4th August - Celtic International

Hanlon Victorious in Celtic International

A fantastic win in the Celtic International was Darragh Hanlon's first victory at international level.  He travelled to Grangemouth in Scotland for last Saturday's Celtic International involving athletes from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Ulster and competed in the U-18 Discus (1.5kg), hoping to improve on the second place finish he gained in the U-16 Discus last year.   Rain greeted the athletes and a slippery circle did not provide the best of surfaces for the athletes. This did not deter Darragh however and he took the lead in the first round and held it all through the competition. His best throw of 46.96 meters came in the fifth round. It was great to win an international event following two silver medal winning performances at previous international.  He helped the Irish team finish second overall behind Wales. The result was: 1 Darragh Hanlon (Irl) 46.96; 2 Jacob Matthews (Wal) 46.35; 3 John McCafferty (Scot) 45.51; 4 Gareth Irvine (Ulster) 39.42.  Darragh travels to England next weekend for the English AAA's U-17 Discus and we wish him every success in that event. Hopefully he can conclude his brilliant season with another fine performance.

Darragh Hanlon