from her heat in 9.89 seconds. McMahon also demonstrated her versatility earlier in the day, placing 5th in the Girls U13 600m in a competitive time of 1:47.30.

Strong Podium Finishes on Day One

The club enjoyed further success on the opening day, highlighted by Ava Brophy’s silver medal in the Girls U12 600m, where she ran a superb 1:48.22 to secure her place on the national podium.

Middle-distance strength was also evident in the Girls U15 800m, where Sinéad Fitzpatrick delivered an excellent performance to claim silver in 2:18.20. Additional top-ten finishes included Bailee Bolton (8th, Girls U14 800m, 2:23.92) and Annabelle Lawlor (8th, Girls U19 800m, 2:23.89).

In the sprint hurdles events, strong finals appearances came from Roisin Kearney, who finished 4th in the Girls U14 60m Hurdles (9.57s), and Zoe Dunne, also 4th in the Girls U16 60m Hurdles (9.49s) following impressive qualification runs.

Field event performances were equally encouraging, with Leo Smith narrowly missing out on a medal in the Boys U13 Shot Putt, finishing 4th with a throw of 10.73m, while Kate Kelly placed 12th in the Girls U13 Shot Putt (7.96m). In the high jump, Elanna Kelly cleared 1.40m to finish 10th in the Girls U17 competition.

Day Two Brings Further Medal Success

The momentum continued into Day Two as the club added four more national medals to the tally.

Multi-event talent Ava Brophy claimed her second silver medal of the championships with an excellent leap of 4.40m in the Girls U12 Long Jump. In the Girls U15 Long Jump, Faye Brennan secured bronze with 4.70m, while Lily O’Neill added another podium finish with bronze in the Girls U16 Long Jump (4.98m).

In the triple jump, Elaine Miller produced a strong series of jumps to take bronze in the Girls U19 Triple Jump with a best effort of 10.59m, rounding off a highly successful championships for the club.

On the track, Brennan also impressed in the Girls U15 60m Sprint, progressing from her heat in 8.26s before finishing 4th in the final (8.14s). O’Neill showed her sprinting strength by winning her heat in the Girls U16 60m in 7.85s, later placing 5th in the final. Other notable performances included James Hyland (4th in his heat of the Boys U19 400m in 52.49s) and Rachel Harnett competing strongly in the Girls U19 60m.

Additional field event results saw Zoe Dunne finish 7th in the Girls U16 Long Jump (4.80m), Robyn Fitzmauriceplace 9th in the Girls U16 Triple Jump (8.69m), and Oran McCarthy finish 8th in the Boys U14 Shot Putt (9.31m)