Nenagh’s Rochford reaches World final

Nenagh Olympic Athletic Clubs Ava Rochford continued her development as a star of the future by reaching the final of the High Jump at the European Under 20 Athletics Championships in Israel last week.

With only twelve athletes advancing to the final of the Women’s High Jump, Rochford knew she needed to deliver a big performance and the seventeen-year-old did exactly that, equalling her personal best with a 1.80m second attempt clearance which was enough to progress to the final the following day.

Ava Rochford claimed a top ten finish by equalling her personal best of 1.80m with the medals going to Angelina Topic (Serbia) 1.90m, Elisabeth Pihela (Estonia) 1.88m, and Joana Herrmann (Germany) 1.86m.

Such a strong performance three years off the limit age is another impressing showing for Rochford who finished fourth in the National Senior Championships in Santry last month.