Eoin Mullen in sprint qualifier action at the World Champs in Minsk; most definitely one to watch (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)
Irish teenage track sprinter, Eoin Mullen has put up a very promising performance at his first elite World Championships, only narrowly missing out on going through to the next round of the sprint event on the velodrome in Minsk, Belarus.
The 19-year-old from the Aran Islands clocked a time of 10.329 in the qualifying round of the 200m flying start today to take 27th spot of the 41-rider field. With 24 riders to go through to the next round, Mullen was very close to progressing.
He will perhaps be a little disappointed given that he first went under the 10 second mark in the qualifiers at the UCI World Cup in Mexico last month, in a time of 9.965.
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However, he has made massive strides in the past two seasons, when he has been full-time at the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. And there is undoubtedly a lot more to come from this rider, who is already a holder of multi national senior titles on the track.
He is the first Irish rider to ever qualify for a sprint race at a World Championships; a very significant achievement in itself.
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This afternoon, Caroline Ryan finished 13th in the points race on the last day of competition at the Worlds. Ryan, who narrowly missed out on a medal in the scratch race yesterday, won a bronze medal in the points race at the World Championships last year.
In a tactical race today – in an event that requires the riders to sprint for points ten times throughout the 25km race - Ryan was just outside the points, resulting in 13th place at the finish. She had already placed 5th in the individual pursuit and 7th in the scratch race at these championships.
The meeting was an historic one for Ireland after Martyn Irvine lifted the world title in the scratch race and took a silver medal in the individual pursuit.
Track cycling coach Andy Sparks said: “It’s the first time in history that an Irish team has walked away with a world championship jersey and two medals. With three years before Rio, we could not have started a new Olympic cycle better.”
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