The Cork City Sports Athlete Of The year Awards took place on Friday Feb 17th in the River Lee Hotel.  Leevale AC Olympian, Louise Shanahan was revealed as the 2022 Athlete Of The Year. 

In May at the Irish Milers Club event in Belfast, Louise not only broke the magical 2 minute barrier for the first time but she also beat the current Irish record holder Ciara Mageean and her record. In this breakthrough race Louise recorded a time of 1:59.42 which automatically qualified her for both the World Championships in Oregon USA and the European Championships in Munich.  In Oregon Louise finished 5th in her 800m heat, just missing out in a place in the semifinal. 

At the European Championships in Munich, Louise powered through the heat to reach the 800m final, where she put in a valiant effort to cross the line in 8th place. 

During the year Louise also found time to retain her 800m title at the national senior championships. 

The Cork City Sports Awards are sponsored by, The Echo, Cork’s96FM & C103, The River Lee and Cork Crystal.