YOUNG SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Oisin Lane

Westmeath Examiner Community & Sports Awards

Oisín Lane has made the big leap from being a top developing underage international athlete to senior international level this year. He achieved that while being under 21 and still eligible for development competitions, a terrific feat for one so young in an endurance event where international athletes do not reach their peak until their mid to late 20s.

Oisín began the year with a huge personal best when finishing second to Tokyo Olympian David Kenny in the 5,000m walk at the National Senior Indoor Championships with a time of 19:34. He would later pass David (and his fellow Olympian Brendan Boyce) to win the National Senior 20k Road Walk Championships in April with another PB of 84:12 and become one of the youngest national champions at the distance.

He followed that success in May with another 20k best of 83:14 in the World Athletics Gold Tour event in A Coruña, Spain. That performance would result in Oisín receiving a rankings-based invitation and selection for the European Senior Championships in Rome in June.

With huge national and international television and media interest in the Rome championships, Oisín rose to the occasion. While ranked 32nd, he showed remarkable maturity and discipline to finish 23rd, despite the sweltering Rome summer sunshine. It was truly an honour to be an achieving member of Ireland’s most successful athletics team ever.

To confirm his status as Ireland’s newest number one elite Racewalker, Oisín comfortably won the National Senior Championships 10k Racewalk with another best of 40:26 in wet conditions at Santry, lapping the entire field in the process.

As Oisín enters the final stages of his BSc at the University of Limerick, he is also focused on qualifying for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.