ISLE of Wight runner Henry McLuckie took another giant leap forward in his athletics career by notching up a huge win at the Armagh International 5km road race in Northern Ireland.
After a very successful junior career, the 20-year-old made a real impression among the distance running fraternity by running clear of a very strong field last Thursday.
Armagh has staged this race a number of years, with athletes invited on their fast times, to compete on the five-lap course in the city centre.
After a very crowded start, Polish athlete, Patryk Kolowski, took up the running and had a 50m lead after the first two laps.
Henry looked comfortable and, at the halfway stage, left the large chasing pack and quickly caught Kolowski, accelerated past him and opened a big gap on the rest of the field.
From this point onwards, McLuckie held his form brilliantly to come home an easy winner — crossing the line in 13mins 37.9secs.
His time was also confirmed as a new course record.
Henry's coach, Geoff Watkin, of Ryde, said: "The way Henry ran the race was as impressive as his victory. To have the confidence to front run and, with so far to go against experienced athletes, it was so exciting to watch."
Henry, back from a training camp in South Africa, will compete in the 3,000m at the British Indoor Championships in Birmingham this weekend.
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