ATHLETICS/Triple Jump: The state of Irish triple jumping has improved dramatically with a new national record set by Samuel Okantey, born in Ghana but who declared for Ireland last year through his grandmother's side.
Okantey jumped a massive 17.11m at an indoor meeting in Landover, Maryland on Monday night, a distance which eclipsed the previous record of 16.27m set by Colm Cronin in 1978.
Cronin's mark was the best by an Irishman either indoors or outdoors, meaning that Okantey's jump will also be ratified as the new Irish record on both counts.
The jump has also qualified Okantey for the upcoming World Indoor Championships, to be staged in Birmingham in mid-March, as the required distance was 17.05m. He will now become the first Irish competitor in the discipline at world indoor level.
Now a member of the Dublin City Harriers club, the 28-year-old intends chasing further qualification marks for the outdoor championships in Paris next August and the Athens Olympics in 2004.
