A national record

Athlete Jim Gillespie was tasting more glory at the Midlands Masters Heavyweight Hammer Pentathlon and the One-Handed Hammer Championships.
Jim Gillespie.Jim Gillespie.
Jim Gillespie.

Competing on Saturday, the Wragby resident ended the day with two victories and a new Irish record.

The first hammer in the Pentathlon weighs 10 kilos, and Jim threw his second best-ever effort of 11.69m.

He followed this up with the 12.5 kilo hammer and a throw of 9.04m to put him in the lead.

The 15.88 kilo came next, and he got to within 2cm of his best-ever throw with 6.43m.

The next upgrade saw Jim get to work with the 19.08 kilo object.

This time he made a personal best of 5.79m to solidify his lead.

Last, but by no means least, came the big 25.4 kilo hammer.

Jim was within 1cm of his PB with the implement, throwing it 3.69m.

Jim’s final total distance of 37.00m was a new Irish national record, beating the one he set last year.

After a well deserved break, he took part in the one-handed hammer.

This was not such a close affair as he won it with his first throw of 15.61m, his second best of all time.

“I’m going back to some heavy lifting in the gym for the next three weeks,” said Jim.

He is now preparing for the the European Hammer Decathlon in October.