FINN Valley AC’s Kelly brothers left Morton Stadium with gold nuggets yesterday and are already targeting bigger and better things.
John Kelly won the National Senior Shot Put title with a superb 18.40m throw.
James Kelly, his younger brother, took the senior silver, with a personal best reach of 16.48m – which also saw him take the under-23 gold medal.
“It was good,” John Kelly said.
“It was one of my best throws of the season.
“I’d have loved a bit more, but I won’t complain – and there’s always another day. I have another day to make hay.”
Last month, the St Johnston man broke the Ulster, Donegal and Finn Valley AC shot put records while competing in Växjö, Sweden.
There, Kelly landed a superb 18.62m throw – bettering the 18.51m he had set in Portugal in August 2019. It was also slightly better than the 18.61m for an Irish Junior record in 2015.
The past year has seen Kelly work closely with an elite group in Sweden that also includes Swedish discus thrower Daniel Ståhl, a 2019 World Championship gold medalist in Doha.
30 August 2020; James Kelly of Finn Valley AC, Donegal, competing in the Men’s Shot Put event during day four of the Irish Life Health National Senior and U23 Athletics Championships at Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile *** NO REPRODUCTION FEE ***
He said: “It’s been very good. It was nice to get out and get a good bit of training and good competition. Hopefully I can get back out and get some more throws.”
James Kelly is aiming for the 17m that is the qualifying mark for the 2021 European Under-23s.
He said: “I matched my personal best. I was psyching myself for the whole round. I was so happy.”
