PENTATHLON Ireland will send a team of four athletes to the Junior European Championships in Poland this week. The Irish trio of Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe, Eanna Bailey and Natalya Coyle, who have been regular competitors on the senior circuit this year, will be looking forward to strong performances in the junior category.
Joining them is Youth A athlete, Sive Brassil who has impressed at Youth level and will be making the step up to the Junior age group for more competition experience.
Natalya Coyle finished 14th in this competition in 2010 and is currently ranked 11th in the UIPM Junior World rankings (four athletes above her are from non European nations). This, along with impressive performances at the World Cup Final, Senior European & World Championships, should fill her with confidence ahead of this week’s championships.
Sive Brassil will join Natalya in the women’s competition, starting with the qualification competition on Wednesday. Sive has demonstrated impressive form in the physical events (running and swimming) and will be keen to show that she has what it takes to be competitive in the skill events too.
Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe will be heading to Poland full of confidence after his 20th place finish at the Senior European Championships. He is ranked 17th in the UIPM Junior World rankings (9 above him are from non European nations) and will be looking to consolidate his successful season with a competitive performance at Junior level.
His team mate, Eanna Bailey (ranked 35th in the Junior World rankings with 17 above him from non European nations) will also be keen to demonstrate his potential after a very promising season which has seen him narrowly miss out on finals at senior level. Both male athletes will be relishing the thought of competing at the Junior European Championships which they missed last year due to academic commitments. They will start with the qualification competition on Thursday.
2011 Junior European Championships:
Wednesday 21st September – Women’s semi finals
Thursday 22nd September - Men’s semi finals
Friday 23rd September – Women’s Final
Saturday 24th September – Men’s Final
Sunday 25th September – Mixed Relay
For more information:
UIPM - www.pentathlon.org
Pentathlon Ireland – www.pentathlon.ie