Tara Rose Smith breaks long-standing Donegal record at European Champs

Tara Rose Smith clocked a new Donegal senior record at the European Athletics U18 Championships this morning. The 16-year-old Finn Valley AC athlete took out a 36-year-old record in her 800m semi-final. Smith missed out on a place in tomorrow’s final in Rieti, Italy, but shaved almost a second off her personal best. Smith crossed the line in 2:06.73 to finish sixth and she was only a whisker, 0.34 of a second to be precise, from booking a final berth. The previous Donegal women’s record over 800m was set by Siobhan Gallagher, the Donegal Harriers athlete going 2:07.20 in Boston back in 1990. Gallagher’s record had stood the test of time despite some knocking on the door in the intervening period, but now Smith has finally taken hold of that mantle after a superb display in the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi. Slovakia’s Ziva Remic won the race in a new Championship best of 2:04.19. Britain’s Jordjia March was second in 2:05.83 and Croatian’s Ana Poljak was third in 2:06.08 - both in new personal bests. Going out of lane 3, Smith made a strong start and moved into fourth spot after around 250m. At the bell, with Remic taking them through in a swift 59.20 seconds, Smith was still fourth. Briefly, with 300m to go, Smith charged into third, but the ever-improving Magda Karall from Austria and Spain’s Aitana Navajo overhauled her. Smith dug deep to cross the line in sixth in a fine new personal best. In her heat on Friday morning, Smith was second in 2:08.72. Her previous best display, a 2:07.63, had come at an Irish Millers Club meet in Clonmel in May - a performance that opened up the possibilities given that it was inside the European qualification standard. Smith got inside the standard again and was recently the National U17 800m silver medalist. Also at these Championships, On Sunday, Finn Valley AC’s Leah O’Gara will line up in the 5,000m race walk while Harry McIlwaine of Letterkenny AC will go in the medley relay.