Masterful McKillop completes double

Michael McKillop rounded off a successful Paralympic Athletics European Championships for Ireland in Swansea when he added the T38 1500m title to his T38 800m crown.

That made it five medals for the eight-strong Irish team, with McKillop and Jason Smyth (T12 100m and 200m) winning double gold and Orla Barry taking silver in the F57 discus.

McKillop won in a time of 4:16.73 ahead of Louis Radius of France in 4:21.44, and Dean Miller of Great Britain in 4:22.24.

Wheelchair racer John McCarthy narrowly missed bronze, while Andrew Flynn and Heather Jameson, recorded a personal best and season’s best.

Meanwhile, in Nanjing, China, there were further good performances by Irish athletes at the World Youth Olympic Games.

Leevale’s Louise Shanahan recorded a personal best of 2:08.29 to finish 6th in the 800m final won by Ghana’s Martha Bissah in 2:04.90.

Iveragh’s Adam King impressed in the hammer, finishing 8th with a best of 71.49m. Michaela Walsh was sixth in the shot putt.