Killarney

By Sean Moriarty
<h3>Olympian David Kenny has been named as joint U23 Athlete of the Year by Athletics Ireland.</h3>
The awards took place online last weekend and was hosted by sports broadcaster Greg Allen.
 Race walker Kenny represented Ireland during the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
 The U23 Athlete of the Year Award was shared for the first time, with Darragh McElhinney (UCD AC) and Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) acknowledged for their remarkable achievements in 2021 which included an Olympic debut for Kenny, and a team gold medal and individual silver for McElhinney at the European Cross Country Championships in December.
 &ldquo;David initially took up the sport representing Firies in the Kerry Community Games,&#8221; Farranfore Maine Valley AC PRO, Sean O&rsquo;Shea, said. 
 &#8220;Under the watchful eye of club mentors Michael O&rsquo;Connor and Jerm Crowley, he became a dedicated athlete winning numerous national titles at underage level. [As a result] he joined the Athletics Ireland high-performance race walking team coached by former World Champion and Olympic medallist Rob Heffernan.&rdquo;
 Last year was a breakthrough year for David. He placed second in the European U23 Athletics Championships in Estonia and finished 29th on his Olympic debut in Japan.
 Already a champion this year, Kenny won the Irish Universities Championships last week. He has his sights set on the World Student Games in China and the European Championships in Munich later in the year.

David Kenny named as joint U23 Athlete of the Year

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