Danny McKinley makes his golden breakthrough as Janosik shatters championship record

On a weekend when Buncrana schoolboy Lukas Janosik broke a Championship record, Letterkenny AC’s Danny McKinley added his name to a famous roster of national gold medal winners.

Gold medals were scant for Donegal on the opening two days of the National Juvenile Indoor Championships in Athlone.

In one of the standout performances McKinley powered home in 50.11 seconds to land a memorable gold in the U19 400m - the only gold nugget returning to a Donegal club from the weekend.

McKinley won the third of three heats in 50.86 to take lane 5 for the final.

A Leaving Certificate pupil at the Royal and Prior Comprehensive School in Raphoe, McKinley took a little side-step from other sports in recent months.

“He has had his eyes on the prize for a while now,” his coach, Kathryn McDevitt remarked afternwards. 

McKinley was third at the bell and was still in third with around 100m to go. It was then, heading for the final bell, when the foot went on the gas.

McKinley was strong coming down the home straight. The Letterkenny athlete was the picture of pure determination as he moved into the lead, his outstretched arms as he crossed the finish line a signal that he had arrived at his big moment.

It was a first national gold for McKinley, whose beaming smile told the story for him. Shane McGovern of Galway City Harriers was second in 50.42 and Portlaoise AC athlete Reuben Plunkett was third in 50.45.

Letterkenny AC woman Erin Friel, a bronze medalist at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) last year in Macedonia, scooped silver in the U19 400m.

This was Friel’s juvenile indoor swansong as she gets ready to go to Florida State University after her Leaving Cert in Loreto Secondary School this summer. 

There were only millimetres in it as she was edged out for gold.

The 54.25 clocked by race winner Molly Daly is a new Championship best, bettering the 55.28 clocked by Jenna Bromell of Emerald AC in 2025. 

Friel was just 0.04 of a second behind in second and on another afternoon the Newtowncunningham teenager might well have gone to the podium’s top step herself.

Erin Friel and Molly Daly after the race. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Friel - who hit the World U20 qualifying time earlier in the season with a 54.20-second run in the U20 400m final - was the fastest of the qualifiers, winning her heat in 55.98.

Sofia Granjo from St Laurence O’Toole AC was third in 55.01. 

Scoil Iosagain, Buncrana pupil Janosik set a new Championship record to win gold in the U13 600m.

Janosik, a multiple national gold medal winner who runs with City of Derry Spartans, took gold in a superb 1:33.88, wiping out Killian Coman’s previous best, 1:35.61, set two years ago.

Zach McKinley of Finn Valley AC was the U13 600m bronze medal winner, clocking 1:39.37.

Lukas Janosik wins the race. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

The fine margins have rarely stung how they did for Letterkenny AC rising sprint ace Brendan Ndambira, who seemed on course for a championship record and a gold medal.

In the U17 200m, Ndambira - another whose graph is going northwards in McDevitt’s group of talented sprinters - was first across the line, the clock showing 21.85. However, a line infringement saw Ndambira, who won his heat in 22.49, ultimately disqualified.

The 21.85, had it stood, would have taken out Aaron Sexton’s 21.97 championship best of 2016.

However, Ndambira didn’t leave the weekend completely empty handed, earning the 60m sprint silver. A massive new personal best time of 7.05 seconds earned him the silver, beaten by a whisker by Clongriffin AC’s Dylan Brennan, who won in 7.03 seconds.

Evan Ward of Rosses AC earned an excellent silver in the U16 800m. Ward clocked 2:02.44 for second behind Limerick AC’s Darragh Whelan, who bagged gold in 1:57.67.

Ward followed up by taking silver in the high jump on Sunday. A best leap of 1.74m took silver with St Andrews AC’s Tomas McGrath getting over 1.77m for the gold.

Finn Valley AC’s Tara Rose Smith won two medals, leaving with the U17 400m silver and the 800m bronze.

In Sunday’s 400m final, Smith finished in 57.03 seconds to take silver. Isabelle Gaffney from West Waterford AC won gold in 56.26 with Smith seeing off Aisling Kelly from Ennis Track, who was just 0.03 of a second behind in third, going 57.06.

Over 800m on Saturday, Smith sealed bronze with a 2:13.00 effort.

Finn Valley AC’s Leah O’Gara won silver in the U18 1500m race walk. O’Gara crossed the line in 7:03.68, beaten only by Moy Valley AC’s Pearl Sands, who took gold in 6:57.80.

Lifford-Strabane AC’s Joseph Ike earned silver in the U17 high jump, losing gold only on a countback to Cabinteely’s Cillian Kelly, who got over the winning height on his first attempt.

Millie Sandy from Lifford-Strabane AC threw to 11.36m to take bronze in the U16 shot. Sandy also finished fourth in the triple jump, going to 9.77m.

Harry McIlwaine from Letterkenny AC bagged himself a bronze in the U18 200m. McIlwaine finished in 22.12 seconds in the final, won by Ratoath AC’s Christopher Olatunde in 21.58. McElwaine had won his heat with a 22.51 run.

Finn Valley AC’s Katie Lousie McMonagle was fourth in the U19 long jump, her best attempt registering at 5.02m.

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Others who were in finals or jist missed medals included: Cianan Greene from Rosses AC was fourth in the U16 shot; Caitlin Sweeney from Rosses was fourth in the U14 long jump; Eamon Pyne from Lifford-Strabane AC was fifth in the U15 shot; Rosses AC’s Aaliyah Gallagher Canavan was fifth in the U15 high jump; Olympian YAC’s Orla McGeehan sixth in U13 shot; Clodagh Gallagher of Letterkenny AC was sixth in the U17 high jump; Milford Ac’s Sadhbh McBride was sixth in the U12 long jump; Caoimhe McGee from Letterkenny AC was sixth in the U17 walk;Letterkenny AC’s Reuben O Domhnaill finished seventh in the U15 race walk; Deava Diver from Milford AC reached the U14 60m hurdles final, placing seventh in 9.88; Finn Valley AC’s Erin Sproule was ninth in the U19 800m.