JOHN KELLY won the Irish Universties shot putt title yesterday at Morton Stadium in Santry – setting a new Donegal record in the process.
The Letterkenny Institute of Technology student and Finn Valley AC man (pictured by Kieran Carlin) went over 16 metres for the first time as he reached out to 16.16m to claim the gold medal.
It wasn’t only a personal best for the St Johnston man, but it was also a new Donegal record, breaking his own previous marker of 15.97m.
“This is significant because it’s with the heavy shot and this was the second best throw by an Irish thrower this year,” said Patsy McGonagle of Finn Valley AC, the Irish Athletics Team Manager.
“This indicates that he is capable of going 17 metres plus, which is very significant at his age.”
In May 2014, Kelly became the first Donegal athlete to throw beyond 15m
when he reached 15.46 at the opening of the Ben O’Donnell Track in
Lifford and he’s been on the rise for some time.
Finn Valley AC’s Gavin McLaughlin was second with the Convoy man also claiming a pb with a 13.59 effort.
Both train under the guidance of John Kelly senior. This winter, he and Bosco Reid formed a group for Donegal throwers and they got together once a month at an indoor facility in St Johnston, while Kelly junior spent some time training in Iceland.
McGonagle said: “They trained in the indoor training area in St Johnston which was a big plus and the throwers group really helped them and you can see that with the increase in performances.”
