Erin Friel smashes Irish U-18 400m record as Donegal win three golds in Athlone

Erin Friel put in a record-breaking performance in the 400m at the National U-20 Championships, while there were two other Donegal golds in the form of Caoimhe Gallen and Alex Paul Anderson.

The Letterkenny AC member Friel's time of 54.75 at the TUS International Arena in Athlone is a new national U-18 record, as well as a Donegal record. The previous national record was Alanna Lally’s 55.87 in 2013.

Seventeen-year-old  Friel came home ahead of Daisy Walker from Monaghan Phoniex, who clocked 55.12 for second place, with Lucan Harriers' Saoirse Fitzgerald third with 55.54.

The Donegal record has been jumping between Friel and Arlene Crossan in recent weeks, with Finn Valley AC's Crossan's the most recent, which stood at 54.98 following the National Indoor Championships semi-finals last month.

Gallen from Lifford-Strabane won gold in the women's U-20 shot put (4kg) with 11.81m, with Chloe Ran from O'Toole's second in 11.47 and third went to Méabh O'Donnell from Blarney/Inniscara AC with 11.42.

In the U-23 Wfd (Weight for Distance), Anderson from Tír Chonaill AC took the top prize with 7.99, ahead of Lios Tuathail AC’s Padraig McCarthy in 7.21.

Another Donegal record was broken by Leah O'Gara from Finn Valley AC, who won silver in Athlone in the U-20 women's 3,000m walk. Her time was 15:06.53, with Savanagh O'Callaghan of Tuam AC winning in 14:52.98.

Joseph Aidoo from Letterkenny AC was second in the final of the U-23 men's 400m, with a time of 49.10, to finish behind Darragh Masterson of Ratoath AC on 48.87, while Sam Kiely was third. The Riverstick/Kinsale AC man's time was 49.38.

Caolan McFadden from Cranford AC was also a silver-medal winner, with 4:01.48 in the U-20 men 1500m to come in after Sean Cronin from Clonliffe Harriers AC, on 4:00.42.

Eoin Boyle of Tír Chonaill AC took home a second-placed finish in the U-20 men's high jump, with 1.80m, 10cm off winner Conor Penny of Craughwell AC.

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A bronze medal went to Jamie Kennedy of Tír Chonaill AC in the men's U-20 triple jump, with 12.60 metres, with Darragh Fahy from Loughrea the winner with 13.22 and St Brendan's Kerry AC's Eoin Malik second with 12.82.

Ethan Dewhirst of Tír Chonaill AC was fourth in the U-20 men's 400m race with 48.48, which was won by Sean Doggett from Athenry in 47.63. Oisin Kelly from Cranford AC was also fourth, with 1:55.38, in the U023 men's 800m , with Finn Woodger, Metro/St Brigid's AC, first with 1:53.71.

Letterkenny AC's Katie Elliott was also fourth, in her case in the U-20 women's high jump, with 1.55m. Tara O'Connor from Dundalk St Gerard's was the gold medal winner with 1.70m. Anderson threw 9.83 metres in the U-23 men's shot put (7.26kg), which was enough for the Tír Chonaill AC member to come fourth in an event won by Callum Keating from North Cork AC with 14.24.

Amy Tominey from Finn Valley was fourth in the women's U-20 60m hurdles, with 8.87 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second off third-placed Enya Silkena from Ratoath AC. South Galway. Emily Eleen Kelly of Tír Chonaill AC ended up fifth in the  U-20 women's 800m with 2:19.15 and Amy Greene from Finn Valley was also fifth in her final, the U-23 women's 1500m, in a time of 4:39.23.