AS SHE’S in the high jump business, setting high standards comes naturally for Sommer Lecky.
Last weekend, Lecky described herself as ‘gutted’ when she finished fifth in the European U20 Championships and on Sunday the emotion was ‘disappointed’ with silver at the National Senior Championships.
The Finn Valley woman, with a personal best of 1.90 metres, cleared 1.80m with ease on Sunday in Santry, but 1.85m proved a bridge too far, leaving Philippa Rogan of Sli Cualann as the winner.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” Lecky told Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub.
I came here to jump good, but it just didn’t happen today again. But, sure, that’s the way sport goes sometimes and you just have to take it on the chin and move on.
“My jumps felt really smooth and felt the best I’d been jumping all season. It just didn’t happen at 1.85 so I need to go back to see why.”
Lecky will be back in action tonight in the Belfast International Track & Field Meet at the Mary Peters Track and also has the Cork City Sports and the Morton Games in the immediate horizon.
Lecky said: “We’ll take each one as it comes and hopefully progress through each competition.
“I’m trying too hard for the bigger heights. I need to relax a bit and enjoy jumping again.”
It was on a Santry landing mat that Lecky made her first significant mark three years ago now.
The then 16-year-old shattered Ursula Fay’s 32-year-old record to win gold at the Tailteann Games with a 1.79m leap.
Just 24 hours later, and in torrid conditions, Leecky belied her tender years by going out to win the national senior title, her 1.71m success enough for the win.
Sommer Lecky with her coach Niall Wilkinson
Lecky – who first impacted when winning the 60m race at the Primary School Sports at Finn Valley – went to the Bahamas and returned with a Commonwealth Youth gold in 2017 and last year scooped silver at the World Under-20 Championships in Finland, where she registered a new PB of 1.90m.
Last weekend, Lecky said she was ‘gutted’ when finishing fifth in the European U20 Championships, a mark of those high standards – and the self-expectancy – she places on herself.
She said: “It’s a tough one. I was disappointed with fifth in Europe because the bronze and silver were so close. I just have to move on and take the positives from it. Hopefully I’ll learn from that.
“There are a lot of positives, but it’s hard to see them at the time. I’ll definitely come back fighting.”
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