“Ireland don’t get many sprint medals… “
You can bloody well say that again.
We’re all about middle distances in this fair isle but that could all be about to change.
It was 38 years since Ireland had two sprinters in a 100-metre European Championships final but Gina Akpe-Moses and Ciara Neville ended that streak then went on one of their own.
Neville had a fine run but it was nothing compared to Dublin sprinter Akpe-Moses, who pipped Keshia Kwadwo of Germany to the gold medal at the European Athletics U20 Championships.
Running into the wind, Akpe-Moses raced home in 11.71, which was 0.15 shy of a season best she ran back in May. It was enough for gold, though. More than enough.
GOLD FOR IRELAND!
Gina Akpe-Moses wins the 100m at the European U20 Championships in 11.71 from Germany's Keshia Kwadwo. #Grosseto2017 pic.twitter.com/UbMdSA0njQ
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 21, 2017
The 18-year-old broke down in tears after realising her stunning run was the best of the lot. Neville was the first to congratulate her on a fantastic performance. She told Athletics Weekly:
“It was amazing and I’m so excited.
“I hoped to get a medal, and eventually the dream came true. In the semi-finals I started thinking I could jump on the podium, but only in the last 20m of the final I had the thought ‘I can get the gold medal’.”
Let's hear it for Gina Akpe-Moses. The @EuroAthletics U20 100m champ! #grosseto2017 pic.twitter.com/678Unjhe4m
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) July 21, 2017
Not to get too carried away but…. bring on the 2020 Olympics!
