Video: Sperrin’s Gavin Corey is November’s sports personality

The Kildress man claimed four first place finishes in two weekends, at the beginning of the month to earn himself November’s Tyrone Times/ Mid-Ulster Mail Sports Personality of the Month.

Corey, a talented triathlete, only took up running competitively two years ago and plies his trade locally with the Sperrin Harriers Club.

The run of success for Corey began on Saturday 1st November when he won the first race in the Sperrin Harriers Winter League the Davagh 10k beating off 130 competitors.

The next day Corey continued his good form when he won the Bishopscourt Duathlon, a combined event for both running and cycling.

Gavin’s good form didn’t stop there as he took two more victories the weekend after at the Davagh Duathlon and at Creggan. He also took second place at the Aughnacloy 5 mile road race.

This success is merely the icing on the cake for Corey, who completed his first Iron Man in Wales last year at the tender age of 19.

His international success didn’t end there as he placed second in his age group in the New York Marathon.

Most impressively Corey also finished fifth in the European Junior Championships in Kitzbuhel, Austria, in his first year of eligibility.

Speaking after receiving his award the University of Ulster student, on a placement year at Diamond Precision Engineering attributed his good form to a hard summer of training.

“I put in a good deal of work into my running over the summer and everything was going well. I’d train every day and before I got a second job I’d have trained over 20 hours per week. I currently train around 16 hours a week.”

Corey, who also cycles competitively with Harps Cycling Club, has two major targets looming, the Armagh 5k International where he aims to better his 5k personal best of 15.58 and securing a place on the Irish Elite Under 23 Duathlon team in the coming year.

Given his success this year, we certainly won’t be betting against him.