Andrew Thompson

As the stars of Irish athletics make their final preparations for the European Athletics Championships, which start in Birmingham on Monday, numerous others will conclude their season at meetings in the UK and Ireland on Sunday.

A handful of sprinters will take to the blocks at the penultimate Stratford Speed meeting of the year in east London, while some middle distance athletes will compete at the British Milers Club Grand Prix at St Mary's on the other side of the British capital.

Champion clubs, and counties, will be decided at the National League final in Santry, where a handful of recently-crowned national champions will be in action.

Medal hopes will be high for the large Irish team, which will be in action in Birmingham from Monday to Sunday. 

Sunday's action

Sunday will be a busy day, with competitions in both Ireland and the UK, as Irish athletes look to end their seasons on a high, or do a final bit of tuning up before Birmingham.

The final British Milers Club Grand Prix takes place at St. Mary’s in west London. Sophie O’Sullivan, selected for the 1500m in Birmingham, will race the 800m where she will face opposition from France, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Callum Morgan, who raced the 5000m at the recent Commonwealth Games, will be joined by Cormac Dalton, Colin p Smith and Kevin McGrath in the men’s 1500m. Amy O’Donoghue is among the athletes entered in the women’s 1500.

Callum Hurley, who last week ran a PB of 1:47.68, is entered in the 800m, as is Andrew Thompson. Jamie Battle and Shay McEvoy are among the leading Irish contenders in the men’s 3000m.

The penultimate Stratford Speed Grand Prix of the summer could see some of the Birmingham relay contenders in action over the various sprint distances. Molly Scott, on the women’s 4x100m relay squad, is entered for the 100m, as is para-athletics star Orla Comerford. Cliodhna Manning, Jenna Breen, Michelle Duggan and Lana Sutton are entered for the 400m, while Comerford is also on the 200m entries.

Mark Smyth, a non-travelling reserve for the men’s 4x100m relay in Birmingham, is entered for both the 100m and 200m at the east London meeting, and could be joined over the shorter distance by Gabriel Kehinde, Michael Farrelly and Paul Costelloe, among others.

Dundrum South Dublin will be looking to retain their men’s and women’s Premier Division national league titles in Santry on Sunday. Division 1 and County league winners will also be decided in the final domestic competition of the year.

Startlists are not available at the time of writing, but it is expected that national champions Daena Kealy (High Jump) and Ruby Millet (Long Jump) will be competing for St Abban’s. Kate Joyce, who won her first Irish senior title last month, is expected to compete for DSD in the Javelin, while Birmingham-bound Sarah Leahy (100m) is named on the Killarney Valley team.

World U20 Championships

The World U20 Championships will conclude in Eugene late on Sunday night (Irish time). At the time of writing, Siún Quinn is the sole Irish athlete guaranteed to compete on the final day, having qualified for the 14-woman high jump final. Ellis McHugh, Ethan Dewhirst and Des O'Neill will race to join her when they go in the 400m Hurdles semi-finals in the early hours of Sunday morning (Saturday evening session).

Séamus Clarke, 5th in the 5000m racewalk, is the best Irish result so far, with Dubem Amah (200m) and Pia Langford (800m) making the semi-finals in their respective events. 

European Championship

Among the medal prospects at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham are Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon), fresh from her recent Commonwealth Games win; Mark English, the fastest European this year, and World Championship fourth-placer Cian McPhillips in the 800m, and World 1500m finalists Andrew Coscoran and Sarah Healy, the latter who will also race over 5000m.

Bori Akinola (100m), Rhasidat Adeleke (200m), Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m), Nicola Tuthill (Hammer) and Fionnuala McCormack (Marathon) will also be looking for big performances.

Ireland will have teams in both women’s and men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, though the mixed relay failed to qualify to defend the title they won in Rome two years ago.

Several athletes could make their Irish senior debut in the relays, while Abbie Sheridan (3000m steeplechase) and David McGlynn (marathon) will gain their first senior vests in individual events.

Ciara Neville and Lauren Roy (100m), Jack Raftery (400m) and Eric Favors (shot put) will join English and McPhillips in a busy opening session from 10:30am on Monday, and there will be a steady stream of Irish interest across the week. Check out the TrackAthletes Irish-specific timetable for details a detailed breakdown of who is competing when.

The championship will be shown on RTÉ and RTÉ Player, with dedicated field-event streams on Eurovision Sport.

The race for Road to Birmingham ranking points and B standards is well and truly on, but the focus this weekend for Northern Irish athletes will be on securing national titles and Commonwealth Games selection in the final days of Glasgow 2026 qualification.

Saturday is particularly busy, with Irish athletes in action at Continental Tour meetings in the UK, Malta, France, the Netherlands and the USA, along with Cat F meetings in Dublin and London. Depending on how Thursday goes at NCAAs in Eugene, the Irish women may also be contesting for national collegiate medals.

There are a small number of meetings with Irish interest on Sunday, with Irish athletes also likely to be competing at Continental Tour meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

NCAA Div I Nationals

Three Irish athletes will be competing for individual glory on the second day of the NCAA Division I Nationals in Eugene on Thursday, and while medals are unlikely, all three will be hoping to build on positive starts to 2026, and bolster their confidence ahead of this summer’s senior international championships.

Elizabeth Ndudi (long jump) and Maeve O’Neill (800m) broke national senior indoor records earlier in the year. Both have Athletics Ireland B standards for Birmingham, but are currently outside the quota spots.

They will be competing for ranking points in the weeks ahead, but Thursday’s challenge will be to perform at or above their current NCAA ranking status. O’Neill is ranked 16th in the NCAA and 13th of those competing; nine will make it to Saturday’s final. Ndudi is ranked 20th, and 13th of those competing.

Lauren Roy has already achieved the qualification standard for Birmingham in the 200m, the distance she will contest here, and is within quota, with the B standard, for the 100m. She also has Commonwealth Games consideration standards at both distances. Currently second on the Irish all-time lists for 100m and 200m, Roy is ranked =22nd of the 24 qualifiers, based on season’s best.

On Wednesday, Sean Aigboboh helped his University of Houston 4x100m relay team qualify for Friday’s final. They finished second in their heat, and recorded the third fastest time across the three heats.

Lucy-May Sleeman will also be racing in the 4x100m relay. Her Florida State University team race in the heats on Thursday. The final is on Saturday. They are ranked tenth.

Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior Championships

The Northern Ireland selection window for the 2026 Commonwealth Games will close at midnight on Sunday, and the team will be selected early next week. Before then, athletes have one final opportunity to achieve nomination standards, and to win an Ulster and Northern Ireland Senior Championships title.

If the start lists are anything to go by, some cracking races could be expected. Nick Griggs and James Gormley, who both hold qualification standards over the mile and 5000m, are entered in the 800m, alongside Andrew Thompson who did better the 800m standard last summer, but not in a World Athletics calendar meeting.

Callum Morgan, the third man who has bettered the 5000m nomination standard is entered for the 1500m, while the women’s 200m could see Arlene Crossan, Rachel McCann, Jenna Breen and Michelle Duggan go head-to-head, though Breen and Duggan are also entered in the 400m, and Crossan is also down for the 100m.

Anna McCauley, who, alongside Kate O’Connor, has exceeded the Heptathlon standard is entered for Javelin and Shot Put, while Finn O’Neill, who’ll be hoping for selection in the Decathlon, is entered in the Pole Vault and the Shot Put.

Other field event entries of note are in-form Discus Thrower Anna Gavigan, former national shot put record holder John Kelly, Ashleigh McCardle (Javelin and Shot Put) and Thomas Williams (Hammer Throw). Sommer Lecky is entered for the High Jump both here and at a competition in France also on Saturday. It’s unclear which she will do.

Elsewhere on Saturday

James Dunne is entered for the 1500m at the USATF Distance Classic, which is being held alongside the LA Grand Prix, a Continental Tour Gold meeting. Dunne continues to search for the form that saw him run 3:35.17 last May, before injury derailed his progress.

Lauren Callaghan and Sophie Meredith are both on the long jump startlist at Meeting Nikaia (Continental Tour Bronze). Both have jumped personal bests this season, and will be looking to continue their progress and pick up some ranking points.

Ruby Millet, who made a winning return to long jumping after an absence of almost three years, is entered for Gouden Spike (Continental Tour Challenger) in the Netherlands. She’ll be looking to at least replicate the 6.38m she jumped last weekend.

Fintan Dewhirst will be looking to build on the 51.93 he ran to win the IUAA Intervarsity 400m hurdles title in April when he takes to the start line at the EAP Malta International (Continental Tour Challenger). His personal best is 51.19 from May 2024, but he’ll also have his sights on the 50.81 PB his younger brother Ethan ran earlier this season.

This has already been a good summer for Irish female high jumpers, and both Sommer Lecky and Aoife O’Sullivan will look to exceed 1.80m when they take part in the Envol Trophee (Continental Tour Challenger) in France. Lecky, who has a best of 1.90m, cleared 1.79m in Granada earlier this month, while O’Sullivan, unbeaten in six competitions this year, has a season’s best of 1.78.

There are more than 30 Irish athletes on the start lists for the British Milers Club Grand Prix (Continental Tour Challenger) in Loughborough. Among them are Eimear Maher, Saoirse Fitzgerald, Jo-Lauren Keane and Callum Hurley who will compete over 800m, Niall Murphy, Amy O'Donoghue and Niamh Carr at 1500m and Jamie Battle and Ella Fennelly, both entered for 3000m.

Among those entered for the fifth Dublin Graded Meeting of the year are Orla Comerford, Mollie O’Reilly and Katie Bergin in the 200m, Conor Cusack in the Javelin and Eoin Sheridan and Michael Healy in the Discus Throw.

Two meetings in London on Saturday with Irish interest are the BFTTA Outdoor Series 3 meeting where Marcus Lawler, Max O’Reilly, Paul Costelloe and Cliodhna Manning are all entered, and The London 5000m, for which Diarmuid Fagan, Fennelly (also entered at Loughborough, see above), Emily Haggard-Kearney and Patricia Jackman hold an entry.

Benjamin Richardson, who will be eligible to represent Ireland in August 2027, is entered for both the 100m and 200m at the Dromia Sprint and Relays Meeting (Continental Tour Silver) in Greece.

A small number of athletes are also entered for the BAUHAUS Juniors-Gala in Mannheim.

Sunday's action

Sunday looks like a calmer day for fans, but those competing will be looking to generate a storm of their own.

Fresh from her 11.31 personal best in London on Tuesday, Ciara Neville will be racing for ranking points when she competes in the 100m at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden, a Continental Tour Bronze meeting.

Eric Favors (Shot Put) and Niamh Fogarty (Discus) will be looking for some form in the throwing circles in Sollentuna. Favors, whose place at the European Championships looks secured, will now be looking to travel to Birmingham in the best shape possible.

Fogarty, however, has some work to do if she is to make her first major international as a senior. Her Irish record of 58.40m is further than the Athletics Ireland B standard of 57.80m, but she has yet to get close to that within the qualification window.

Clodagh Walsh is entered for Vault Manchester, while Daena Kealy is due to high jump at the BIG on Tour jumps meeting at the University of Birmingham.

Diamond League and Continental Tour meetings, NCAA regional qualifiers, All-Ireland schools championships, and the National Half Marathon Championships are just some of the places to spot Irish athletes this weekend.

Mark English will look to continue his winning ways as Andrew Coscoran opens his outdoor season at the Rabat Diamond League. Cathal Doyle, making his return after injury, and Nick Griggs, will race at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz.

Sophie O’Sullivan, Darragh McElhinney, Jodie McCann, Laura Nicholson and John Kelly are on the startlist for the Trond Mohn Games in Bergin. Lauren Callaghan takes her fine recent form to Cyprus, and Emma Moore is due to compete in Forbach, France.

Alex O'Neill, Danielle Donegan, Andrew Thompson and Eric Favors are among those on Continental Tour Challenger startlists.

NCAA Division I athletes will continue their endeavour of making it to Eugene for the national finals, while several Irish athletes will look for fast times at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Birmingham.

Future stars will be on display at the All-Ireland Schools Championships in Tullamore and the National Half Marathon titles will be decided in Cork

Diamond League

The Rabat Diamond League, live on Virgin Media Three from 7-9pm on Sunday, will round out the weekend’s action. Among the entries are Mark English, who two weeks ago became the first Irish man ever to win a Diamond discipline at a Diamond League meeting.

Among English’s opposition in the Moroccan capital will be 1.41 men Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Gabriel Tual, as well as four other athletes with personal bests faster than his. A second win would be a massive ask, but a solid pace could drag English into new territory time wise.

Coscoran has not raced since the World Indoors in March, where he focused on the 3000m. Here he’ll face seven sub-3:30 men, over 1500m, including the World Champion Isaac Nader, a somewhat surprise winner of a race in which Coscoran finished 12th.

The Star of the Sea A.C. athlete twice broke the national indoor record earlier this year. Could 2026 be the year he finally breaks the 3:30 mark outdoors?

Continental Tour Gold

Cathal Doyle will make his much-anticipated return to competition over 1500m at the Irena Szewińska Memorial, a Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Bydgoszcz on Friday, having struggled with injury over the winter months.

Among his opposition will be Nick Griggs, who suffered a somewhat unexpected defeat over the mile at the British Milers Club meeting in Belfast last weekend.

Continental Tour Silver

Irish interest at the Trond Mohn Games in Bergen includes Sophie O’Sullivan, Darragh McElhinney, Jodie McCann, Laura Nicholson and John Kelly.

McElhinney, who already has the Birmingham standard over 5000m and Sophie O’Sullivan, who has secured the 1500m standard, will be chasing some speed as they step down to 1500m and 800m respectively.

Unlike O’Sullivan, Jodie McCann and Laura Nicholson are still chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard, and valuable ranking points, in the 1500m. Both raced in Germany on Sunday, but a slow, tactical race meant they were unable to capitalise on the opportunity to race at this level.

John Kelly, former Irish shot put record holder, is looking to get back to the sort of form that took him beyond 20 metres in 2022. His best so far this season was the 18.19 he threw to win silver at the National Indoor Championships in March.

Continental Tour Bronze

Emma Moore made big strides during the indoor season, smashing her previous best over 800m. With European Championship qualification in mind, Forbach appears to be the first outdoor stop on the Road to Birmingham. Moore will be looking to improve her PB  to at least 2:00.95, the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham, in the coming weeks.

While still early days, Lauren Callaghan is just a couple of spots outside the long jump quota for Birmingham. She opened her outdoor campaign with a fine 6.42 in Loughborough a fortnight ago, and will look to collect some of the valuable placing points on offer in Cyprus on Friday. She is also chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard of 6.55 metres.

Continental Tour Challenger

Some of the races at Saturday’s British Milers Club Grand Prix at the University of Birmingham hold Continental Tour Challenger (category D status), while others have gathered strong fields chasing fast times.

The women’s 5000m is particularly strong from an Irish perspective with Emily Haggard-Kearney, one of the silver-medal winning Irish team from last weekend’s European 10,000m Cup, is on the startlist alongside Danielle Donegan, Ella Fennelly, who last weekend ran 15:50.65, and others.

Callum Morgan, Louis O’Loughlin and Philip Marron are due to contest the men’s 1500m; Eimear Maher, Zoe Toland and Niamh Carr are in the women’s 1500m, and Finley Daly and Abbie Sheridan will contest their respective steeplechases.

Alex O'Neill (800m) and Donegan (5000m) are both entered for the Puma Notro Lange Laufnacht, though the latter is also entered for the BMC meeting mentioned above.

O’Neill got her outdoor campaign underway in Germany on Sunday, and will be looking to continue her push towards European Championship qualification.

Eric Favors, sitting comfortably in a Birmingham quota spot, is among the shot put entries for the Music City Track Carnival in Cleveland, TN.

Andrew Thompson will continue his quest for the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games consideration standard at the Triveneto Meeting Internazionale in Trieste on Saturday. Thompson did better the required 1:46.70 mark late last summer, but not in a race listed on the World Athletics calendar.

Aaron Keane is entered for the 200m at the Meeting National de Seine et Marne in France on Friday. The Tullamore Harrier has a best of 21.45 for the distance from last August.

Domestic action

The National Half Marathon Championships take place as part of the Cork Marathon on Sunday, where John Travers, Ryan Creech and Hannah Steed are among the leading entrants.

Before that, some of the future stars of Irish athletics will compete for All-Ireland schools titles in Tullamore. Among the names to look out for in the senior events there are national indoor pole vault champions Mikey Kent (who will also contest the Long Jump) and Meabh Corkery, and throwers Theo Hanlon (Shot Put) and Thomas Williams (Hammer).

Erin Friel, who recently made her senior debut at the world relays, will contest the 400m. National U20 400m hurdles record holder Ellis McHugh is due to compete in both the 400m hurdles, and the sprint hurdles where she will face national lead Orlaith Mannion. European Cross Country medallist Emma Hickey will race the 3000m, while Tara O’Connor is one of the names to look out for in the High Jump.

NCAA Division I Regional Qualifiers

More than two dozen Irish athletes will be competing in the Regional rounds of the NCAA Div I Championships this week. Action in Lexington, KY (East) and Fayetteville, AR (West) got underway on Thursday, with Sean Aigboboh, who has qualified for the next round of the 200m, the best of the Irish performances so far.

Aigboboh, along with Lauren Roy (100m, 200m), Lucy-May Sleeman (100m), Maeve O’Neill (800m), Oisin Spillane (3000m Steeplechase), Siún Quinn (High Jump) and Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump), are just some of the athletes to watch out for as they endeavour to qualify for the national finals in Eugene, OR next month.

Performances this weekend are likely to have a big impact on the Road to Birmingham rankings. Check out TrackAthletes.ie for all the relevant updates over the coming days.