Conor Kelly wins 400m gold for Ireland at Euro U20 Championships

Kelly is the ninth Irish athlete to have won gold at the championships

Conor Kelly broke his Irish U20 record to claim gold in Finland. Pic: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

Conor Kelly produced a remarkable performance to claim gold for Ireland at the European U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Saturday evening, the 18-year-old dominating the men’s 400m final to win in 45.83 seconds.

That broke his previous Irish U-20 record of 45.85 and brought him home well clear of France’s Milann Klemenic (46.44) and Czechia’s Ondrej Loupal (46.62). Kelly is the ninth Irish athlete to have won gold at the European U-20 Championships, which date back to 1970, with Elizabeth Ndudi the most recent winner before him, the Dubliner taking long jump gold in 2023. His time moves him eighth on the Irish all-time list.