At only 16 years of age, Cathríona Farrell has already broken the Irish high-jump record and is set to take on the most elite athletes in the world next summer.

Craughwell student Cathríona Farrell has been making waves on the athletic scene for the last three years, since taking up the high jump at the tender age of 13. She originally got into sports through local organisation Craughwell Athletics Club, training in everything from running to the long jump.

Having seen her proficiency at the long jump, her instructor asked her to try the high jump to see how she would like it. She agreed, and just eight weeks later, she broke the Irish U-13 record at the All Irelands. The rest is history and Cathríona has gone from strength to strength ever since, claiming a wide array of titles both at home and abroad, including the prestigious AAA award in the UK.

One of the biggest moment in Cathríona's career came earlier this year, when she achieved a personal best of 1.75m at the National Indoor Championships. This monumental achievement meant that she has qualified for the European and World Championships, which take place next July. This is a big step for the young Galway woman, but she is taking it all in her stride.

"The training for the Europeans and the Worlds will be tough, but it is just about finding a routine. At 5 ft 8, I would be one of the taller competitors in Irish competitions but when I am in the UK or abroad, it is much different so that was something I had to get used to. I would usually get nervous arriving at a competition before warming up, but once I get on to the track I'm fine. I just focus on the first jump and, once I get that over me, it's no bother. You have to do five jumps usually and if you don't clear one then you have to it again, so it is quite a long event. You have to be very physically fit and you have to be focused for the whole thing, so there is a huge mental aspect to it as well."

No stranger to hard work, Cathríona also trained in camogie and studied Irish dancing before the pressures of athletics forced her to give them up. She now contents herself with following the county teams and is hopeful that they will be luckier in their campaigns at senior level next year.

"I am mad into GAA and would have always said that I would never give up the camogie for athletics but there are far more opportunities with the athletics. I am getting to travel to places like Portugal for training, which is a lot more fun than heading up to a mucky pitch! The risk of injuries with sports like camogie is pretty high as well, so I couldn't keep doing them both. I love watching the sport on the television though and have been following the county teams this year. We always have great success at minor level but then it doesn't seem to carry on to the seniors. I don't know what the problem is!"

Now heading into her Leaving Cert year at Craughwell Vocational School, Cathríona is aware that both her studies and her sport will be battling for first priority. However, she is confident she can find a balance.

"I usually train about three times a week and a bit more coming up to competitions, so it will be tough managing to fit that around my studies but it's manageable. In my spare time I like to just hang out with my friends and relax. I am hoping to go on to college and maybe become a PE teacher but the points are very high so we will have to see. Once I am in college, I will have a lot more time to dedicate to training as well, which will be great."

Spurred on by her Claremorris based technical trainer, Jim Ryan and manager, Michael Tobin, the sky is the limit for this ambitious Galway athlete.

"I will be 20 by the time the Olympics come to London in 2012 and everybody has been telling me to go for that. It would be amazing but I am also very aware of the work and the commitment involved so we will have to wait and see how things go, but you never know!"

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