Donegal quartet selected for Welsh Under-20 International

Four Donegal athletes are included on an Ulster team that will take part in the Welsh Under-20 International on August 26.

Lifford-Strabane AC hammer thrower Adrienne Gallen, Tir Chonaill AC hurdler Fintan Dewhirst and Finn Valley AC pair Hannah Murray and Joseph Gillespie are among the ten-person team.

Dewhirst and Murray competed at the European Under-20 Championships last week.

Dewhirst, who won gold at the National Juvenile Championships, set a new Donegal record when going 51.49 seconds in his 500m hurdles heat in Jerusalem. The under-18 silver medalist in 2022, Dewhirst was seventh in his semi-final at the Givat Ram Stadium when going 56.64 seconds.

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Murray was a part of the Irish 4x400m relay team that reached the final in Jerusalem, finishing seventh in 3:39.39. The Irish quartet set a season’s best 3:39.02 in their semi-final. This year, Murray was the 400m gold and 200m silver medalist at the National Juveniles in Tullamore.

Murray and Dewhirst will take part in the mixed relay as well as their specialised events.

Gallen has been in good form over recent weeks too. In Tullamore, she won the under-20 hammer when throwing out to 53.59 before grabbing bronze in the shot put.

At the National Senior Championships, Gallen gave one of the more noteworthy Donegal performances. In winning bronze in the hammer, Gallen threw a best of 56.05m, breaking the Donegal record.

Gillespie won triple jump silver at the Juvenile Championships having broken a 41-year-old Finn Valley AC record at the AAI Games. Gillespie finished second in the AAI Games when jumping to 14.37m - a leap that eclipsed the previous club best of 14.13m set by Anthony Dunne in 1982.

The Welsh Under-20 International takes place in Cardiff on August 26 and will also include Wales Under-20s, three English regions, Scotland and Welsh Schools.