Lara Gillespie, tragic Sean Lynch feature in RTE Sportsperson Awards

*Lara Gillespie in the green of Ireland at Rás na mBan. She was shortlisted for the RTE Young Sportsperson of the Year Award (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)*

Lara Gillespie was shortlisted for the Young Sportsperson of the Year Award at RTE's annual awards ceremony in Dublin last night.

While celebrating the best of the sporting year, the awards also paid tribute to those who were lost from the sporting world during 2019.

Navan Road Club rider, and a one-time Drogheda Wheeler, Sean Lynch was featured in that segment of the televised awards show.

He tragically died in a racing crash back in May when riding the Frank O’Rourke Memorial in Camaross, Co Wexford.

Lara Gillespie won three silver medals at the junior track Europeans this year; in the points race, individual pursuit and scratch race.

To add to those medals secured in Gent, Belgium, she then went on to the junior track Worlds in Frankfurt, Germany, and won bronze in the pursuit.

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Eleven athletes from across Irish sport were shortlisted for the RTE Young Sportsperson of the Year Award.

It was won by gymnast Rhys McClenaghan who this year became the first Irish gymnast to medal at the World Championships, taking bronze in the pommel horse.

As well as Gillespie and McClenaghan, also shortlisted were: Rhasidat Adeleke (16) who won the 100m and 200m in athletics at the European Youth Olympic Festival; Craig Casey, Ireland’s scrum-half in the U20s Six Nations Grand Slam; Aaron Connolly (19) who broke into the Brighton & Hove Albion premiership first team; Niamh Fahy who won boxing gold at the European Youth Boxing Championships; Sarah Healy (18) who won silver at the European Athletics U20 Championships over 1,500m; Mona McSharry (19) who won bronze in the 50m breaststroke at the short course Europeans; Adrian Mullen Young Hurler of the Year; Kate O’Connor who won the heptathlon silver medal at the U20 Europeans; Nicole Turner (17) who won bronze at the World Para Swimming Championships.

Golfer Shane Lowry won the overall RTE Sportsperson of the Year Award.

While Sam Bennett, Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal and Lydia Boylan were on the 26-person long list they did not make the short list.