Kelly McGrory takes out 39-year-old Donegal record as Sommer Lecky wins high jump

On a night when Kelly McGrory broke a 39-year-old Donegal athletics record, Sommer Lecky won the women’s high jump at the Morton Games on Saturday.

Tir Chonaill AC woman McGrory clocked a superb 54.68 seconds over 400m to finish fifth.

That time wiped out the 55.72 seconds timed by Finn Valley AC’s Christine Lynch at the BLE Championships in Santry in 1983.

McGrory put just over a second onto the time and follows on from her recent setting of a new 400m hurdles record. Last week, McGrory won gold at the national seniors, finishing in 57.22 seconds.

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The 400m at the Morton Games - a challenger meet as part of the World Athletics Continental Tour series - was won by Sophie Becker of Raheny in 52.69 seconds with Cliodhna Manning from Kilkenny second in 53.77 seconds. US athlete Kendall Baisden was third in 54.54.

Finn Valley AC’s Lecky took gold in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.80m as she resumed battle with Australian Emily Whelan.

At the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in The Bahamas, Lecky won gold when jumping 1.83m with Whelan winning silver thanks to a 1.79m leap.

On Saturday night, Lecky, who the previous week regained her Irish senior title, left with the honours when successfully clearing 1.80m on her fourth attempt.

Whelan, Pippa Rogan, Anabela Neto and Daena Kealy all recorded 1.75m jumps.

In the shot put John Kelly threw a 19.45m for a fourth-placed finish. The Finn Valley AC man, the recently crowned Irish champion, has been in good form of late and was firmly past the 19m marker again at Morton. Italian Olympian Nick Ponzio won with a 20.98m throw. In the same event, James Kelly threw 16.40m.

In the Morton Mile, Finn Valley AC’s Oisín Ó Gailín finished in 4:02.33 and finished eighth. In a scintillating finish, Andrew Coscoran beat Cathal Doyle to cross the line in 3:57.09.

In the junior men’s mile, Oisin Toye of Finn Valley was seventh in 4:09.71 while Gareth Crawford of Lifford-Strabane AC was sixth in the javelin, throwing 64.69m.