Castledaly athlete grateful for her European Championships experience

Castledaly athlete Ally Duffy said she will "learn" from her experience following her eighth placed finish in the final of the Girls' 2000m steeplechase at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti.

The Moate Community School student recorded her second best time, 6:45:28, at the distance in the final on Saturday morning on the Italian track.

Despite feeling that the race "got away" from her with 700m remaining, the talented athlete said she was "pretty happy" to be at the Championships.

"You live and you learn from your race experiences and hopefully, I will be back next year to compete," Duffy said.

Duffy achieved a third place finish in her heat and said she felt "really good" during the race, but boxed in in the closing stages of the final she was unable to repeat the feat on Saturday.

"The heat felt really good, I sailed through it, but unfortunately you can have bad days too. Hopefully, I'll place higher the next time," Duffy said.

Duffy also paid tribute to the Irish management team and supporters who were with her on the journey during the Championships.