Mayo athletes win gold medals

GOLDEN BOYS Team Ireland from left, Jamie Battle, Darragh McElhinney, Michael Power, Keelan Kilrehill, Donal Devane and Thomas Devaney celebrate with their gold medals after the Under-23 Men’s 8000m team event during the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin. Pic: Sportsfile

THEY ran themselves to a standstill and now two members of Mayo athletic clubs — Thomas Devaney of Castlebar AC and Keelan Kilrehill of Moy Valley AC — are holders of European Cross Country gold medals following Ireland’s victory in the Under-23 race in Dublin last Sunday.
Devaney, who is a native of Islandeady, and a student at the University of Limerick, anchored the Irish team on Sunday and helped the men in green to a glorious win in front of a large and passionate crowd in Abbotstown.
The former St Gerald’s College Castlebar student literally left every ounce of energy on the track, collapsing over the line in 67th place at the end of an energy-sapping contest.
The Islandeady athlete was accompanied on the six-man team by Dromore West’s Keelan Kilrehill.
The young Sligo man runs for Moy Valley AC — based in Ballina — and finished a hugely impressive sixth in the energy-sapping race, capping a miraculous comeback six years after a road collision almost left him paralysed.
Keelan was hit by a car while riding his bike at the age of 15, breaking three vertebrae in his back and fracturing his neck.
After, Sunday’s race the Moy Valley runner expressed his utter delight at winning team gold.
“It’s kind of unbelievable. I targeted a top 15 finish and had myself in the top 20 all through the race. It was all about staying relaxed and staying patient and then big names starting coming back to me and I started passing them out.
I went into the last lap and realised we had a realistic chance of a medal and I went for it,” he explained in the midst of raucous celebrations.”
The other members of the victorious Irish Under-23 team were Darragh McElhinney (who finished seciond and spearheaded the Irish team to glory as they edged out Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Michael Power (13th), Donal Devane (40th) and Jamie Battle (44th).

Michael Gallagher