Outstanding performances by Paul Smith and Craig Lynch in Glasgow
FOLLOWING on from their medal-winning performances at the Irish senior championships, sprinter Craig Lynch and long jumper Paul Smith from Shercock athletic club travelled to Glasgow to compete in the Scottish Indoor Championships at the week-end.
The event has become something of a Celtic International in recent years as large numbers of Ireland`s top young athletes have made the journey north to compete against their Scottish rivals in open competition.
Paul Smith was celebrating his seventeenth birthday as he took to the runway in the junior men`s long jump.
An impressive opening round effort of 6.65m immediately put pressure on his Scottish opponents and they struggled to respond in kind. The competition was over after three rounds and Paul`s opening effort stood as the best jump of the day, landing him the junior title. Craig Lynch showed good form when he came from behind to take second place in the junior men`s 60 metres final.
Craig was also involved in an all-Irish dust-up in the 200m final where the opposition included Irish senior champion Christopher Russell from Waterford and Brian Gregan from Dublin. Craig ran a good opening bend and held his form well down the back straight however the climb into the final bend in lane four caused him some problems and he lost ground as Russell and Gregan overtook him on the inside.
Craig battled hard to hold third place and secured the bronze medal with Russell taking the honours on this occasion.
It was a positive end to a long day`s competition in which he had completed no fewer than six rounds of competition as he progressed from heat to semi-final to final.
There was further success in the Scottish age group championships for Ciaran Corrigan, also from Shercock AC, who won the bronze medal in the under 13 shot putt with a best throw of 7.23 metres.
Scottish indoor championships
Local interest in the Scottish indoor championships continues this weekend when Philip Daly takes part in the senior indoor heptathlon. Kevin McCloy also aims to continue his successful indoor season at the Scottish senior championships where he will compete over 400 metres, an event in which he recently represented Ireland at the Celtic Cup.
Both athletes are members of Shercock athletic club and are currently studying at the University of Glasgow.
