The final medal table sees Ireland finish with a tremendous tally of seven medals, including 1 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze.
Reviewing the performance of Team Ireland Chef de Mission Martin Burke said:
“Our team has every reason to feel proud of their exceptional achievements at the European Youth Olympic Festival this week. Our athletes have thrived under the pressure of competing against the best young athletes from 49 European nations.”
It is particularly pleasing to see so many athletes make finals and achieve personal bests against some very strong opposition.
When you look at these performances, the future of the 4 Irish sports taking part looks very promising.”
OCI Chief Executive Stephen Martin said “Some of these athletes will make the transition to senior level in their sport relatively quickly. For others the journey will be more measured, but when you look at the opportunities ahead for these young athletes, with the inaugural Youth Olympic Games set to take place in Singapore next summer, London 2012 now only three years away, its important to ensure the athletes are well monitored and supported to ensure a smooth transition to senior level”
It has been a fantastic week, both on and off the playing field, and all credit to Martin Burke and all the team managers, coaches and support staff who have worked extremely hard to allow the athletes to perform to the best of their abilities.”
The next EYOF Games will be held in Trabzon in Turkey in 2011, one year ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Ireland medallists:
1 Gold – Ciara Mageean (Athletics)
3 Silver – Sycerika Mc Mahon (Swimming), Christine Mc Mahon (Athletics), Shane Quinn (Athletics)
3 Bronze – Sycerika Mc Mahon (2) (Swimming), Girls Relay 4 x 100m (Athletics) Christine McMahon, Joanna Mills, Caoimhe King, Joan Healy
