Sprinters grab the limelight at Junior and U23 championships

THE fall-out from the BUPA Cork City Sports was evident at the national junior and under-23 championships staged at the CIT Track in Bishopstown yesterday, where the sprinters grabbed much of the limelight.

The young Leevale sprinter, Derek Duff, clipped a huge margin off his previous best when he won the junior men’s 200m in 21.79 secs, with Caolan Flanagan (Ballymena & Antrim) breathing down his neck in 21.83 secs. The junior men’s 100m was won by the Irish schools champion Jason Smyth (City of Derry), in 10.59, with Caolan Flanagan again taking the silver medal and Duff back in third place; the junior 400m was won by Michael Morgan (Beechmount Harriers) in 48.96.

Colin Costello (Star of the Sea) began to reap the benefits of a training spell at altitude when he won the junior men’s 1,500m in a smart 3:54.41. The Irish Examiner Junior Sports Star had more than five seconds to spare over Daire Bermingham (Raheny Shamrock), 4:00.95, with the early pacemaker, Paul Pollock (Abbey AC), third in 4:01.79.