Offaly's Cian Crampton claims bronze for Ireland at Euro U18 Athletics Championship
Tyler Miller/sportsfile Photo By Crampton Ireland's Cian
Cian Crampton has won Ireland its first ever field event medal at the European U-18 Championships, the 17-year-old Edenderry athlete taking bronze in the men’s discus in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia on Friday evening with an Irish U-18 record of 60.55m.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” said Crampton. “I went into qualifying ranked seventh, I didn’t think I’d have any chance, thinking I’d be lucky to get top-eight, and now I’m after getting a medal. It’s amazing.”
Crampton had won bronze at the European Youth Olympic Festival last year with an Irish U-18 record of 59.32m but he added more than a metre to that mark in Friday’s final.
“This is even better,” he said. “My club is only a small club, I’m one of the oldest in it and it means so much to them. I’ve helped grow the club and my coach, Peter Collins, he’s been a massive help to me. We’ve gone through a long time, the whole way through Covid, training with no competitions, and this just makes it all worth it. Savage.”
There is a decent chance of another Irish medal in the men’s 400m final on Saturday evening, with Conor Kelly coasting to victory in his semi-final earlier in 47.62.
Elsewhere, four Irish athletes will be in action at the London Diamond League on Saturday afternoon, with Rhasidat Adeleke, Andrew Coscoran and Brian Fay running their final races ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Adeleke will have her final tune-up over 200m at 3.42pm where she faces a loaded field that includes her training partners Julien Alfred and Dina Asher-Smith, along with Olympic 200m favourite Gabby Thomas of the US. Adeleke is drawn in lane eight and given the form she’s in, there’s a strong chance her Irish record of 22.34 will fall.
Coscoran will race the famed Emsley Carr Mile at 3.19pm, while Fay will race the 3000m at 2.52pm where teenage star Nick Griggs – who recently smashed the Irish U-23 records over 3000m and 5000m – is also in the line-up. There’s live coverage on Virgin Media Two from 2pm.