In a packed main ballroom at the Mullingar Park Hotel on Friday 5th February, Shane Fitzsimons and Jake Byrne were presented with their "Westmeath Examiner" Sports Stars Awards for June 2009, which they were the joint-recipients of in recognition of their superb performances on the track in Summer 2009. After the magnificent 5-course banquet, the duo was interviewed on stage by RTÉ’s Colm Murray and thanks to his professionalism he was able to help them relax and enjoy the experience and the interviews were hugely enjoyed by their families and friends in particular.

These Awards were obviously known in advance, but there was a very pleasant surprise for Jake at the end of the evening when he was presented with the Junior Star of the Year Award, which is very well deserved and comes on the back of his participation at the World Youth T&F Championships last July.

Congratulations to Shane on his award and to Jake on his double-honour.