Deirdre Ryan wins Athlete of the Year Award, results of the National Athletics Awards ceremony 2011
Encouragement is the key to persuade the performers to bring out their true potential and to hone their professional skills. Perhaps that is the reason that athletics federations around the world are acknowledging their athletes by presenting them ‘Athlete
of the Year’ awards. One such athlete, who earned the privilege, is Deirdre Ryan.
Ryan, the athlete from Dundrum South Dublin, bagged the award at the National Athletics Awards ceremony, held in Crowne Plaza hotel, Santry, on the eve of the last Saturday.
The award granting ceremony was organized in collaboration with Woodie’s DIY and Tipperary Crystal.
At the ceremony, it was acknowledged that young Deirdre Ryan had become capable of displaying an award winning performance due to her acute dedication to the training.
Ryan, the high jumper, while performing in this year’s World Athletics Championships in Daegu, marked an impressive 1.95m high jump, that later on emerged as an Irish record.
Besides that, the promising performer also met the ‘A’ qualifying standard for the next year’s London Olympics.
As the ceremony progressed, awards for the Junior Athlete of the Year, U-23 Athlete of the Year, Endurance Athlete of the Year and Inspirational Performance of the Year were also distributed.
While the Emerging Athlete of the Year award was claimed by Kate Veale from West Waterford, the gold medal winner of the 5k race at the World Youths Track and Field Championships, the Junior Athlete of the Year award was given to Ciara Mageean.
Mageean, earlier this year, while performing at the European Championships held in Estonia, claimed the silver medal. Moreover, her performance at the IMC Grand Prix Final Birmingham set an Irish junior 1500m record, where she hit the finishing line in 4:07.45.
Similarly, Brian Gregan’s personal best of 46.12 at the European U-23 Track and Fields in Ostrava earned him the U-23 Athlete of the Year award.
Besides this splendid performance, Gregan, who happens to be a student at the DCU, while performing at the World Student Games, observed a finishing time of 45.96.
The awards presented at the National Athletics Awards ceremony will definitely play a significant role in encouraging other athletes to raise the bar of their performance.
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