Eight-year-old Hannah Deely will this week enjoy the fantastic experience of travelling to New York to take part in the Millrose Games indoor athletics event.
On Saturday February 8, Tarmonbarry’s Hannah will run in the Fastest Kid In The World race held as part of the famous track and field meet in Manhattan. Hannah will line up alongside nine other girls for the 55-metre dash having qualified to represent Ireland.
Last October, children from across the region took part in the Fastest Feet initiative staged at the Longford Athletics Centre. Entrants had to sprint between two timing gates located ten metres apart. Not only did Hannah set the fastest girls’ time on the evening, but it was also the quickest time by a girl recorded at all the different qualifiers held to determine Ireland’s representative.
Organised by Sligo’s Dermot McDermott, the Believe and Achieve programme promotes Fastest Feet which is now in its tenth year. The programme encourages the importance of sport for young people with athletics coaching and camps held. A select few lucky children from across the country have enjoyed the thrill of travelling to New York to run for Ireland since 2015. Galway man Richard Donovan is benefactor and his backing provides a variety of Irish athletes with fantastic opportunities in the sport.
A second-class pupil of Whitehall National School, Hannah loves to run and is very excited ahead of visiting the ‘Big Apple’ and racing at such a big event. She is a member of Longford Athletics Club and has been busy practising in recent weeks at the club’s indoor 60-metre track. Hannah has already enjoyed sprints success in recent times having won a medal in the 80-metres at the Community Games National finals last August.
A boys’ 55-metre dash will precede the girls race on Saturday and will include eight-year-old Charlie Casey from Sligo. The inclusion of the two ‘Fastest Kids’ races at the Millrose Games is to inspire children from all backgrounds in New York to take up athletics and channel their energies and talents into sport and activity. Whilst the other children taking part in the event live in the city, they will each be representing the respective country of their family origin. Hannah and Charlie, having both made the long trip from home, will add a greater international feel to proceedings.
With its 5,000-seater capacity, The Armory in Upper Manhattan has hosted the Millrose Games since 2012. Longford’s Ray Flynn has been the Event Director for over a decade and it continues to hold prestigious standing in the athletics calendar. Saturday’s programme of senior events will feature several medallists from the Paris Olympics Games and the schedule of races will conclude with the renowned Wanamaker Mile.
Hannah will be accompanied by family members for the trip to the US for what will be an experience of a lifetime. On Friday, she will attend the event press conference at a hotel beside Central Park along with some of the senior elite athletes. That evening, Hannah and Charlie will be special guests together with seven-time Wanamaker Mile winner Eamonn Coghlan at a pre-Millrose Games function.
Hannah has received plenty of best wishes in recent days ahead of the talented young sprinter embarking on such a fantastic adventure of representing Ireland at the Fastest Kid In The World.
