BY JOHN WALSHE
HONOURS continue to come the way of Phil Healy and the latest – somewhat belatedly – is for the overall Cork City Sports Athlete of the Year for 2020.
The Bandon athlete has been many times winner of the monthly award and this latest ceremony took place at the River Lee hotel in the company of family, sponsors and local dignitaries.
In a year disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Healy managed to set a new Irish 200m record (23.10) at the National Indoor Championships in February 2020 and recovered from a weight training injury during lockdown to record a well-deserved 100m and 200m double at the 2020 national outdoor championships in August.
Speaking at the function, the Ballineen native looked back on the season just gone which surpassed even her achievements from the year before.
‘It’s been an unbelievable year from fourth in the European indoors to qualifying for the Olympic Games in three events it’s just been a whirlwind of a year,’ Healy said.
‘I know I’m a little late in collecting this award for 2020 but with travel restrictions, etc., I’m grateful that the committee gave me the opportunity to collect it now, and it’s great to be honoured as the talent in Cork is unbelievable.’
Speaking of the Cork City Sports and the impact that event has had on her career, she is certainly looking forward to the 69th promotion scheduled for Tuesday, July 5th 2022.
‘The Cork City Sports is my favourite event and I’m delighted that it’s going ahead. It’s just having that home crowd, we travel all over Europe to get those quality meets and international fields so it’s great having it on your doorstep,’ Healy said.
The Cork City Sports Athletics Person of the Month Awards are sponsored by the River Lee, 96&C103FM, The Echo, Cork Crystal and Leisureworld.
