Congratulations to Evan Hallinan who has being announced as the Galway Athlete of the Year in the U12-15 Boys category for his performances in 2016. Well done to Evan and his coaches and his family, we are all very proud of you!

Despite his young age, Evan Hallinan had a terrific 2016. It kicked off with an impressive 9th place in the National B Cross Country in Dundalk January before arriving in Athlone on the same day to win triple gold in the U12 high jump, long jump and relay. Evan followed this up at Connacht level to become Connacht High Jump and Long Jump Champion as well as adding silver in the 4x100m relay. The National finals in March saw Evan win the National U12 High Jump Title with a fantastic jump of 1.25m to claim the gold medal. Also competing in the long jump, Evan went very close to adding a second medal with an impressive 4.20m, only 3cm behind the bronze medalist.

Evan continued his impressive form into the outdoor season with gold in the high jump and hurdles at the Galway Championships and triple gold in the Connacht Championship in the hurdles, high jump and long jump. Evan’s jumps were particularly impressive recording 1.45m in the high jump and 4.38m in the long jump. He just missed out on a high jump medal in the National finals when tying with the bronze medalist but losing out on countback.

For an athlete with such explosive power as demonstrated by his jumping form, it’s unusual to also be a force to be reckoned with in distance running. But this amazing athlete demonstrated precisely this during the cross country when scoring on the Craughwell NS 5/6th class team that took the Galway Primary Schools title and also the Connacht Primary Schools title – the first time that Craughwell NS achieved this at Connacht level in the senior boys’ grade. He followed these performances with scoring runs in the Galway and Connacht U12 2000m races to help his team take the Galway and Connacht U12 cross country titles. An amazing combination of explosive and endurance abilities, one that singles Evan out as a star of the future and he is a fine recipient of the Galway athletics award for this age group.