Kieran books place in the national finals

Kieran Gillespie will be competing at the National Combined Events finals.
Kieran Gillespie and dad Jim.Kieran Gillespie and dad Jim.
Kieran Gillespie and dad Jim.

Last week The News reported that the 17-year-old was left with a nervy wait after finishing sixth at the regional senior boys’ decathlon.

But this week the Wragby athlete discovered he will represent Lincolnshire at the competition, which will be held in Boston in September.

This is Kieran’s first trip to the national finals, and although he will be up against much more experienced opposition in the under 20s age category, his success represents the hard work he has put into his training throughout the year.

Kieran will now be stepping up his work-rate over the summer, working on some aspects of technique to ensure he arrives at the finals in top shape.

Meanwhile, Kieran’s dad Jim was competing for Ireland at Grangemouth Stadium on Saturday in the Scottish Masters Championships... returning with two medals.

There are some very good throwers north of the border, so Jim knew that going toe-to-toe with them on their turf was always going to be a tough test.

The first event was the hammer and a 26.08m effort saw him collect the silver medal.

Next up was the discus, taking place in a strong cross-wind.

A best throw of 27.88m saw him collect the bronze.

Finally, he threw 8.44m for fourth place in the shot putt.

Jim is now training hard in a bid to defend his Midlands Heavyweight Hammer Pentathlon and One-handed Hammer titles in Derby.