Athletics Ireland – News – Proper Leaps to Long Jump Gold at Aviva European Trials & UK Championships

Kelly Proper again underlined her competitive qualities when she won the gold medal in the womens Long Jump at the Aviva European Trials & UK Championships in Sheffield today, when there was also a silver and two bronze medal winning efforts for other Irish athletes.

The 22 year old Waterford athlete took the title with a leap of 6.35 metres, and while she have reason to feel happy to have defeated Britain’s best in the event, Proper will have mixed feelings in falling short of the standard of 6.50m for the forthcoming European Indoor Championships in Paris.

It was at The European Indoor Championships two years ago in Turin that Proper made her big break-through when she became the first Irish athlete to qualify for a final in a major championship with a record leap 6.59.

Today in Sheffield, she jumped into the lead in the second round, but then fouled twice and went for everything in her last jump only to once more foul on the take-off board. Proper defeated France’s Dominique Blaise (6.25) into second place.

However, Proper will have one more opportunity to qualify for Paris when she defends her Irish Long Jump title at the Woodie’s DIY Irish Indoor Athletics Championships in Belfast next week-end.

Irish athletes were also to the fore in the final of the women’s 1,500m with Orla Drumm (Dooneen AC) taking the silver medal, and young Sara Treacy (Moynalvey AC) winning the bronze. Drumm finished second to Britain’s Stacey Smith in 4:25.12, while Treacy ran a lifetime best of 4:25.31 to finish in third.

In the final event of the day, Ciara Everard (Kilkenny City Harriers) produced a solid performance to collect a bronze medal with third place in the women’s 800m final in a respectable time of 2:07.98.

There was a bronze medal winning effort from Ballina’s 21 year old Pamela Hughes in the women’s High Jump yesterday when she cleared a lifetime best of 1.79 m behind the impressive winner, British Heptathlon star, Jessica Ennis.

Improving Laois distance runner Dan Mulhare put in a very competitive performance when finishing fourth in the 3,000 m event with a personal best time of 8:02.40, as Britain’s Andy Baddeley took the title impressively in 7:54.60. There were also personal best times from Raheny’s Richard Corcoran (9th in 8:08.84) and Pat Carton (11th in 8:17.90).

Michelle Carey(Dublin Striders AC), despite having to run in the tight lane one, just missed out on a medal when the Dubliner finished fourth in the women’s 400m final in a lifetime best of 54.15.

There was yet a further fourth place from Niamh Whelan of Waterford in the women’s 200 m final in a decent 24.25.

Cork’s Joe Warne also qualified for the final of the men’s 1,500m, but didn’t figure in the run for the medals and finished tailed off in 3:50.65, having run 3:48.32 in the heats, where John Coghlan (Metro St Brigid’s AC) failed to progress in the same event.

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