10th
July 08CLOUDS HAVE GOLDEN LINING
FOR EGLINTON SPRINTER
Jason Smyth
takes to the skies again this weekend as the countdown begins
for double gold at the Paralympics in Beijing next month.The
21-year-old City of Derry athlete jets off on Friday with his
coach Stephen Maguire to Italy for a meeting in Donnas.
Smyth intends to run both 100 metres and
200 metres with his mind firmly set on improving his personal
best for the latter distance.
Last year he ran 21.44 seconds in Utah
in April but before he could improve on the mark his season
was cut short through injury.
The dreaded word for any athlete has been on the agenda again
this week for the triple World champion with him suffering a
niggling pain at the back of one knee.
“It’s was fortunate really that the weather this week was poor
because it has meant we have not done too much on the track,”
explained Maguire.
“Jason’s knee is still a bit sore but improving and should be
all right for the weekend. It’s a meeting that will suit us
because it’s geared for sprinters although looking at the results
for the past few years the breeze can be a bit variable.
“Normally, there are quite a few American athletes there which
always makes for a good standard,” concluded the Strabane coach.
The following weekend Smyth tries to land his first National
senior title at Santry Stadium in Dublin when tackles the 200
metres again. Meetings in possibly Amsterdam, the Czech Republic
and Watford follow before he departs for China in early August.
Meanwhile several other young local athletes picked up national
titles when the first half of the Irish Juvenile Championships
took place at Antrim Forum. City of Derry’s Jamie Devine scored
an outstanding double in the Boys’ U15 age group winning both
the Long Jump and Shot Putt. And there was a Long Jump gold
for Strabane’s Ben McGillian too after he took the U16 title.
Malcolm
