Derry Track athlete won bronze in the 400m final of the European U18 Athletics Championships

Derry Track athlete Conor Kelly won a bronze medal in the 400M final of the European U18 Athletics Championships in Slovakia. 

In the process, Kelly managed to break the U18 record time as he recorded a sub 47 seconds with a time of 46.97, and the athlete was pleased overall.

He said: “I’m happy enough; well, I mean, obviously, I wanted the gold.

“Breaking the Irish record was one of the goals. 

“I was targeting it all year. Every winter session, I was looking at the rankings and the record list, just thinking, ‘Let me break it, please’.

“The next goal is just to keep getting better; I mean, I’m kind of looking at what is next.

“I still have the world under 20s. I’m being told I might not be doing the individual thing, but I’m still going to try my hardest to get into the team. It has not been decided yet; there is the relay, but it would be nice to be in the individual. 

“And I’m thinking of applying to some American colleges.”

Kelly will continue to work hard for these short-term ambitions, with the teenager reflective of the training he must do to achieve them.

But for the Derry native, his dream ambition is to represent Ireland at the Olympics. 

He said: “My coaches and I have got a lot of plans in place; we reckon I’m getting a lot quicker over the next couple of years. LA 2028, I really want to be at that one, and the dream will be the gold in the individual some day.

“Training is so important because it is so short; everything has to be second nature; you have to be locked in straight away, have no doubts or worries, and have that self-belief and be dialled in.

“It is weird because it is such a short race, like it is 46 seconds, but it feels so long; there is so much thinking.

“It can feel like forever during the race, but it is hard to describe what you think about. There is so much thinking, but when it is gone, it is gone in a flash.”

Although born in London, both his parents are Irish; his mother, Mary Jo, is from the well-known Doherty Bakers family in Derry, while his father, Steve, was born in Lisburn but grew up in Dublin.

Unlike Declan Rice, Kelly will be proud to represent the city he loves so well and Ireland, for which the teenager is thankful for the amount of support Team Ireland has given him. 

He said: “I’m Irish. 

“I don’t think about it when people ask me.

“It has always been like that. I mean, I live in London, but even then, I’m over in Ireland all the time, and all my family is there.

“I love being from Derry; get me back there and get a few buns in me from Doherty’s bakery. I get to see everyone I know, and I love it.

“I want to thank Athletics Ireland so much. The stuff that team does is incredible. I mean, Jackie is at all the junior competitions, and she has your best interests first. I can’t thank them enough. They do so much for all the athletes.”