Tall tale: six-foot-seven Jack Raftery the man to beat after sprint switch

The DCU student will look to lay down a marker at this weekend’s national indoor championships in Abbotstown.

Jack Raftery of Ireland competes in the 4x400m mixed relay final during day one of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon last year. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

At six-foot-seven, with a background as a middle-distance runner, Jack Raftery isn’t exactly made for the indoor 400m – an event that rewards vicious speed from the blocks, agile coordination on the banked turns, and an ability to engage your elbows at halfway.

But ahead of this weekend’s national indoor championships in Abbotstown, the 21-year-old Dubliner is very much the man to beat, having clocked 46.75 earlier this month, moving him 10th on the Irish all-time list. Before Christmas Raftery set an Irish indoor 300m record of 33.27 in Athlone, proof that for this former-half miler, speed is no issue.