McBrearty shines through gloom in City of Light

JUST when Irish spirits needed a lift at the European championships in Paris yesterday, young Darren McBrearty stepped up with one of the most courageous performances of the afternoon to claim his place in today’s semi-finals of the men’s 800m.

Apart from Derval O’Rourke’s campaign it had been a disappointing day for Irish athletes. That was until the Letterkenny man, who will be 20 on Tuesday, took his heat of the 800m by the scruff of the neck.

He set about dominating the race as soon as they broke lanes, took the field through the first 200m in 25.73 secs and 400m in 52.50 secs before conceding the lead at the bell.