Colm McLean, the emerging Belfast 1,500 metres runner, was yesterday named as the winner of the EBS Young Athlete of the Year award.
McLean, a former student at St Malachy's College, took the honour in an exceptional year in which other young athletes like Emily Maher, Ciara Sheehy, Thomas Coman and Gareth Turnbull all had valid claims for recognition.
Ultimately, however, McLean's achievement in setting an Irish schools' record of three minutes 47.04 seconds for the 1,500 metres as a prelude to reaching the final of the World Junior 1,500 metres championship at Annecy, weighed heaviest with the selectors.
The Belfast athlete is at present studying Sports Science and Recreation Management at Loughborough University.
Acknowledging the assistance he had received from BLE, he said that he hoped to repay the confidence which had been reposed in him, by continuing his rate of progression in 1999.
McLean is one of a growing number of northern athletes now pursuing international careers with Ireland, a trend which Nick Davis, the BLE president, yesterday described as "greatly encouraging".
