Ava O'Connor

The World Indoor Tour cracks into life this weekend as the first Gold meeting of the season takes place in Boston. Four Irish athletes will compete there, as well as others in Silver, Bronze and Challenger meetings across the globe.

It’s another busy weekend of US college meetings, there’s a very strong entry for the guest races at the first round of the National Indoor League. And some athletes will take to the roads.

Friday Night Lights

European U23 1500m bronze medallist Eimear Maher looked in great form when she came home second on the opening leg of the mixed relay at the European Cross Country Championships in December. She will race the 1500m at Meeting Internacional Catalunya de Pista Coberta (World Indoor Tour Challenger) in Sabadell this evening. The Auto Q for the World indoors is 4:06.00, while the Athletics Ireland B standard is 4:09.75.

Long Jumper Lauren Callaghan will continue her season at World Indoor Tour Bronze Meeting de Nantes Metropole, a meeting that is being streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel.

Super Saturday

Among the star-studded fields gathered for weekend’s main event - the New Balance Grand Prix - are Andrew Coscoran, Brian Fay, Nick Griggs (3000m) and Cian McPhillips (600m).

Coscoran broke the Irish record when winning this event last year. Brian Fay arrives in Massachusetts two weeks after finishing 16th at the World Cross Country Championships. This will be Nick Griggs’s first competitive outing since romping to the European U23 Cross Country title in December, and his first indoor race since his epic battle with Cathal Doyle at the NIA almost two years ago.

In addition to having their eye on the win, and the bragging rights, some of the numbers these three may have in mind are 7:33.00 (World Indoor Auto Q), 7:41.00 (Athletics Ireland B standard for Poland), 7:30.75 (Coscoran’s National Indoor Record) and 7:30.36 (Mark Carroll’s outright Irish record). Grigg’s national U23 record is 7.45.57.

There are just two spots in each event for each federation at the World Indoors – unless an athlete can unlock a wild card by winning the World Indoor Tour in the event. Either way, competition for the spots will be fierce.

In his first track race since finishing fourth in the 800m in Tokyo, Cian McPhillips will face Donovan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel over three laps of the track. The Irish Indoor 600m record, which Mark English set in what was essentially a solo run at the NIA 10 days ago, may well receive further revision.

English himself has the opportunity to further alter the national indoor 800m record he set in Luxembourg on Sunday when he races at the Meeting Indoor de Lyon, also on Saturday. Also lining up at this World Indoor Tour Bronze meeting will be Bori Akinola (60m) and Jodie McCann (1500m).

Laura Nicholson, who has been training in Australia, will be racing over the mile at the World Continental Tour Bronze Pak'nSave Cooks International Classic in Whanganui, New Zealand on Saturday (7:50am Irish time).

The first round of the National Indoor League takes place in the NIA on Saturday and there is a big entry in the Open races. Max O'Reilly, Paul Costelloe and Michael Farrelly are among the 60m entries and Molly Scott is down for the 60m and 60m Hurdles. Declared athletes on the National League entries include Marcus Lawler (200m), Adam Nolan and Arabella Adekoya (60m Hurdles), and Conor Callinan and Matthew Callinan Keenan (Pole Vault), though they could change by tomorrow.

Something for Sunday

Sarah Lavin will open her indoor campaign at the World Indoor Tour Silver Meeting de Paris, where she will face French Indoor Champion Laeticia Bapte and Olympic finalist Alaysha Johnson (USA), among others. The first target for Lavin will be the 8.02 World Indoor standard.

Lucy Holmes, Niamh Carr and Philip Marron are all due to race over 2000m at Meeting Moniz Pereira (World Indoor Tour Challenger) in Portugal.

The AXA Raheny 5, one of only two World Athletics Label Road Races in Ireland, will also take place on Sunday. Ryan Creech, Cathal O'Reilly and Ann-Marie McGlynn are among the sold-out entries for the event.

US college action other US meetings (across Friday and Saturday)

Diarmuid O’Connor carries a 13-point cushion over his national record-breaking day one performance into Friday’s day two of the heptathlon at the Penn Elite Multi-Events in Philadelphia.

European Cross Country team gold medallists Callum Morgan and Lughaidh Mallon will race over 3000m at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invitational at Boston University on Saturday where Irish Indoor 1500m champion Kevin McGrath will take on the Mile. Finn Diver (Mile), Conall Rogers (800m), Claire Crowley (800m, 3000m) and Una Brice (Pole Vault) are also entered.

After her Northern Irish record-breaking 7.25 (60m) last weekend, Lauren Roy is entered for both the 60m and the 200m at the Stan Scott Invite in Lubbock. Lucy-May Sleeman is entered for the 60 at Orange & Purple Invitational in Clemson, where Nicole Dinan is on the 800m startlist.

Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) will open her season at the Fighting Illini Challenge in Champaign. Sean Aigboboh (200m, 60m), Victoria Amiadamen (400m) and Finn O'Neill (60m Hurdles, Shot Put) are due to compete at the Ted Nelson Invitational in College Station.

Ava O’Connor, Louis O’Loughlin, Oisín Lynch and Claragh Keane are all on the mile startlists for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational at altitude in Albuquerque. Oisín Ó Gailín is also due to take on the altitude, for him over 3000m at the Colorado Invite in Boulder.

Charlie O'Donovan (mile) and Jack Fenlon (3000m) are due to compete at Penn Elite in Philadelphia. Finn Boyle (800m), Seán Cronin (800m), Sean Lawton (5000m) and Muireann Duffy (5000m) are entered for the Dr. Sander Invitational in New York.

Others due to compete for their colleges on Saturday and/or Sunday include Heather Murphy (3000m, Hokie Invitational), Cian Crampton (Weight Throw, Crossroads of America Invitational), Lucas Fadden (200m, Larry Wieczorek Invitational), Danny Hagen (60m Hurdles, 200m, LSU Bayou Bengal), Alexandra Joyce (Mile, Mark Colligan Memorial), and both Ashleigh McArdle (High Jump, 60m Hurdles, Long Jump) and Roisin Treacy (Mile) at the Notre Dame Invitational.

And finally…

In addition to the senior athletes mentioned above, Emily Bolton, Eimear Cooney, Sophia Thompson, Lorcan Forde Dunne and Liam Morris will compete in the Junior mile events at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston on Saturday.

A small number of other athletes, including Oisin Murray, Jennifer O'Leary, Lorraine O'Connor (all 1500m) and Diarmuid Fagan (3000m), will compete at the BMC meeting in Cardiff on Sunday.

Many of Ireland’s top cross country athletes will be battling for national glory and Euro Cross berths in Templemore, Co Derry, on Sunday, while others will be competing against the best college athletes in the United States on Friday and Saturday.

Even when accounting for athletes whose clubs may have entered them out of hope rather than expectation, both the men’s and women’s fields for Templemore look pretty competitive. The U23 battles within the senior contests should add further spice to the not-to-be-missed races.

Ten in a row, anyone?

Last year’s champion Keelan Kilrehill is the one notable absentee from the men’s entries, meaning that only Darragh McElhinney, the 2022 champion, and Cormac Dalton, the winner in 2023, stand in the way of making it 10 different winners of the men’s National Cross Country title in as many editions.

Neither McElhinney nor Dalton will bow to such a niche statistic when they toe the line on Sunday, and both should be among those contesting the medals.

Among those looking to continue the streak are Nick Griggs, keen to win his first national senior title on any surface; Brian Fay, who, like Dalton, has a Euro Cross Top 10 finish to his name; European 10,000m Cup winner Efrem Gidey; Callum Morgan, who looked sublime when winning the Autumn International in October; and a resurgent Jack O’Leary.

Paul O’Donnell, Pierre Murchan and William Fitzgerald, who have also made the senior men’s team for Euro Cross in recent years, are also entered, as are Tokyo Olympian Stephen Scullion and recent national marathon champion David McGlynn.

Niall Murphy, who had the race of his life to finish second last year, will be back to defend his U23 title, but to do so he will again need to overcome Griggs and Morgan. Cathal O’Reilly, who finished 8th overall last year, is also still under U23 this year.

Wide open women’s race

As in the men’s race, the women’s race has lacked a consistent winner in recent years, with seven different winners in the past seven editions. The two most recent winners - Fiona Everard (2023) and Ann-Marie McGlynn (2024) - will look to change that.

Another previous winner on the startlist is Michelle Finn (2021), one of six Olympians entered, who has missed a year through injury.

Also entered is last year’s runner-up Niamh Allen, who went on to finish 10th in Antalya. Indeed, there’s a chance that all six from last year’s team compete again for places, with Dannielle Donegan, Mary Mulhare and Cheryl Nolan also entered.

Roisin Flanagan and Eilish Flanagan have both made the team on multiple previous occasions, and are also both entered to compete on Sunday.

Jodie McCann, Laura Nicholson and Eimear Maher, all better known as track athletes, will likely be hoping that an Irish mixed relay team is selected after an absence from the last two editions.

The first three in the U20 and Senior races in Derry will gain automatic selection for Lagoa, while the top two in the U23 categories will also be rewarded with Euro Cross selection. The Athletics Ireland selection policy suggests that they will select further athletes, up to a maximum of five in each event (it’s worth noting that the sixth qualifier for both the Senior and U23 men’s teams last year made the scoring three in Antalya!), leaving the door open for some of the athletes racing in the US this weekend to also be selected.

Across the Atlantic…

While the final lineup won’t be confirmed until the race starts, there could be as many as nine Irish athletes competing in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Missouri, on Saturday.

Abdel Laadjel won the Big Ten Conference title three weeks ago, and helped the Oregon men gain an automatic spot for the ‘big dance’ last Friday. European U23 10,000m champion Anika Thompson helped the Oregon women qualify, and should start on Saturday.

Anna Gardiner, Cara Laverty, Niamh O'Mahony and Jane Buckley will all feature on the Providence team, which finished 2nd at the North East Region qualifier. Gardiner and Laverty were particularly impressive that day, finishing sixth and seventh individually. Gardiner is still an U20 for Euro Cross, while Laverty, like Thompson, is eligible for the U23 race.

Twenty-four-year-old Matthew Neill was also seventh at regionals and is likely to start for Syracuse. Dean Casey (Colorado) and Billy Coogan (Iona) may also run.

Eleven Irish athletes raced last year, with Casey (30th) and Thompson (32nd) the top Irish finishers. Keith Kelly was the last Irish individual winner of this prestigious event back in 2000.

Adams State will again be medal contenders at NCAA Division II Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday. European U23 and World University Games steeplechase finalist Ava O’Connor and Wexford woman Claragh Keane are among their likely starters.

On Friday, Heather Murphy (Montreat), who competed in the 10,000m at the European U23 Championships earlier this year, will be among the Irish racing at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships.

And next...

The Irish team for the European Cross Country Championships is due to be selected by Tuesday, 25th November. The event will take place in Lagoa, Portugal, on 14th December. Selections for the World Cross Country Championships - set for Talahassee, Florida on 10th January - will be made following the continental decider.

Another significant week of athletics lies ahead. The U23 athletes will have the opportunity to win European medals in Bergen, while some of the seniors will be in action at the London Diamond League.

Closer to home, the AAI Games and National 10,000m and Multi-Event Championships will be held in Carlow. A number of athletes will also be in action in Continental Tour events in Spain, Belgium and Germany.

European U23 Championships

Nicola Tuthill (Hammer) and Nick Griggs (5000m) will lead the medal hopes of a strong Irish team at the European U23 Championships which will run from Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th July.

Medals, however, won’t come easy, and with some of the world’s top eligible athletes due to compete, this could be one of the greatest editions of the biannual event to date.

Among the entries in the men’s 5000m, for example, are Olympic 1500m finalist Niels Laros (NED), European U23 Cross Country Champion Will Barnicoat (GBR), World U20 3000m Champion Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen (NOR) and the 2021 European U20 5000m champion Joel Ibler Lilleso and Jonathan Grahn (SWE) who beat Griggs to the European U20 3000m title in 2023.

Tuthill is ranked third in the field on personal best and one of just three athletes to have thrown beyond 70 metres. She will look to utilise the championships experience she gained in Rome and Paris last year to turn her fourth place finish in 2023 to a place on the podium this time around.

Other Irish athletes to watch out for include Ava O’Connor, ranked fourth on time in the women’s steeplechase, Abdel Laadjel who will be desperate to improve on his 4th place from 2023, Eimear Maher in the 1500m, and Anika Thompson who is highly ranked in both the 5000m and 10,000m.

The event will be streamed on EuroVision Sport across all sessions, including dedicated streams for field events.

London Diamond League

The London Diamond League always tends to be the busiest for Irish athletes, and this year is no different, with three individual athletes and a relay team on the startlist.

Mark English is set to race in a star-studded men’s 800m; a race that includes 3 of the top 4 from last year’s Olympic final, and 6 of the 20 fastest 800m athletes of all time.

Sarah Healy is set to compete in the rarely-run women’s mile. She’ll be up against Jessica Hull and Gudaf Tsegay, among others. The Irish record stands at 4:14.58 (Ciara Mageean, 2023).

Rhasidat Adeleke is on the 200m startlist, alongside her training partners Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred and 2019 World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith.

The women’s 4x100m relay team will compete in the pre-programme against teams from Great Britian, Australia, Canada, France and Jamaica.

The event will be broadcast Virgin Media Two from 2-4pm on Saturday. The relay will, unfortunately, fall outside the broadcast window.

Domestic action

The AAI Games incorporating the National 10,000m Championships and the National Combined Event Championships will be held at SETU Carlow on Saturday and Sunday, while the Irish Runner National 10 mile Championships will be held at the Phoenix Park on Sunday.

While many of the big track stars are missing from the AAI Games, some in-form field eventers and a pair of Paralympians are among the entries.

Conor Cusack, who earlier this week set a new Javelin PB of 75.18 in Luzern (3rd Irish all-time) will look to continue his recent form. Conor Callinan (pole vault) has set PBs in each of his last three competitions.

Reece Ademola, just back to competition after injury is among the long jump entries; multi national title holder Saragh Buggy in on the triple jump startlist, and we should expect to see Seán Mockler in the hammer.

Orla Comerford (100m, 200m) and Greta Streimikyte (1500m) are also entered, as are Colin Doyle (100m, 200m), Michael Farrelly (100m) and Cliodhna Manning (400m)

It is expected that Athletics Ireland will provide a livestream across the two days.

Continental Tour meetings

Ciarán Carthy, Hugo Magee and Orla Leer (all 400m) are on the startlist for Meeting International d'Athlétisme de la Province de Liège (CT bronze) tonight (Wednesday) in Belgium.

Marcus Lawler (100m, 200m) and Israel Olatunde (100m) are entered for PUMA Fast Arms Fast Legs (CT Challenger) in Wetzlar, Germany on Friday.

Sophie Becker (400m), Jenna Bromell (800m) and Eric Favors (Shot Put) will all be looking to pick up valuable world ranking points at Meeting Madrid on Saturday (CT Silver).

Rachel McCann (400m), Alex O'Neill (800m), Jodie McCann, Seán Donoghue (1500m),Brian Fay and Darragh McElhinney (5000m) are on the main programme startlist for KBC Nacht van de Atletiek (CT Bronze) in Heusden-Zolder on Saturday. Cillín Greene, Cliodhna Manning, Arlene Crossan (400m), Amy O'Donoghue, Kevin McGrath (1500m), David McGlynn (5000m) and Amy O'Donoghue (1500m), among others, are on the pre- and after-programme startlists for the same meeting.

Ronan McMahon-Staggs is on the startlist for the 1500m at Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto, while Charlie O'Donovan will race the same distance at Stumptown Twilight in the US.

As soon as we get through all the above, we're straight into the FISU World University Games, where nine Irish athletes will be competing.

Many Irish athletes will be sitting out this weekend as they prepare for the continental tour meetings in Cork and Dublin next week, but there is still plenty to look forward to, including the Eugene Diamond League and what promises to be a stellar National U20 and U23 Championships.

Diamond League
Sarah Healy has finished in the top-3 in her three Diamond League appearances so far this year, but the 1500m in Eugene on Saturday will be her toughest test yet. She will face the top 4 from last Summer’s Olympic Games and 6 of the other top 10 in the World Rankings right now.

While not a Diamond League event, there is a strong field in the women’s 400m. Rhasidat Adeleke, whose fastest time this season is 50.42, will face five athletes who have run sub-50 seconds already in 2025, including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder at 400m hurdles.

This 50th anniversary Prefontaine Classic includes a number of races for para athletes.  Paris bronze medallist Orla Comerford will race the mixed-category 100m while Shauna Bocquet will compete in the T54 (wheelchair) 800m.

The Eugene Diamond League will be broadcast in Ireland on Virgin Media Three. The Women’s 400m is at 9.51pm while the women’s 1500m closes the programme at 10.50pm, both within the 9-11pm broadcast window. The para events are earlier.

National U20 and U23 Championships
Most of Ireland’s top emerging talent will be competing at the National U20 and U23 Championships in Tullamore on Saturday, though not all will be contesting their usual events.

Among those entered, and expected to compete, are Nick Griggs, Conor Kelly, Maeve O’Neill, Ava O’Connor, Conor Callinan, Elizabeth Ndudi and Anna Gavigan. See Athletics Ireland preview for more.

Athletics Ireland will be livestreaming the event on Youtube, and spectator tickets are available for just €10 (plus booking fee). Action starts at 10am.

Continental Tour meetings
Andrew Coscoran is on the 1500m startlist at the Meeting Stanislas Nancy (Continental Tour Silver) in France on Friday evening.

Lauren Callaghan (Long Jump) is on the startlist for the IX Ordizia Meeting (Continental Tour Bronze) in Spain on Saturday.

Elsewhere
The preliminary round of the National League will take place on Sunday, and while it's not clear who exactly will be competing, we should expect at least some of the top field event athletes there.

With two Continental Tour Bronze meetings, the National U20 and U23 Championships, the AAI Outdoor Games and the National Combined Events Championships all happening at home, there are plenty of opportunities for athletics fans to watch some top athletics in person this July.

The FISU World University Games following immediately after the European U23 Championships, both of which are expected to feature strong Irish contenders, means that there are 11 consecutive days of championship action to round out another busy month.

There are also three Diamond League meetings, including the closest thing we have to a home one in London on 19 July, and plenty of Continental Tour silver meetings, which are great for world ranking points, across Europe and beyond.

Cork City Sports

Another exciting edition of the Cork City Sports is scheduled for Wednesday 9th July. While full startlists have yet to be announced, we should expect Bori Akinola, Marcus Lawler, Israel Olatunde, Phil Healy, Lucy-May Sleeman, Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Molly Scott and Sarah Lavin across in the sprints and hurdles. Nicola Tuthill (hammer) and Eric Favors will be in action in the field, while Sophie O’Sullivan is among the distance athletes due to compete.

Morton Games

Just two days after Cork, athletes will take to the track (and field) at Morton Stadium for what promises to be another night of excitement at the Morton Games. Among the Irish senior internationals scheduled to compete are Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker, Cathal Doyle, Sarah Lavin, Israel Olatunde, Bori Akinola, Sophie O’Sullivan, Efrem Gidey, Cian McPhillips, Nick Griggs, Niamh Fogarty, Jack Raftery, Eric Favors and Louise Shanahan.

Other Domestic Competitions

The month kicks off with the National U20 and U23 Championships as athletes look to secure their place on the relevant European age-group championships later this summer. Among the U23 athletes entered are Nicola Tuthill, Elizabeth Ndudi, Nick Griggs and Ava O’Connor. The men’s 400m looks to be hotly contested in both the U20 and U23 age groups.

Later in July, the AAI Outdoor Games will provide a tune-up opportunity for Irish athletes ahead of August’s National Championships. The event, which will be held in Carlow, will incorporate the National 10,000m Championships and will be run alongside the National Senior and age-group combined events Championships.

Both the preliminary round and the final of the National League will also take place in July, and the 2025 Dublin Graded programme will conclude with meeting 7 and meeting 8.

Three Diamond League meetings in July

The Eugene Diamond League/Prefontaine Classic, the Monoco Diamond League and the London Diamond League will all take place this month.

Sarah Healy (1500m) will race the Diamond League 1500m in Eugene, where Rhasidat Adeleke (400m), Orla Comerford (Para 100m) and Shauna Bocquet (Para 800m) will contest non-Diamond League events.

Adeleke will run the 400m in Monacco, a race which she won last year. Mark English (800m) is among the Irish athletes we should expect to see in London.

European U23 Championships

We have a few days to wait until the Irish team is announced for the European U23 Championships, but it is likely to be one of the strongest yet. Last time out, in 2023, Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy went 1-2 in the 1500m. It would be a disappointment if the current crop doesn’t add further hardware in Bergen.

Update: the team has been selected.

World University Games

The Irish team is yet to be announced, but it’s likely that approximately 10 athletes will represent Ireland in the track and field programme at the FISU World University Games.

Ireland did not compete at the last edition, but Marcus Lawler won bronze in the 200m at the previous edition, while Thomas Barr won the 400m hurdles in 2015. Ronnie Delany (1961), Sonia O’Sullivan (1991) and Derval O’Rourke (2005) are also among previous medal winners.

Other Meetings

There are no Continental Tour Gold meetings in July, but there are plenty of silver meetings. Start lists have not yet been released for these, but there are likely to be Irish competitors chasing Road to Tokyo ranking points right through the month.

Cliodhna Manning, Shane Bracken, Lauren Callaghan, Cillian Kirwan, Gina Akpe-Moses, Rachel McCann, Ciarán Carthy, Rachel McCann, Arlene Crossan, Sen Donoghue, Darragh McElhinney and David McGlynn are among those already appearing on Continental Tour Bronze and Challenger meetings across Europe in July.

Another trip to Statford is also on the cards for some of Ireland’s top sprinters.

Key dates for July

5 Jul: National U20 & U23 Championships, Tullamore
5 Jul: Eugene Diamond League, Live on Virgin Media
9 Jul: Cork City Sports, MTU
11 Jul: Morton Games, Morton Stadium
11 Jul: Monaco Diamond League, Live on Virgin Media
17-20 Jul: European U23 Championships, Bergen, Norway; Live on Eurovision Sport
19 Jul: London Diamond League; Live on Virgin Media
19-20 Jul: AAI Outdoor Games, Carlow, including National Combined Events Championships
21-27 Jul: World University Games, Rhine-Ruhr, Germany; Live on FISU website

The Bislett Games/Oslo Diamond League on Thursday evening (12th June) will get the weekend off to an early start, and there's Irish interest both there and at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday.

There are plenty of other meetings to look forward to across the weekend, including the NCAA Div I finals, which started in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday.

Diamond League

Rhasidat Adeleke will run her first individual 400m of the season in Oslo on Thursday, while Mark English will hope to continue the form that has seen him twice break his own national 800m record in recent weeks. The event will be televised live on Virgin Media 2 from 7-9pm on Thursday evening. Rhasidat will take to lane 6 at 7.04pm, while Mark will follow at 7.19pm.

Rhadisat will also compete over 400m at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday. The event will again be shown live on Virgin Media 2, from 5-7pm. Rhasidat’s race is due off at 6pm.

NCAA Championships

Seven Irish athletes qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships – five in individual events and two as part of 4x100m relay teams. Seán Mockler (Hammer) and Shane Brosnan (10,000m) competed on Wednesday finishing 21st and 23rd respectively. Diarmuid O’Connnor also got his Decathlon underway, finishing day 1 in 13th position.

Thursday will be a busy day for the Irish with Diarmuid competing in day 2 of the decathlon, Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m), Maeve O’Neill (800m), Lucy-May Sleeman (4x100m) and Lauren Roy (4x100m) all in semi-final action. Those who qualify will compete in finals on Saturday.

Domestic Action

There are strong fields entered for the Belfast BMC on Saturday. The women’s 800m is looking particularly strong with Emma Moore, Greta Streimikyte, Ellie Hartnett and Alex O'Neill among the entries. Cara Laverty will face in-form steeplechasers Niamh Kearner and Roisin Treacy, among others, in the 1500m, Stephen Scullion, Amy Greene and Grace Richardson are among the entries for the 3000m races. The event will conclude with the men’s mile where Callum Morgan, Oisín Ó Gailín, Cathal O'Reilly, Lughaidh Mallon and Nick Griggs are all listed.

Robert McDonnell, David Bosch and Marcus Lawler are all entered in the 200m at the 5th Dublin Graded Meeting of the year.  Others set to compete include Conor Callinan in the Pole Vault and Michael Healy (Discus Throw),

Continental Tour Bronze and Challenger meetings

A number of Irish athletes will be seeking personal bests, world ranking points and maybe even qualification standards as they compete around Europe this weekend.

Callum Baird (400m), Sean Donoghue (1500m), Jodie McCann (1500m), Seán Tobin (5000m), Kate Doherty (100m Hurdles), and Sommer Lecky (High Jump) are all on the startlist for Meeting of Braga in Portugal. This is a Continental Tour Bronze meeting.

Molly Scott (100m, 100m Hurdles), Ciara Neville (100m, 200m) and Saragh Buggy (Triple Jump) are all entered for the EAP Malta International.

Deirdre Murray (400m Hurdles), Oisin Lynch (800m), Louis O'Loughlin (800m), Robert Hewison (800m) and Ava O’Connor (1500m) are among those competing at the International Athletics Meeting of Nivelles in Belgium.

Cillian Kirwan (800m) and Cormac Dalton (5000m) will head to Track Night Vienna in search of fast times on Saturday.

Ronan McMahon-Staggs and Mark Milner (both 1500m) are on the startlist for Portland Track Festival while Charlie O'Donovan will compete at The Adrian Martinez Classic, both in the USA.

Eric Favors (Shot Put) will compete at the Johnny Loaring Classic, a Continental Tour Bronze meeting, in Canada on Sunday.

Other meetings

European 10,000m Cup winner Efrem Gidey is currently outside the quota spots for the World Championships. He is entered for the British Championships in Birmingham on Saturday where he’ll likely need to run faster than ever before to improve his Tokyo status. Jack O'Leary, Niall Murphy, Emily Haggard-Kearney and Emma McEvoy are also on the startlist.

The event is being run as part of the University of Birmingham Track and Field Festival, where Anna McCauley is also due to compete in the Heptathlon.

Next week's action will include Continental Tour action in Turku where Sarah Lavin will race the 100m hurdles, and both Andrew Coscoran and Cathal Doyle will race the 1500m; the UCD Athletics Meeting, and the Paris Diamond League where Sarah Healy is due to race the 1500m.

In case you need any reminders, the last time Coscoran and Doyle raced each other at either 1500m or the mile was that epic battle at the Morton Games in 2022.

This weekend is bookended by a Diamond League meet in Rome on Friday and a Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo on Monday, both featuring Irish athletes.

Between those two is a World Race Walking Tour Gold event in Spain, a Leinster Championship with some very strong fields; a busy British Milers Club meeting in Birmingham for the middle distance athletes; distance athletes racing 5000m in Paris; lots of 400m guys and girls in Belgium, and lots more besides.

Rome Diamond League: 1500m starts for Healy and Doyle

After her fabulous 3000m run in Rabat last month, Sarah Healy will be racing her first 1500m of the season at the Rome Diamond League on Friday evening. Healy is in the shape of her life, and it’ll be interesting to see how close she can get to Ciara Mageean’s national record in the coming weeks.

Doyle finished eighth, and was just outside his personal best from the Olympic Games in Paris last year, when he made his Diamond League debut in Rabat, and he’s been rewarded with another start in Rome. While a spot in Tokyo is almost assured given his healthy Road to Tokyo ranking score, the 3:33.00 qualification standard, just 0.15 faster than he’s ever run before, must surely be on his mind.

The Rome Diamond League will be shown live on Virgin Media 3 from 8-10pm on Friday night. The Men’s 1500m is due off at 8:16pm, while the women’s race is at 9:49pm.

Continental Tour Gold comes to Hengelo

After breaking his own Irish 800m record and taking the win at the last European-based Continental Tour Gold meeting a week ago, Mark English is entered for the FBK Games in Hengelo on Monday.

Paralympic medalist Orla Comerford is also due to race in the para-athletics 100m.

All Continental Tour Gold meetings can be viewed in Ireland via the World Athletics platform.

World Racewalking Tour Gold

David Kenny finished 11th in the 20km walk at the recent European Racewalking Team Championships. His time there was his second fastest ever, and he'll be hoping to go close to his 2022 PB of 1:19:44 when he takes to the streets of La Coruna on Saturday.

Matthew Glennon and Ciara Wilson-Bowen are entered for 10km races which are run alongside the highly competitive 20km events.

Continental Tour bronze and challenger meetings and other events abroad

Darragh McElhinney, Oisín Ó Gailín (5000m), Emma McEvoy, Danielle Donegan, Fiona Everard and Aoife O'Cuill are all on the startlist for the FAST5000, a series of track 5000m races in Fance on Saturday.

Several Irish athletes are entered for the British Milers Club meeting at University of Birmingham on Saturday evening, including Roisin Flanagan in the 1500m, and seven Irish athletes in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. Many athletes will be seaking European U20 and U23 qualification standards.

Victoria Amiadamen will race the 400m hurdles at the Meeting International de Limoges in France on Saturday, while Margaret Hayden is on the startlist at a hammer meeting in Germany on Sunday.

The FC Putbos Memorial Buyle in Oordegem (Belgium) has several Irish sprinters on the startlist.

Leinster Senior, U20 and Masters Championships

There is a bumper entry for the Leinster Championships, which will be held at SETU Carlow on Saturday and Sunday. While not all those on the entries will compete, there should still be a competitive men's 100m, where Sean Aigboboh, Paul Costelloe, Max O'Reilly, Michael Farrelly and Marcus Lawler are among the entries and the men's discus where the top three athletes in the country (Eoin Sheridan, Michael Healy and Padrig Hore) are all entered. Other standout athletes listed include Nichola Tuthill, Molly Scott, Saragh Buggy and Sarah Leahy.

Also...

We have listed several other Continental Tour meetings on our calendar page, most of which have livestreams, and we are awaiting some startlists for events on Sunday. 

And don't expect next week to look any quieter. Rhadisat Adeleke will race the 400m at the Oslo Diamond League on Wednesday, seven Irish athletes will compete at the NCAA Div 1 Nationals, and Cillín Greene, Nicola Tuthill and Ava O'Connor will compete in Finland, all before we get anywhere near a weekend.

Diamond League (Rabat), European Championship event (European 10,000m Cup), Continental Tour Gold (Zagreb), Continental Tour Silver (Track Fest), the largest Continental Tour Bronze event on the calendar (IFAM), NCAA Championships (Division II), Irish Olympians, champions and record holders competing, season openers for some athletes... If you like athletics, you're going to love this weekend.

Sarah Healy (3000m) and Cathal Doyle (1500m) will be competing at the Rabat Diamond League on Sunday. The event will be shown on Virgin Media 2 from 7-9pm.

Efrem Gidey is among the favourites for the men's title at the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France on Saturday. He will be joined by ÓisIn Ó Gailín, who will be making his Irish senior debut. The men's A race is due off at 20:30 and the event will be shown on the European Athletics Youtube channel.

After opening her season in Italy on Wednesday, Sharlene Mawdsley heads to Croatia for the Boris Hanžeković Memorial, a Continental Tour Gold meeting. Her 400m is scheduled for 15:30 on Saturday. There will be a free livestream.

Mark English (800m) and Andrew Coscoran (5000m) will be looking for fast times at the Sound Running Track Fest (Continental Tour Silver) in California. Their races will take place during the early hours of Sunday morning (04:05 and 04:50, respectively). However, you'll need a Flotrack subscription to watch them.

Almost 200 Irish athletes are entered for the IFAM meeting in Brussels, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The main programme races here carry Continental Tour Bronze points, and look set to feature, among others, Sarah Lavin, Sophie Becker, Kelly McGrory, Lauren Cadden, Rachel McCann, Sarah Leahy, Bori Akinola, Cillín Greene, Roisin Flanagan, Íde Nic Dhomhnaill, Cormac Dalton, Darragh McElhinney and Seán Tobin.

Nicola Tuthill is on a couple of startlists this weekend. She's entered, along with some of Ireland's top underage athletes, for the big throws meeting in Halle, Germany on Saturday and Meeting Forbach in France on Sunday. Both are Continental Tour Bronze events.

Israel Olatunde will race over 100m at the PURE Athletics Global Invitational in Florida.

Ava O'Connor is among the Irish athletes competing at the NCAA Div II Nationals this weekend. She qualified comfortably last night for Friday's 3000m steeplechase final.

A number of Irish U20 and U23 athletes are on the startlist for the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Bury. They will, no doubt, be chasing qualification standards for their respective European Championships later this summer.

At home, the Munster Senior, Master and U20 athletes will compete for provincial titles.

And, no doubt, there'll be a few athletes popping up elsewhere.

One thing is for sure; it'll be a busy weekend for the athletics fan.