Ferrybank Athletic Club’s star sprinter Niamh Whelan ran the fastest 200 meters of her career when finishing 2nd in Budapest last Sunday while representing Ireland at the Europa Cup.
Her time of 23.30 seconds was well within the European Championships qualifying time to be held in Barcelona at the end of July. She will join her clubmate Kelly Proper, who competes in the long jump.
Both Niamh and Kelly were on the Irish 4 x 100m relay team that broke the Irish record a week earlier in Geneva, a time which was also within the European Championships Qualifying time. Derval O’ Rourke and Claire Brady made up the quartet.
Meanwhile, another Ferrybank Athletic Club athlete, Chris Russell, was part of the Irish 4 x 100m team in Bratislava that ran the fastest Irish time in over 10 years where they finished 5th out of the 12 nations competing. Ireland finished 8th overall in this team competition and retain their position as part of the 2nd tier. The Czech Republic, Sweden and Portugal gained promotion to the 1st tier.
Also, in Bedford, England, Ferrybank Athletic Club’s Ciaran Donnelly finished a highly credible 5th in the British AAA Junior Championships in what is a very competitive event.
