Roscommon athlete Lorcán Ó Catháin has qualified for the European Youth Olympics Festival (EYOF ), it has been confirmed by the Olympic Council of Ireland.
The talented Kiltoom man was a quarter of a second inside the EYOF qualifying time for the 200m race, when he ran recently at the Irish Schools Track and Field in Tullamore. Lorcán’s time of 22.16 secs earned him the gold medal in the event. He also garnered silver in the 100m race, finishing in a time of 10.92 secs.
Buoyed by a string of successes on the track so far this year, Lorcán will travel to Finland confident of his ability to compete against a strong international field. In April, the 16-year-old Marist student achieved gold, silver and bronze medals in the under-18 200m, 60m and 400m races at the Woodie’s DIY/AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships in Magherafelt, Co Derry. Earlier in spring he won three gold medals at the Connaught Indoor Championships held in Nenagh, in the 60m, 200m, and 400m races.
The European Youth Olympics Festival takes place in the City of Tampere, Finland on July 18-25. The biennial multi-sport event features young athletes from the 49 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. Young European athletes will compete in nine sports: athletics, basketball, cycling, gymnastic, handball, judo, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
Further information about the athletics festival is available online at www.eyof.ie
