Donegal quartet to compete at European U18 Athletics Championships

Four Donegal athletes will go to the European U18 Athletics Championships later this month.

Tir Chonaill AC hurdler Ethan Dewhirst, Letterkenny AC sprinter Erin Friel, Cranford AC runner Caolan McFadden and Lifford-Strabane AC hammer thrower Caoimhe Gallen will all be aboard the plane.

The Championships take place from July 18-21 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.

Dewhirst is the younger brother of the 2022 European U18 400m hurdles silver medal winner Fintan Dewhirst, who is headed for the World U20 Championships in Peru next month.

The Tir Chonaill AC man will go in Slovakia having hit the 400m hurdles standard at the May Open.

Dewhirst, coached by Brian McGonagle, Ethan, clocked 53.82 seconds for second spot in May, beating the 54.60 qualifying time.

Friel will be a part of the medley relay team in Slovakia.

The Letterkenny AC woman won gold at the Tailteann Games recently. The Loreto Secondary School student won the 300m in 39.61 seconds.

Earlier this year, Friel, who is coached by Kathryn McDevitt, won the Irish Indoor Under-17 400m, going 57.85 seconds, and added the 200m bronze.

The outdoor season began with victory in a 100m at the Fab 5 meet in Belfast, where she crossed the line in 12.77 while she competed in the weekend's National Senior Championships, going 58.02 seconds in one of the heats of a loaded 400m division.

Gallen reached the hammer out to 63.58m when copeting in Palafrugell, Spain in early June to secure her spot.

She is a daughter of Sharon Foley, who became the first Donegal-born woman to compete at the World Athletics Championships when taking part in the high jump in 1993 at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion in Stuttgart.

McFadden has made the European U18 standard in both the 1500m and 800m. McFadden has clocked a 3:52.19 over 1500m and last month ran 1:52.98 and 1:53.54 in the 800m.