Leevale athletes Andre Christie, Luke Horgan and Jack Murphy competed as part of the Irish team in the Schools International (SIAB) which was held in Cardiff on Saturday. This competition takes place annually and involves England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with their top two 16/17 year olds competing. Conditions were perfect.
First up to compete was Andre Christie in the Hammer. Andre, competing in his first international, stepped up to the plate with a best throw of 52.31, marginally short of his personal best (PB). This performance demonstrated great consistency considering the huge improvement in his PB over the last two months.
Next up was Luke Horgan in the 1500m. Competing in a very fast-paced race with an opening lap of 64 seconds and going through 800m in 2.11, Luke stuck with the leaders and finished just outside the medals in 3.59, 1 second outside his PB.
In the sprint hurdles in the afternoon, Jack Murphy had the good fortune to be drawn in the lane adjacent to the English champion. Having focused on improving the starting technique with Leevale coaching expertise in recent weeks, Jack matched the competition stride for stride to the first hurdle and had powered ahead by the fifth. The two English athletes responded but Jack dug deep to maintain the lead and win gold.
To have the opportunity to compete in this event was a tremendous experience for all three athletes thanks to the quality of coaching, administration and commitment within Leevale AC.
