Golden girl Sommer Lecky soars to latest national indoor title

Sommer Lecky regained the Irish senior indoor title after a cracking contest.

The Finn Valley AC athlete won gold at the National Indoor Arena on countback after an absorbing battle with Dundalk’s Tara O’Connor.

Lecky landed the eighth Irish senior gold of her career and her first indoor crown since 2020.

The 24-year-old had a best leap of 1.81m and was in front when gold medal rival O’Connor knocked the 1.84m height for a third time.

Feeling the effects of a niggle, Lecky was content to pass on another go on the runway.

“I’m happy enough,” Lecky said. “I’ll take an irish senior title anyway; I haven’t got an indoor one in a while.”

Lecky, a former Commonwealth Youth gold and World U20 silver medal winner, cleared the bar on the first time at both 1.70m and 1.75m.

By that point, the medallists - Lecky, O’Connor and Aoife O’Sullivan of Liscarroll - were known, with only the order to be confirmed.

Lecky cleared 1.78m at the second attempt and the Castlederg native soared over a season’s best height of 1.81m to move into pole position.

Dundalk St Gerard’s AC’s O’Connor arched over 1.81m on her third go, but Lecky was onto the familiar top step of the podium.

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Lecky was the Irish indoor silver medal winner last year and previously left with golds in 2018, 2019 and 2020 while she has topped the charts four times outdoors.

Letterkenny AC’s Erin Friel clocked a new personal best of 24.82 seconds to win her heat and advance to the 200m final while Finn Valley AC’s Arlene Crossan clocked 55.30 seconds to move onto the 400m semi-finals.

In the weight for distance, Bridget McDyer of Finn Valley AC reached out to a best of 6.58m for fourth with the event won by Nenagh’s Laura Frawley, who went out to 7.10m with her final throw.