By: Elizabeth Egan
Published on: Mar 26, 2026
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The indoor and cross country seasons may be over, but athletics fans never have long to wait for their next athletics hit. Outdoor action across the US and Australia this weekend, which may include Irish record attempts, will be the perfect antidote to the post-championship blues.
The first Continental Tour Gold meeting of the year - the Maurie Plant Meet - takes place in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday. Sophie O'Sullivan and Laura Nicholson are both on the 1500m startlist, where they will line up against the world indoor champion Georgia Hunter-Bell, and top Australian middle-distance stars Linden Hall, Claudia Hollingsworth, Sarah Billings and Abbey Caldwell.
Nicholson has been busy racing in Australia, New Zealand and Japan already this year, and will be desperate to finally run faster than the 4.07 that now seems standard for the Bandon AC athlete. O'Sullivan will be running her first race of 2026.
Brian Fay is entered in the 3000m, where he will face Australian and Japanese opposition. Fay helped the Irish senior men to silver team medals at the European Cross Country championships in December and finished 16th at the World Cross Country Championships in January, prior to run-outs over 3000m and 5000m indoors in Boston.
Benjamin Richardson is entered in the 200m. Richardson has transferred allegiance from South Africa to Ireland, but will not be eligible to wear the green in international competition until August 2027. The 22-year-old's personal best for the distance is 19.99 from 2024.
After multiple close shaves by the current generation, Alistar Cragg's 18-year-old national 10,000m record was finally eclipsed by Efrem Gidey in San Juan Capistrano, California, last March. Gidey returns to the site of that record on Saturday as he again takes on The TEN, a Continental Tour silver event, and possibly the Irish record.
Gidey, who went on to win the European 10000m Cup in May, already has the qualification standard for this summer's European Championships in Birmingham. His Irish record stands at 27:26.95. In his last race, at the Valencia 10km in January, Gidey knocked 5 seconds from his own National 10km record.
Most US colleges that haven't already opened their outdoor seasons, will do so over the coming days. The busiest meeting from an Irish perspective will be the Raleigh Relays, where many of Ireland's up-and-coming middle-distance and distance stars will compete.
Liam Lyons and Nathan Cremin, who have both had breakthrough indoor seasons, will look to take that form outdoors when they race alongside Michael Morgan, Cormac Dixon and Seán Cronin in the 1500m. Noah Harris will race for the first time since finishing 38th in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships in January, over 5000m, as will Anna Gardiner, Jane Buckley and Grace Weigele. Scott Fagan, Grace Richardson and Heather Murphy are entered in the 10,000m, while Conall Rogers is down for the 800m and Roisin Treacy for the 3000m steeplechase.
Conor Kelly and Kate Doherty (Clyde Hart Classic), Oisín Ó Gailín (Jack Christiansen Invitational), Sean Aigboboh (Victor Lopez Classic), Lucy-May Sleeman (Terry Long Florida State Relays), and Victoria Amiadamen (Charles Austin Classic) are among the other Irish athletes expected to compete this weekend.
Not all meeting startlists are available at the time of writing. Additions will be added to the TrackAthletes homepage (World Athletics category F and above), and the calendar page (all meetings with Irish interest).
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