The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Ennis Track athlete Dean Casey has been selected to represent Ireland at the World U20 Athletics Championships next month.
Casey is one of eight athletes chosen to represent his country with the prodigious talent set to compete in the 5,000m event in Colombia.
The selection is a huge fillip for Ennis Track and his coach Pat Hogan. Dean’s father Ger is also involved in coaching within the club while his mother Maureen is PRO of Ennis Track.
Dean has enjoyed a stellar year so far as he helped his club become Junior men’s champions at the ECCC Cross Country Championships in February.
He finished first in this race with his brother Dylan securing second spot as Ennis Track shocked Europe with a brilliant team display.
Although he is more comfortable running the 5,000m, Dean obliterated the Irish 10,000m record in May. The talented athlete ran a time of 28.57.34 at the Highgate Harriers Night of 10,000m PBs Meet.
Brilliant race by Dean Casey of @Ennistrack who smashes the Irish U20 10,000m record in Highgate – his 28:57.34 taking 26 seconds off the record set by @Abdellaadjel_ in March.
The Night of the 10,000m PBs is once again a model to all others in how to stage an event. pic.twitter.com/oZidvfSdzL
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) May 14, 2022
Casey took the record from Abdel Laadjel (29:23.92) who broke Frank Greally’s 52-year-old record just two months prior.
Dean has previous experience of representing his country on the international stage. He was part of the Irish U20 team that secured a silver medal at the 2021 SPAR European Cross Country Championships last December.
Casey’s 13th placed finish proved vital in helping Team Ireland secure silver as they finished ahead of Israel and just behind Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He was the second Irish athletes to cross the finish line.
He also competed at the European U20 Athletics Championships in Estonia last year. A sixth placed finish in the final highlighted his talent to a European audience with Dean only continuing to improve since this promising finish.
Last weekend, he finished second in the Junior Men’s 1,500m in Tullamore, finishing less than five tenths of a second behind clubmate Mark Hanrahan, son of Pat Hanrahan, who was a selector when Clare won the Munster Football Final in 1992.
The World U20 Athletics Championships will take place in Cali, Colombia from August 1st to 6th.
