Day seven sees solid results across Team Ireland at the Youth Olympic Games. Diver Tanya Watson finished sixth in the preliminaries of the women’s 10m platform, Tipperary’s Miriam Daly finished the women’s 400m hurdles in 1.02.76 with golfers Lauren Crowley Walsh and David Kitt sitting currently in fifth place in the mixed team four-ball stroke play.
Diving:
Tanya Watson has progressed to the finals of the women’s 10m platform as the sixth best diver in the Preliminary Round with a score of 357.00. Ireland’s top female diver scored highly across eight dives this morning, including topping the table in her first dive, the Armstand Forward Somersault.
Speaking after the opening dives, Watson was pleased with her performance saying; “this morning was very good, all my dives were very consistent and I’m really happy. My first one was a handstand and I got the entry on that one really well so I was really happy with that. My next three dives were my other required dives, which were more simple dives, and my total score for them were really good for me, which I’m really happy with. And then the next four dives were my harder ones, and they were really consistent for me so I was really happy.
Watson competes in the finals later tonight; “Next I have the final tonight and I repeat the last four dives, I’m just looking to enjoy myself and try my best and try to have a consistent list again.”
Athletics:
In the Women’s 400m Hurdles, Tipperary’s Miriam Daly finished in a strong time of 62.72, just outside her personal best of 61,32, which is a great time for October, “It wasn’t the race I was expecting, but I’m glad to have it in my legs, I haven’t raced since July, I’ve had a long season and I am really delighted to be here. I’m really just taking in the whole experience and it’s brilliant.”
Daly was happy with her time; “It’s a really positive thing to take out of the race. It is tough when you haven’t a few races leading up to the event, but you can’t really ask for more, I’m happy.
Daly was delighted to finally get her own campaign underway, “I thought I would never start, it’s good, I love watching others compete and especially with the success in the swimming and the gymnastics, you can just take that buzz and put it into your own race and own sports. It’s a great team. During the day we can’t see each other, but in the evenings we just get together and have the craic.”
Golf:
The golf is currently underway, with Lauren Crowley Walsh and David Kitt competing in the Mixed Team Four-Ball Stroke Play, where they are sitting fifth with 6 (-7).
The evening session of Day Seven of the Youth Olympic Games will see Emma Slevin in the women’s vault final with Tanya Watson competing in the women’s 10m platform final.
Team Ireland in Buenos Aires comprises of a squad of 16 athletes from 9 sports. The team of 5 male athletes and 11 female athletes includes Nhat Nguyen (Badminton) and Mona McSharry (Swimming), recipients of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships which were awarded to assist with qualification and preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This is the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games which are hosted every four years. The Games, running from October 6 to October 18 will feature more than 4,000 talented junior athletes aged 15 to 18 from 200 countries in over 32 sports.
