Last Sunday saw two of our sprinters in action in the National Juvenile Indoor Championships in Athlone. The journey was not as expected as the “Son of the Beast” had landed and brought swirling snow showers and lying snow for the majority of the journey down.

Both Harvey and Jake arrived with plenty of time to get accustomed to their surroundings and the change in protocols from Dublin to National Championships. Coaches are not allowed on the warmup track and a call room was in operation, where the lads were called by age groups and allocated into their heats. The lads took the changes in their strides, true professionals.

First up was Jake, in the U12 60m. There were three heats with the first two from each heat and the next two fastest across the three heats, to qualify for the final. Jake came 4th in his heat, in a time of 8.89 but unfortunately this wasn’t fast enough to see him through to the final. The fastest time in the heats was 8.53, the final was won in a time of 8.41.

Next up, Harvey in the U13 60m. There were two heats for this age group so top three from each heat and the next two fastest athletes would qualify for the final. Harvey came 4th in his heat with a time of 8.49, so there was an anxious wait to see if this was enough for qualification. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait too long and the there was a positive outcome, finals here we come.

We had to wait for the completion of the 60m heats and then 1500m finals. So time to rehydrate, get some food on board and relax. Back to warmup track to get ready for finals, Jake happily kept Harvey company throughout his warmup and safely escorted him to the call room.

Nerves in the stands were running high. Harvey ran a superb race finishing in 6th place, improving his time to 8.34. The winner ran a time of 7.91.

Congratulations to Harvey and Jake on their first Nationals (hopefully the first of many), an experience from which both have learnt a great deal and on their fantastic performances. You did yourselves, your families and Skerries AC proud. Keep up the hard work.

Thanks as always to the coaches and parents for their support and to Michelle for the photos.