Ciaran Dolan brought the curtain down on what has been a fabulous season of athletic achievement, both for him personally and for his training group, when he captured the British AAA's U15 Long Jump title in Sheffield on Saturday last and in the process set a Northern Ireland age group record of 6.39m.

For the talented St. Michael's College pupil this unique achievement was another valuable step in his learning curve as an athlete and yet another indication of the potential he has in the sport if he chooses to pursue it.

Conditions in the Don Valley stadium, built for the 1991 World Student Games, were perfect on Saturday afternoon with temperatures in the low twenties and virtual calm as fourteen of the UK's finest young jumpers prepared to compete for what remains the most prestigious title in athletics in these islands. Favorite for the gold was Scottish champion and record holder and Celtic games gold medalist from last weekend, Kyle Henderson who topped the rankings with a 6.47m jump at that Celtic event.

Championship field events are all about getting a valid jump or throw in the opening round to relieve the pressure which increases as the competition progresses towards the cut-off point after three rounds, with only the top eight progressing to the final rounds, and a very 'safe' opening effort of 5.77m meant that the Enniskillen athlete lay in seventh place at the end of than opening round with the lead at 6.23m.Last of the fourteen athletes to jump, round two saw Dolan really open his competition with a fine personal best of 6.36m, adding four centimeters to his existing best, set last weekend, and taking him into the lead and also, perhaps more importantly, well beyond what any of the other athletes bar Henderson had achieved to date this season.

Probably Dolan's greatest attribute is an immensely competitive temperament in the arena which sees him always believe in his own ability to extend his boundaries and in round three he produced what was strangely his only technically sound jump of the whole competition, sailing out to 6.39m, another personal best and more significantly a Northern Ireland age group record, a mark on which his sights have been set ever since his 6.14m Ulster schools record way back on May 19th.

Now under visible pressure Henderson responded with a jump of 6.32m in the fourth round to move into silver medal position while Dolan had a much more modest 5.88m and the penultimate round saw no further changes in position with the two leading protagonists producing 6.18m and a foul respectively, one of only three fouls Dolan has had in thirty six major championship jumps this season, a remarkable level of consistency under the pressure of championship conditions.

Jumping last is always a huge advantage in that the athlete knows exactly what is required before making their effort and is therefore in control of the situation but there was to be no last round drama in Sheffield as one after another the remaining seven contenders attempting to knock the Fermanagh lad off the top of the podium, tried and failed to improve on their existing distances, and with the crowd noisily encouraging him, the new AAA's champion had a very untidy, and apparently quite short, final adrenalin fuelled effort measure amazingly at 6.35m, perhaps the best indicator of the whole afternoon as to how far he might go with a few technical adjustments.

This AAA's title and the record jump which achieved it are the perfect conclusion to a season which has seen Dolan capture Ulster and Irish Schools titles, the Irish Juvenile Triple Jump title and a number of championship and area records along the way. He has immense potential but as a talented fourteen year old that is exactly what he is, a promising young talent, with a lot of hard work, sacrifices and probable setbacks along the way if he is to fulfill that promise, unlike many who have trodden this path before him and fallen by the wayside. He is lucky to have the support of his family who were in Sheffield in big numbers to see him compete and a training group full of other young talents who will help keep his feet firmly on the ground or at least in the sand and if he does keep his focus the future is undoubtedly one of promise for one of the county's finest young sportsmen.

ESB LEAGUE FINAL

While he may have been the headline act, Dolan was not the only St. Michael's athlete in action on Saturday as the ESB All-Ireland Senior league final took place in Tullamore in conditions that could not have been more difficult with torrential downpours leaving much of the midland venue under several inches of water, weather which saw the Tullamore show cancelled for the first time.

Despite the conditions however James O'Connor rounded off his season with an excellent silver medal in the 200m where he clocked a big personal best of 22.89 and he followed this with a bronze in the 100m, in both events leaving a couple of those who will be heading to next week's UK Schools games in his wake, highlighting the problems of picking a team in early June for an event in late August. O'Connor's day for representative honours will come however as will Niall Cullen's as he finished 5th in the 1500m in 4.19, his fifth time under 4.20 this season in an event at the bottom end of his range while Caolan McBrien found the almost impossible jumping conditions did not give him the set up he wanted for those UK games but he can enjoy the trip to Coventry as a well deserved bonus at the end of a long and demanding season.