Max Burgin delivered another fabulous display of front running as he stormed to the win in the boys 800m final on the closing day (July 8) at the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary.

The 16 year-old opened up a gap in the early stages of two-lap race and victory was never in doubt as he led from the start to finish before crossing the line in a personal best time of 1:47.36. It was also a championship record and world U18 lead for Burgin as he further lowered his European age 16 800m record.

“It’s unbelievable – it’s a PB as well so it was the perfect race really, everything I could have hoped for,” said a delighted Burgin. “I didn’t know I had that time in me but now that I do, hopefully in a time trial race I can go even faster. We’ll have to see but I’m really pleased with the result. It is a cliché but it is a dream come true.

“It was the safest thing for me [to front run the race]. I just ran my absolute hardest. I left everything on the track and fortunately that was enough. I think I saw the splits at 500m but that’s about all I can remember. I wanted to go through in around 52 / 53 seconds, that was going to be perfect for me.”

One of the best front running displays you will see all season!

Max Burgin, 16, took it out hard from the gun and won it from the front, crossing the finish-line in the 800m in a lifetime best and championship record of 1:47.36. pic.twitter.com/Uk0KC1KX6D

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 8, 2018

In May, when still 15, Burgin clocked 1:47.50 over 800m to set a world age 15 800m record and a European U16 best.

Spain’s Eric Guzman took silver in 1:49.19 ahead of Portugal’s Joao Peixoto in 1:49.42.

Burgin came through his heats comfortably on Friday, before he booked his place in today’s final with an impressive semi-final performance in 1:52.37.

The Halifax youngster added: “In the heats and semi-finals, it gave me confidence that I could I could do a good time all by myself. During the race, I didn’t really get tight and didn’t blow up or anything so my legs held up well after the rounds.

“The hardest thing over the three days has been hiding my nerves. Controlling them seems to be making me run better. It’s a key part of my preparation for my races, as it should be for any athlete.

“It has been a big step up for me [these championships]. I wanted to see my parents and family after the race, they have given me so much support. But I also wanted to see the team coaches, my teammates; it’s good to see them after the race and even better to see them when you have done well.”

Following on from Keely Hodgkinson’s gold in the 800m and victories by Thomas Keen, Kane Elliot, Sam Bennett and Dominic Ogbechie, Burgin’s gold brings Great Britain’s haul to a superb six gold medals at the European U18 Championships.

In the girls 1500m final, Emily Willams led the charge after Ireland’s runaway winner Sarah Healy and her efforts were rewarded with a superb silver medal.

Willams clocked 4:22.11 and said afterwards: “It sounds unbelievable [to be a European U18 silver medallist]. I‘ve mixed between the 1500m and 800m all season, and I think my speed really helped me in the final part of the race.

“I was nervous – but I could see that three of us had moved away from the others. The pace picked up with 200m to go and I knew I had to go with it because I really wanted a medal. My coach and my mum and dad are here to watch me and I’m so pleased they could see me win a medal. It’s great to have their support here, and I want to thank them for everything and making this happen.”

The British team won nine medals in total at the championships to top the medal table for a second consecutive time.

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After winning Ireland’s first gold at the European U18 Championships two days ago, Sarah Healy stepped back onto the track in Gyor, Hungary on Sunday (July 8) and delivered another stellar performance to claim victory in the girls 1500m final.

Going into the race some 10 seconds quicker than her nearest challenger the expectancy was on Healy to perform and that she did with a 4:18.71 win.

Healy led from the start and stretched out the field as she moved through gears her competitors just don’t possess at this stage of their young athletics careers. Over the final lap, the 17 year-old kicked and opened up a gap of 25m before crossing the line to win her second European title.

Great Britain’s Emily William’s took silver in 4:22.11 ahead of Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska in 4:22.90.

Sarah Healy has ruled the distance events at the European U18 Championships!

Two days after winning the 3000m title in a championship record, the Irishwoman does the same to win the 1500m title in Gyor.

Ireland's third gold medal of the championships! pic.twitter.com/si9l0NQqMO

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 8, 2018

The Blackrock athlete completed the first half of her distance running double with a dominating win over 3000m on Friday (July 6), running a championship best time of 9:18.05.

That performance added another distance to her European topping U18 list that already included the 800m and 1500m.

After that win, Healy said: “I wasn’t always planning on doing it but I decided: why not? The schedule worked out, so we thought we’d give it a go and it feels amazing. The competition is that bit tougher, but I’m really happy I did the 3km, it feels great.”

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

Heading into the championships Healy ran a personal best 1500m time of 4:09.25 at a meet in Tübingen, Germany on June 16. It was the fastest time in 32 years by a European youth athlete. She followed that up with an Irish U18 and U20 record over 800m in Belfast on June 26.

It has been a competition of great success for Ireland’s youngsters and not only because of the medals won by Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke, and Sophie O’Sullivan, but in the manner in which they performed in the finals.

European 200m champion Adeleke and 800m silver medalist O’Sullivan both clocked personal best times, running 23.52 (championship record) and 2:06.05, in their respective showdowns.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

Brian Lynch (Old Abbey) was the only other athlete competing on the final day and he finished 26th in the boys’ decathlon with a total of 6,306 points. His leading marks after the first day of competition were: 100m 11.61, long jump 6.74m, shot put 12.48m, high jump 1.76m and 400m 53.12.

Lynch started day two (Sunday) with a PB in the 110m hurdles in 15.53, discus 35.93, pole vault 3.60m which was a 30cm PB, javelin 37.04m and finished out with the 1500m in 4:46.33. So that was four personal bests in ten events and valuable exposure to competition at this level.

The Irish team won four medals in total at the second edition of the continental competition.

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Great Britain’s young athletes had a super Saturday of their own bagging four gold medal and one silver on the third day (July 7) at the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary.

With 22 athletes of the 33-strong team competing during the session, there were many headline moments on the track and in the field, including three gold medals won inside 19 minutes. The gold medal haul matches the number won at the inaugural championships back in 2016 and sees GB jump to the top of the medals table with one day to go at the competition.

Keely Hodgkinson delivered an exceptional show of endurance to win the 800m gold. The Leigh Harrier used a similar tactic to her heat and semi-final, taking the inside lane and holding her line before powering away with 200m to go.

No one could go with her change of pace and the gap kept opening up as she won in a championship record of 2:04.86, outsprinting Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan, daughter of world champion Sonia.

A dominant run in the 800m final for Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson in a championship record of 2:04.84 and a medal for O'Sullivan!

Sonia O'Sullivan's daughter Sophie claimed a silver medal on her championship debut no less. pic.twitter.com/dHBqUJ9Z9o

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 7, 2018

“This feels incredible, I cannot believe I am a European champion,” she commented afterwards. “It’s more than I could have dreamed really. I wanted the gold; I mean I would have been happy to medal but I wanted to win it.

“It was a mixture of amazing, ‘so glad it is over’ and relief when I crossed the line. All the hard work has been worth it. I had no idea I was moving away at the end, I suppose I will have to watch it back to check.”

Earlier in the evening, Kane Elliott ran a sublime race to win the boys 1500m in a Championship record of 3:55.26.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

The Falkirk athlete hit the front of the field early on and appeared comfortable to dictate the pace for most of the race. However, on the final lap, he was overtaken by three athletes as he hit the 200m to go mark, and it looked like he was about to fade.

Nevertheless, he showed great spirit to move out into lane two as he hit the home straight to make sure he wasn’t boxed in. He outsprinted the Hungarian athlete in the final few metres to claim his crown.

What a crazy finish to the 1500m at the European U18 Championships!

Kane Elliott produced this brilliant sprint finish to pip Hungary's Bence Apati for the title. pic.twitter.com/vw4ripNE5J

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 7, 2018

“It feels amazing, said a shocked Elliott. “It was a very tough race but I’m so happy I had enough to get the win. It is an unbelievable feeling to be European champion. I am not sure I can get my head around it at the moment, it’ll take some time to sink in.

“I knew I had to move out [with 100m to go] otherwise I was going to get boxed in so I had no other choice. I knew I had enough left in the tank so I just gave everything I had to get a medal.”

In the burn up to the line, Jacques Maurice was 11th in 3:58.18.

After breaking the championship record on two occasions on Friday, Sam Bennett recorded another one as he too claimed gold in the 110m hurdles.

Bennett set an outright British U18 record in the process, this time with a legal wind after an advantageous tailwind denied him that in the semi-finals yesterday. His time was 13.19 (+0.8), setting an outright record which is of the highest quality for an U18 athlete, dominating from start to finish and winning by a significant margin in what was a highly competitive field on paper.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

The Commonwealth Youth champion said post-race: “I didn’t have any expectations of breaking records or setting PBs coming into these championships, I just came here to compete and run faster in each round. I didn’t come into this final as the fastest but that didn’t put me off. I wasn’t concerned about rankings; some people perform better on different stages.

“I like the competition, it makes me become a better runner and I think that showed today. I am so pleased to be European champion, this has been my target all year.”

Elsewhere in the final, Jordan Ricketts (Anthony Pitt, Birchfield) had a great start to the race, but clipped a couple of the hurdles near the end to finish in seventh in 14.08.

World U18 leader in the high jump, Dominic Ogbechie, delivered his best when it mattered to claim the European gold medal.

A 2.22m leap earlier this year – a world age 15 best – put him as favourite months prior to the competition. He dealt with the expectation maturely clearing 2.16m to win the duel with the Ukrainian Oleh Doroschchuk. He cleared the height on his third and final attempt to seal the gold medal and his moment on top of the podium.

He spoke afterwards: “It is amazing to be the European champion, I am so pleased. It was such a surreal atmosphere tonight.”

A phenomenal 400m race saw Ethan Brown claim silver, but he was narrowly outside the gold after a late burst for the line. He was outside the medals with 100m to go, but he stepped it up in the closing moments, timing his race to perfection to earn his spot on the podium.

It was a valiant effort by his teammate Ben Pattison who was just run out of the medals over the last 50 metres of so, finishing fourth in 47.25.

The going was tough in the women’s 2000m steeplechase as the field became strung out fairly early in the contest. Elise Thorner battled well in the environment, clocking 7:08.51 for 15th place, coming soon after her personal best in the heats.

After a fabulous display of front running in his heat on Friday, Max Burgin faced a similar situation once again, taking the victory and booking his place in the boys 800m final on Sunday. He looked impressive as he won his semi-final comfortably in 1:52.37.

The closing day of action from Gyor can be watched live on Eurosport 2 and on the European Athletics website. The timetable for each day can be found here and results here.

The post Golden day for GB youngsters in Gyor appeared first on Fast Running.

It was a night to remember for Irish athletics as Rhasidat Adeleke stormed to gold in the girls 200m final and Sophie O’Sullivan sped to silver over 800m at the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary (July 7).

Tallaght athlete Adeleke blitzed the bend and gave her rivals a clean pair of heels as she won the gold in 23.52 – a new personal best that sparked a tearful and jubilant celebration.

A brilliant run from Rhasidat Adeleke in the 200m final at the European U18 Championships to claim Ireland's second gold medal of the event! pic.twitter.com/wDZed643Dk

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 7, 2018

“I’m lost for words, I really wasn’t expecting that,” said Adeleke afterwards. “You work all year, there will be doubts and things that will bring you down but coming out with the gold is crazy.”

If that wasn’t enough for one night, O’Sullivan, the daughter of Irish legend Sonia, was dancing on the line before the start of the 800m final and then pursued to battle for a brilliant silver medal in a new personal best of 2:06.05.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

Ireland has now won three medals at the European U18 Championships with Sarah Healy having already won gold in the 3000m on Friday night. Healy will step onto the track again on Sunday aiming to win another gold in the 1500m. The Blackrock youngster is the strong favourite with her personal best this year (4:09.25), 10 seconds quicker than her rivals.

Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday evening Miriam Daly finished sixth in her 400m hurdles semi-final in 61.35, a personal best, and finished 10th overall.

Louis O’Loughlin finished sixth in his semi-final of the 800m in 1:55.22.

Brian Lynch finished 24th at the halfway stage in the boys’ decathlon with a total of 3,338 points. His leading marks were: 100m 11.61, long jump 6.74m, shot put 12.84m, high jump 1.76m and 400m 53.12.

The closing day of action from Gyor can be watched live on Eurosport 2 and on the European Athletics website. The timetable for each day can be found here and results here.

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Sarah Healy made it look easy as she won girls 3000m gold for Ireland on the second day (July 6) of the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary.

The 17 year-old Irish star was relaxed in the early laps before she increased the pace to open up a huge gap over the final two laps and took victory in a championships record 9:18:05.

Healy ran a blistering 2:57 in the final kilometre and still looked at ease as she crossed the line to win her second race of the day, having earlier won her 1500m heat in 4:30.19. It was a new Irish youth outdoor record for the Blackrock athlete who now tops the European U18 lists in the 800m, 1500m and 3000m.

“I wasn’t always planning on doing it but I decided: why not?” Healy said afterwards.

It's gold for Ireland in the 3000m!

Sarah Healy produced a final kilometre of 2:57 to win the 3000m title at the European U18 Championships in a championship record of 9:18.05. pic.twitter.com/KvbJX22X4E

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 6, 2018

Finishing second to Healy was Turkey’s Inci Kalkan in 9:24.01, with France’s Alessia Zarbo taking bronze in 9:25.25. Great Britain’s Charlotte Alexander finished ninth in 9:41.18 and teammate Kiara Frizelle was 13th in 9:51.08.

Healy, who tops the 1500m rankings by 10 seconds after her recent 4:09.25 run in Tubingen, Germany, will next race on Sunday in the 1500m final where she will aim to win a fantastic second gold medal.

After her June performance in Tubingen, Germany the youngster moved to second on the European U18 all-time list behind Romania’s Ana Padurean who ran 4:06.02 in 1982.

In May, the Blackrock AC youngster ran the fastest time ever by an Irish U18 athlete when she clocked 4:13.32 in Belgium to break Ciara Mageean’s best of 4:15.46.

On the same track last year she also won 1500m gold at the European Youth Olympics.

Meanwhile, Patience Jumbo-Gula was disappointed to finish fifth in the girls’ 100m final in 11.87 but it was still a fantastic championship for the rising sprinter.

Rhasidat Adeleke was first of the Irish in competition on the evening session and she qualified in second in her 200m heat in 23.90. Running blind in lane eight it was a solid start to Adeleke’s championships with the semi-finals coming up.

Sophie O’Sullivan had a great burst of speed to qualify for the final of the 800m. She eased off the throttle in the final metres to finish second in 2:07.95.

The post Ireland’s Sarah Healy wins European U18 gold appeared first on Fast Running.

Watching young athletes perform on the international stage is exciting, especially when you see the joy on their faces as they are awarded medals and congratulated by teammates, coaches and parents.

However, with the European U18 Championships currently underway in Gyor, Hungry, we will, no doubt, also receive constant reminders of the exciting talents who are on the path to be the next Paula Radcliffe, Sonia O’Sullivan or Greg Rutherford.

Not to be negative, but we should not get carried away. What we should really be reminded of is how little success at this level means in the long term, the cost at which it can come, how difficult the transition to senior stardom actually is, and how quickly things go wrong.

And those who do succeed, particularly in a country like Ireland where the last medal at a senior major championship was Ciara Mageean’s bronze in Amsterdam two years ago, youngsters will not only have to navigate the normal difficulties faced by developing athletes, but also the hopes and expectations of an entire nation.

Ireland has not been short of success at this level, and not all those who succeeded failed to make it as a senior, but a reflection on the make-up of any national team demonstrates that junior age-group championships, let alone medals at that level, are a mere step on the path to success for just a minority of our senior athletes.

A glance at past lists of participants and reports of previous stars-in-the-making demonstrates the point even more so; a medal at this level, is a medal at this level, no more and no less. It is definitely no guarantee for success.

And while youth success confirms, for a small majority, that they have a talent beyond their peers, the downsides can often outweigh the positives.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

The issues

Firstly, success at youth and junior level can paste over the cracks in a system which fails to produce an adequate level of senior success for the size of its talent pool. Shout loud enough about the youth and junior medals and the success on the horizon, and people will fail to notice that the cycle keeps repeating itself: the hope and optimism, the tragic stories, the lack of depth at senior level.

But the loud shouting also causes other issues in the system. Successful athletes, and those around them, are at risk of thinking they have arrived, and that success has already been achieved, or of expecting even bigger things ahead, that future success is their God-given right.

Nothing in this life is guaranteed. Least of all in track and field athletics!

Managed wrong, youth success can mean that every day from here on in is a disappointment. Junior stars have everything to lose and little to gain.

A system which glorifies youth success also has the potential to ignore and discourage, intentionally or unintentionally, the late developers, the under-trainers who have a greater potential for improvement, those with the mentality attrition for the long road. Those who are simply a bit smaller or a bit younger than their rivals. Those whose potential is, as yet, untapped.

And that’s before we even get to the overtraining, undereating, and injury-inducing behaviours which are only reinforced by the value we place on early success.

Or the development of an individual’s identity and self-worth purely around sporting success.

But we all know all this already.

The solutions

It’s difficult to ignore outstanding performances, especially when those performances are not only great for age, but good for seniors. And, at times, it’s almost impossible not to feed into the hype.

But what purpose does it really serve?

Even those who are genuinely the real deal, and who will go on to hit the big time, are better off staying under the radar than carrying the pressure that comes with expectation. There will be ample opportunity to reap the rewards of their future successes.

And, at the end of the day, success at a senior level, whether that be a national title, an Olympic berth or a world title; living out your hard work and true potential, whatever that might be, is far more rewarding than a medal which may forever hang heavily around your neck.

And when we remember all this, it won’t be so difficult to find the solutions to a broken system that too often burdens our talent with unnecessary expectation.

Then, the future may, indeed, be bright.

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There was a remarkable gold medal for Great Britain’s Thomas Keen in the boys 3000m on the opening day (July 5) of the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary.

Keen produced a phenomenal display including a sub 60 second last lap to hold off the threat of Omer Amactan of Turkey and Ryan Oosting of the Netherlands to win in style.

The Briton – the European U18 leader going into this event – was always in contention, even when the two Turkish athletes made a move with 1km to go. It proved to be pivotal for a great deal of the field who could not contain the injection of pace. But the same couldn’t be said for Keen who embraced the change of pace and took it on.

With one lap to go, he made his move, hitting the front and taking a commanding lead, which resulted in European gold.

Thomas Keen opened the British medal tally at the European U18 Championships in Gyor with a sub-60 second last lap to win the 3000m title! pic.twitter.com/MSmo4OsqnB

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 5, 2018

He said afterwards: “All that training has paid off. My coach Mark (Vile) has done a great job to make sure I was in the perfect condition for this race and it feels so good to win.

“The Turkish athletes kicked with a kilometre to go and it was very quick. But I stuck with my plan until one lap to go. Then I thought, ‘if I die, I die’. I knew I was going to go for it as this opportunity wouldn’t come around again. So, I gave everything and it worked. I had planned to make the first move but they did that before me so I just stayed with them and stayed patient. I had another kick and just held on.

“I was starting to swim down the home straight. I mean, I had nothing left. I kept looking behind me, something my coach always tells me not to do. But I couldn’t resist, I wanted to see where they were. When I crossed the line, it was all relief.”

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

He added: “Winning Europeans is amazing but I’ll be competing at English Schools next week – I’ll have to get straight back on it. Then I’ll have a holiday, maybe.”

Rory Leonard (Morpeth) was ninth in a time of 8:39.45, one of those hit by the rapid change of pace with a third of the race to go.

Swiftly making her way into the girl’s 800m final was Keely Hodgkinson (Leigh Harriers). Going in the sixth and final heat, the north-west based athlete had a long wait to take to the track but made the most of her time once she stepped onto it.

Going into the heat as the fastest athlete in the field, she predictably became the frontrunner, and comfortably led the field around to qualify with ease. In fact, she was just pipped on the line to finish second in 2:11.82, but that did not bother the Leigh athlete who completed her task expertly.

Solidly negotiating their heats, Jacques Maurice (Harrogate Harriers) and Kane Elliott (Falkirk) ensured there would be double British representation in the final of the 1500m.

Maurice went in the more tactical affair, biding his time before finishing second in the burn-up. His time of 4:01.97 saw him progress. Elliott was involved in the faster of the heats, finishing outside the automatic spots in seventh. However, his time of 3:56.57 was enough to set him up for a place in the final on Saturday.

Elise Thorner (Wells City Harriers) earned a personal best in the 2000m Steeplechase. 6:50.00 was an improvement by over a second, and she was delighted to face such competition on the European stage to help her to that mark.

She commented post-race: “This is my first proper [2000m steeplechase] race with more than two or three people so I really wanted to prove that I could race against other people. It was hard work as there was a lot of shoving so I had to show my cross-country spirit out there. I just used all my experiences from 800m and 1500m races that I have done over the years. You learn to adapt.

“It was such a great experience though and I’m over the moon to be inside the top five.”

After advancing as the fastest qualifier in the heats this morning, Cassie-Ann Pemberton (Birchfield) did the same in semi-finals, albeit with a wind-assisted time. A +3.1 wind picked up during the last semi-final, Pemberton clocking 11.56, a personal best, albeit with an illegal wind.

Sadly, Amy Hunt narrowly missed out on a berth in the final despite placing 8th overall in the standings. The first heat was quicker, which meant the Charnwood athlete settled for an improvement of 11.83 (+0.7) from this morning’s heat.

Out in the field, Jade Spencer-Smith (Harrow) faced a long pole vault qualification series, but she dealt with it calmly to move into the final. A second-time clearance at 3.80m secured her spot alongside 12 others in Saturday’s medal event.

There was comfortable progression for world U18 leader in the high jump, Dominic Ogbechie (Highgate Harriers), to the final of that event. The 16-year-old has cleared 2.22m indoors already this season, but he only needed 2.04m today to earn a place in his first international final.

The 16-year-old added: “Overall it was pretty good. I’ve jumped well enough to reach the final. Some parts were a bit scruffy but I know what I need to iron out for the final. Hopefully the big heights will come in that final.”

The action continues at 9:05am UK time with the boys 110m heats.

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Sophie O’Sullivan, the daughter of Irish Olympic silver medallist Sonia O’Sullivan, announced herself in the green of Ireland with a debut win in the heats of the 800m at the European U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungry on Thursday (July 5).

The 16 year-old kicked in the closing stages to power past two rivals and took the win in 2.12.23 to secure an automatic qualifying spot for the semi-finals on Friday.

How about that for a championship debut?

Sophie O'Sullivan, daughter of 1998 European 5000m and 10,000m champion Sonia O'Sullivan, won the second heat of the 800m at the European U18 Championships. pic.twitter.com/EHD30KaGFR

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 5, 2018

Last year O’Sullivan, who has both Irish and Australian citizenship, raced in Ireland for the first time and won under-17 gold over 1500m at the Irish National Juvenile Championships. Earlier in 2017, she also won Australian U17 titles over 800m and 1500m.

We caught up with Ireland's Sophie O'Sullivan after she qualified for the 800m semifinals from a tactical heat. pic.twitter.com/AR73EekJyb

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 5, 2018

Also impressing for Ireland on the first of four days of action in Gyor was sprinter Patience Jumbo-Gula who ran a championship record in the girls’ 100m semi-finals in 11.59 seconds.

Jumbo-Gula sped to victory with an excellent start with the wind reading +0.7m/s and runs in Friday’s final at 7:09pm Irish time.

Conor Morey (Leevale) went in semi-final one of the 100m where there was a false start but a late recall gun saw him and some of the others run the full race. It was subsequently rerun 10 minutes later where he came 6th in 11.17 – evidently tired having two 100m races in quick succession.

Israel Olatunde (Dundealgan) finished 5th in the second semi-final in 11.09 seconds.

There was some misfortune in both the 1500m and 100m for the boys.  Cian McPhillips (Longford) was placed well in a tactical affair in heat one of the 1500m but lost his spike after two laps resulting in a 14th place finish in 4:10.84.

Brian Maguire (DSD) battled well in heat two of the 1500m finishing 10th in 3:59.74.

A preview of the Irish athletes competing can be found here.

All of the action from Gyor can be watched live on Eurosport 2 and on the European Athletics website. The timetable for each day can be found here and results here.

The post Irish debut win for Sophie O’Sullivan appeared first on Fast Running.

The second edition of European Athletics U18 Championships kicks off today (Thursday, July 5) in Gyor, Hungary with a 33-strong British team set to take on the best from the continent in the age-group.

World U18 800m leader Max Burgin, who clocked 1:47.50 over 800m in May to set a world age 15 800m record and a European U16 best, is among the team and begins his quest for gold in the 800m heats on Friday.

Keely Hodgkinson, Kane Elliott and Thomas Keen will also hope for medal honours in the 800m, 1500m and 3000m respectively, however, they will face highly competitive endurance fields.

Europe’s best young athletes from 50 nations will be in action over the four-day competition and Great Britain’s full team can be found here.

Day one preview (Thursday, July 5)

There are 15 British athletes involved on day one seeking progression into the latter stages of the competition.

Two athletes will be in final action on day one and they are Cambridge & Coleridge’s Keen and Rory Leonard (Morpeth) in the boys 3000m. The pair are ranked one and two in the European U18 rankings so far in 2018 so will go into the race with a fillip of confidence from their form this year. Their final goes at 19:32 UK time.

There is further British interest in the endurance events with Elise Thorner (Wells City Harriers) last up in the 2000m steeplechase heats, Leigh Harriers’ Hodgkinson in the girl’s 800m heats while Jacques Maurice (Harrogate Harriers) and Falkirk’s Elliott go in the 1500m heats.

Amy Hunt (Charnwood) and Cassie-Ann Pemberton (Birchfield) will race the girl’s 100m heats on Thursday morning, hoping to advance to the semi-finals later in the evening. Meanwhile, Natasha Harrison (Stockport) and Hannah Foster (Shaftesbury Barnet) kick off the action in the 400m heats at 10:10am UK time.

In the field, World U18 leader in the high jump Dominic Ogbechie (Highgate Harriers) who goes in the qualification pools around 16:40 (UK time).

Max Law (Havering) will go in javelin qualification, Lewis Byng (Stratford-upon-Avon) and George Hyde (West Cheshire) will target the final in the shot put while Jade Spencer-Smith (Harrow) takes on pole vault qualification.

All of the action from Gyor can be watched live on Eurosport 2 and on the European Athletics website. The timetable for each day can be found here and results here.

The post Britain’s U18s set for European Champs opener appeared first on Fast Running.

A 23-strong Irish team is set to take on the best from the continent at the European Athletics U18 Championships that begins today (Thursday, July 5) in Gyor, Hungary.

Sarah Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke, and Cian McPhillips are also among with medals in their sights in the second edition of the competition.

17 year-old Healy tops the 1500m rankings by 10 seconds after her recent 4:09.25 run Tubingen, Germany. It was the fastest run in 32 years by a European youth athlete.

Adeleke heads the rankings for the 100m and is fifth on the 200m list. She is selected for the 200m with Patience Jumbo Gula selected for the 100m.

Longford’s McPhillips is another leading light on the rankings and he is second in the 1500m with his time of 3:49.85.

The teenager daughter of Irish legend Sonia O’Sullivan, who has both Irish and Australian citizenship, will make her international debut in the 800m.

Europe’s best young athletes from 50 nations will be in action over the four-day competition and Ireland’s full team can be found here.

Day one preview (Thursday, July 5)

There are 14 Irish athletes involved on day one seeking progression into the latter stages of the competition.

O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh) competes in the 800m heat three and Molly Brown (MSB) in heat six. In the girls’ 800m there will be three rounds with the first three and three next fastest advancing to the semi-finals.

The 1500m for boys has the qualification of first four and next four fastest for the final with McPhillips (Longford) in heat one and Brian Maguire (DSD) in heat two.

Sprinters Simone Lalor (St Laurence O’Toole) goes in heat three of the girls 400m. Conor Morey (Leevale) and Israel Olatunde (Dundealgan) compete in heat two and heat three respectively in the 100m with the first three and six next fastest advancing to the semi-finals later in the evening.

Patience Jumbo Gula (St Gerard’s Dundalk) then goes in the girls’ 100m where she currently tops the rankings with the first three and three next fastest advancing to the semis.

Sarah Glennon (Mullingar Harriers) and Emily MacHugh (Naas) are in action in the 5km race walk.

In the field events, Miranda Tcheutchoua (Lusk) is the first athlete to don the green singlet. The athlete, now based in Canada, competes in group B of the hammer.

Conor Cusack (Lake District) throws in the javelin with 70.00m the automatic or 12 best performances for the final.

There is a duo also in the girls’ long jump with Sophie Meredith (St Mary’s) in Group A and Ruby Millet (St Abban’s) in Group B.

All of the action from Gyor can be watched live on Eurosport 2 and on the European Athletics website. The timetable for each day can be found here and results here.

The post Irish youngsters ready for European U18 Champs appeared first on Fast Running.