A very busy and special weekend at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.<\/p>\n
We waited 26-years for a gold medal at these championships and two came in the one weekend.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re were brilliant performances from the four Raheny Shamrock athletes.<\/p>\n
On Friday night, Eric Favors posted a best of 19.60m in the men\u2019s shot put. Which was just two places off making it through to the final.<\/p>\n
Favors has recently returned from injury and will be fully focused on using this as a springboard for the remainder of the outdoor season.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, Brian Fay finished 14th<\/sup> in the 5,000 meters posting a very sharp 13:29.48.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Sophie Becker posted the second fastest time of her career to finish fourth in her 400m heat. Becker posted 51.54 seconds just missing out on a place in the final. Another great performance from Becker.<\/p>\n While Mark Smyth produced a superb performance in the men\u2019s 200m, clocking a season’s best time of 20.93 seconds for a place in the evening sessions semi-final.<\/p>\n Smyth posted a second seasons best of 20.86 seconds to take fifth place in his semi-final unfortunately not enough to progress to the final.<\/p>\n However, the performance ranks Smyth as the 16th<\/sup> best 200 metre sprinter in Europe. He also gave a good interview to RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n ‘It’s a bit of gimmick to be honest. European Athletics are one step away from adding a golden snitch to this event’ – Mark Smyth qualifies for the semi-finals after running a season’s best in the 200m though criticises the qualification criteria #Roma2024<\/a> #IrishAthletics<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/K5LSVdF5hS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) June 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n