In this Next Generation piece, we move over to County Louth and to ACE Athletics Club in Drogheda to look at one of their rising talents, Neil Culhane.
Born in April 2005, the 18 year old is an emerging 800m runner with some incredible numbers and feats to his name already.
Coached under the watchful eye of Liam Cooney, Culhane has some staggering PB's, boasting the fastest time over 800m in the country for his age at 1.49!
2023 saw the Ace runner claim 1st place in the National Indoor Under 19 T&F 800m with a time of 1.51.54, while also winning the National Outdoor Under 19 T&F event over the same distance with a time of 1.56.73.
Rounding out his 2023 successes, Culhane claimed another win in the National Outdoor T&F Junior 800m, clocking a time of 1.53.87.
Neil has successfully qualified for and competed on the U18 and U20 European Championships in the past and has his sights set on qualifying for the World Juniors in Peru in August this year.
When speaking to his club Ace AC, they were all behind Neil and there is true belief and optimism for his 2024 campaign and his bid to reach the World Championships!
It has already been a strong year for Neil as he was selected for the Irish High Performance squad, leading to him going on a week long training camp Albufeira earlier this month.
With this invaluable experience under his belt already, Run Republic are sure that Neil will continue to achieve great things and reach all of his 2024 goals!