Fintan Dewhirst
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Irish | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 December 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Events | Sprint, Hurdles | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Tir Chonaill AC | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 200m: 22.33 (2022) 400m: 47.23 (2026) 400mH: 51.19 (2024) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Fintan Dewhirst (born 31 December 2005) is an Irish sprinter and hurdler. He was a silver medalist at the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships and won the 400 metres hurdles for his first senior national title at the Irish Athletics Championships in 2026.[1]
Biography
From County Donegal, he attended St Columbas Comprehensive in Glenties, and Kilkenny NS, before later studying Sports and Science on a Level 2 Sports Scholarship at the University of Limerick. He took part in varied sports growing up including rugby with Donegal Town, soccer with Fintown Harps and Gaelic Football with Naomh Conaill, but became a member of Tir Chonaill athletics club, where his mother is also a coach, and where he was coached by Brian McGonagle and Eamon Harvey, later being coached by Hayley and Drew Harrison in Limerick. His brother Ethan also competes in athletics.[2][3][4]
He won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles (84.0 cm) at the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem, finishing in a time of 51.65 seconds, almost a second off his previous personal best that he had recently set in the quarter-finals in Jerusalem of 52.58s.[5] In 2023, he won at the Irish Schools Championships.[6]
Dewhirst made his senior debut competing in the 400 metres hurdles for Ireland at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Maribor, Slovenia, helping Ireland to a fifth place finish overall in the Second Division.[7][4] That summer, he also competed for Ireland at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway.[8]
In March 2026, he finished runner-up to Sean Doggett over 400 metres at the Irish Indoor Championships.[9] He was named in the Irish team for the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Botswana.[10] On 26 July, he won the 400 metres hurdles at the 2026 Irish championships in 51.76 seconds.[11]
References
- ↑ "Fintan Dewhirst". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Driven by grief, Tir Chonaill AC's Fintan Dewhirst storms into Irish Indoor 400m final". Donegal Live. 28 February 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Glenties welcomes home European silver medallist Fintan Dewhirst". donegallive.ie. 10 Jul 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- 1 2 Walsh, Harry (January 11, 2026). "The sibling rivals who continue to jump hurdles". Donegal News. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Fintan Dewhirst takes silver at European Under-18 Athletic Championships". Donegal Daily. 8 Jul 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Two sets of Donegal siblings win gold in Irish Schools Athletics". highlandradio.com. 4 Jun 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "European Athletics Team Championships Second Division". World Athletics. 29 June 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "European Athletics U23 Championships". World Athletics. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ Dennehy, Cathal (1 March 2026). "National Indoor Championships – Day 2: Nick Griggs claims 3000m prize as Kate O'Connor wins long jump gold". Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ↑ "IRISH TEAM SELECTED FOR WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS IN BOTSWANA". Athletics.ie. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ Dennehy, Cathal (26 July 2026). "Cian McPhillips shows medal potential for European Championships with classy 800m display to take Irish title". Independent.ie. Retrieved 26 July 2026.