Galligan and Proper sixth at European Under-23s

Rose Anne Galligan of Newbridge AC came a very credible sixth in the 1500m final at the European U23 Championships, finishing in a time of 4.16.15. Galligan was competitive throughout but slipped off the pace slightly in the latter stages.

The race was won by Sultan Haydar of Turkey won in of 4.14.12.

In the Long Jump, Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC put in a top class performance to finish sixth in the final. Proper fouled in her two opening jumps but followed those with a 6.58m leap (+2.9), just one centimetre off her Irish Record, to make it into the final eight.

The Waterford woman then came up with a 6.50m jump, her second best of the championships.

Conditions were difficult for all with wind gusting throughout with variations of +5 to +.8, resulting in many athletes fouling throughout the course of the competition. Eventually, Melanie Bauschke of Germany won the event with a superb jump of 6.83m on her last attempt.

The Irish women did not line up in the 4x100m relay as it clashed with Proper’s Long-Jump final.

Closer to home, Kate Veale’s (West Waterford AC) record breaking walk was the highlight of the day at the Woodie’s DIY Juvenile Track and Field Championships of Ireland.

Veale dominated the under 16 2,000m walk, winning in a time of 8:38.73, slicing over a minute off the old record. This was Veale’s second record winning performance of the weekend after dominating the Schools International yesterday to win the 3km walk in 13.09.02.

Also in record breaking form was Markus Lawlor of St. Laurence O’Toole's, who set a record of 23.38 in the 200 metres to break Brian Eiffe’s 1977 record of 23.40.