Cian McPhillips

To say that 2025 has been a record-breaking year for Irish athletics is an understatement. With several Irish records broken, World and European medals won indoors and out, and curses broken, it was a memorable year for many.

Irish athletes won 25 International medals, from European Youth Olympics right up to World Senior Championships, this year. While there have never been as many international events at which athletes can win medals, this still makes 2019 (14 medals) and 2005 (13 medals) look mediocre years. As recently as 2016, Irish athletes won just three medals on the international stage. There were no international medals at all for Irish athletes in 1996.

Years, too, have passed in which no national senior records were broken. This year, the record books have been comprehensively rewritten.

Here we share some of the data and quirky statistics behind the 2025 season of dreams.

Championship success

After hitting the crossbar at the previous two editions, Irish athletes won not one, but three medals at the European Indoor Championships, courtesy of Sarah Healy (gold, 3000m), Mark English (bronze, 800m) and Kate O’Connor (bronze, Pentathlon).

Irish athletes have twice before won three medals at a European Indoor Championships (2009 and 2013), but on both occasions, all three medals were bronze. Healy is Ireland’s first female champion at this event. English’s medal took his European championship haul to five (a silver and two bronze indoors, two bronze outdoors).

Just two weeks later, O’Connor won Ireland’s first World Indoor medal in 18 years when she finished second in the pentathlon in Nanjing.

If the European Indoors didn’t indicate that 2025 was going to be a very good one for Irish athletes, then a small event in Nicosia a week later provided additional evidence that at least the nerdiest of athletics enthusiasts will have taken notice of. Five athletes travelled to the Cypriot capital for the European Throwing Cup, and three won medals.

After two consecutive silvers in the U23 Hammer, Nicola Tuthill won gold, Anna Gavigan took silver in the U23 Discus, while 2024 World U20 medallist Oisín Joyce won bronze in the U23 Javelin, placing Ireland equal third on the medal table, behind Germany and Italy. The five aforementioned medals are the only ones ever won by Irish athletes at an event held annually since 2001.

Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m) became the fifth Irish female to win an NCAA Track and Field title. Herself and Sonia O’Sullivan became the first Irish mother/daughter pairing to do so. And speaking of mother-daughter duos, NCAA 800m champion Roisin Willis (USA) is the daughter of 2000 Irish Olympian Breda Dennehy-Willis.

Efrem Gidey became not just the first Irish athlete to win a European 10,000m cup title, but the first to win a medal of any colour at this event. 

Four Irish athletes won five medals at the European U23 Championships, the most ever won by an Irish team at this event (two was the previous best return). In winning the 10,000m, Anika Thompson became only the second Irish athlete to win gold at this level (after O’Sullivan’s 1500m win in 2023), and she became the first Irish athlete to win more than one European U23 medal at a single edition when she added bronze in the 5000m three days later.

In winning silver in the 5000m, Nick Griggs brought his tally of individual European underage medals (track and field and cross country) to six (at the time). He also has three European Cross Country team medals.

O’Connor won Ireland’s fifth World University title in Germany (the previous champions are Ronnie Delaney, Sonia O’Sullivan, Niall Bruton and Thomas Barr). None of the eight athletes who competed for Ireland in 2025 finished outside the top 12.

Twenty athletes competed in individual events at the World Championships in Tokyo. They, along with two relay teams, made a total team of 27, the largest ever to represent the country at a World Championships (the athletics team for the Sydney Olympics, where 32 athletes competed, is the largest Ireland has ever sent to a global Championships).

The silver medal won by O’Connor in Tokyo is only the seventh ever won by an Irish athlete, and is the first in an event that isn’t either a middle distance race or a racewalk. O’Connor’s medal was also Ireland’s first global senior outdoor medal (World Championships or Olympics) since 2013.

In winning bronze in Lagoa, Emma Hickey became Ireland's first ever U20 medallist - team or individual - at the European Cross Country Championships (Linda Byrne, the only Irish athlete to have ever finished top 10 in all three age categories, finished 4th U20 in 2005, and the team finished 4th in both 2025 and 2008).

Nick Griggs became Ireland's most successful athlete at this Championship when he added U23 Individual and Team titles to the six medals (three individual and three team) he'd won at the previous four editions. He became Ireland's first male individual champion, and the first Irish athlete to win an underage title (the other three individual titles have all come in the senior women's race via Catriona McKiernan in 1994 and Fionnuala McCormack in 2011 and 2012). Griggs, Callum Morgan, Niall Murphy, Jonas Stafford and Loughaidh Mallon, won Ireland's third Men's U23 team title.

The senior men ended a twenty-five-year drought when they won team silver. Brian Fay and Cormac Dalton, who were both on the teams that finished fourth in Dublin (2021) and Brussels (2023), were joined by Jack O'Leary (Ireland's second-highest ever finisher in the senior men's race), Darragh McElhinney and Efrem Gidey.

Breaking actual records

O’Connor broke the national indoor Pentathlon record twice and the Heptathlon record twice. She has added 899 points to the latter since it was last held by someone else (Elizabeth Morland, 5815, 2018). Morland and O’Connor both competed at the European Junior Championships in Grosseto in 2017, where Morland finished fifth, in a then National senior record of 5801, and O’Connor, then just 16, finished eighth.

English broke the indoor 800m record twice and the outdoor record three times, before Cian McPhillips went on to break the latter twice in Tokyo. Together, they knocked 2.38 seconds off English’s previous mark from 2024, with English becoming the first Irish athlete to break 1:44 and McPhillips the first to break 1:43.

The Irish marathon record, previously held by Stephen Scullion, was broken three times in 12 months (Hiko Tonosa, 27 Oct 2024; Peter Lynch, April 2025; Fearghal Curtin, 18 October). Curtin’s time, subject to ratification, also betters John Treacy’s 1988 performance of 2:09:15 in Boston (no longer a record-eligible course), as the fastest time all conditions by an Irish man.

The Half Marathon record also received multiple revisions in the past 12 months. The record set by Gidey in September 2024 (1:00:51) was equalled by Tonosa in January, before being broken by Curtin in September (1:00:22).

Bori Akinola ran the fastest all-conditions 100m by an Irish man in London in June (10.10w; +2.9), before Israel Olatunde bettered that with a wind-legal 10.08, also in London, in September.

The men’s 4x100m squad of Michael Farrelly, Akinola, Marcus Lawler & Olatunde bettered the 25-year-old national record in Geneva in mid-June, before a slightly altered squad (Sean Aigboboh in for Akinola) went on to better it at the European Team Championships just a week later.

Niamh Fogarty broke one of the longest-standing records in the books (only Marita Walton-Lanigan’s shot put record from 1982 has stood for longer on the women’s side) when she launched the discus 58.40 metres in Romona, Oklahoma on 27th April, bettering Patricia Walsh’s mark from 1984.

Healy and Coscoran were on record-breaking rampages early in the Indoor season. Healy set new marks at 1500m before twice bettering her own 3000m record, while Coscoran ran new marks at 1500m, mile and 3000m. His mile time from the Millrose Games was also faster than the outright mile record.

Gidey broke both the 10,000m and 10km records. He knocked more than 12 seconds off Alistair Cragg’s 2007 mark in the former. In the latter, he shaved 3 seconds off Treacy’s mark from 1985.

In addition to the above, Diarmuid O’Connor set a new indoor Heptathlon record, while the women’s 4x100m team set a new mark outdoors.

Irish records

On the circuit

Sarah Healy became just the third Irish athlete – after Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adeleke - to win a Diamond League race when she won over 1500m in Rome on 6th June. She also finished in the top three in Rabat, where she ran 8:27.02 for 3000m and edged closer to Sonia O’Sullivan’s 31-year-old national record; in Rome, where she narrowly missed out on another 1500m win, and in London, where she ran 4:16.26 for the mile. She finished eighth in the final in Zurich.

In total, six athletes (Adeleke, Brian Fay, Cathal Doyle, Healy, English and Coscoran), competed in Diamond Disciplines at Diamond League meetings this summer, compared to eight last year. Healy was the only one to qualify for the Diamond League final.

Shauna Bosquet and Orla Comerford competed in para-athletics events held as part of the Diamond League programmes, with Comerford taking wins in the mixed category 100m in Stockholm and Eugene. It was at the Diamond League in London that the women’s 4x100m relay team broke the national record.

English won Continental Tour Gold meetings in Bydgoszcz, Hengelo and Beijing, and finished 2nd in Budapest.

The other Irish athletes to compete at Continental Tour Gold level this summer were O’Sullivan, Fay, Sharlene Mawdsley, Doyle, Jodie McCann, Coscoran, Sarah Lavin and Darragh McElhinney. In total, 11 athletes competed across the two top divisions of circuit meetings.

There was a World Indoor Tour Gold win for Coscoran (3000m, New Balance Boston), who also won the 3000m and finished 2nd overall in the Men’s Long-Distance category at the Miami Grand Slam Track meeting.

Top lists

With so many national records being set, and numerous athletes achieving number two all-time status, the national leads look mightily impressive at the end of the season, especially when, as we’ve done, indoor and outdoor performances are combined.

While many of those holding the national leads at the end of the season are unsurprising, a couple are less obvious.

Adeyemi Talabi was the fastest Irish woman over 100m this season, and Lucy-May Sleeman was the second fastest. With both calling an end to their season in June after a busy NCAA season, neither featured on the team which broke the 4x100m record in July.

The Irish women’s 100m all-time list had a major update in the space of just 24 hours in May as Talabi moved to 5th, Sleeman to 6th and Lauren Roy to equal 10th.

Doyle’s 3:32.15 is the national leader over 1500m, as World Championship finalist Andrew Coscoran never bettered the 3:33.40 national indoor record he set in February. Doyle and Coscoran are among the few top Irish athletes who have not yet achieved the automatic standard for the European Championships in Birmingham next year.

National leads

Where they stand at the end of the day

McPhillips (800m), O'Connor (Heptathlon) and Gidey (10,000m) all end the 2025 season at the top of the European performance lists. Healy is second for both 1500m and 3000m. Based on World Rankings, both Healy (1500m) and O'Connor (Heptathlon) are top-ranked Europeans right now.

At World level, O’Connor is second on both the rankings and the performance (top) list. Others in the top 20 on the World Rankings are Healy (6th 1500m), English (12th 800m), McPhillips (14th 800m), Adeleke (15th 400m) and Tuthill (20th Hammer).

On the performance lists, Healy is 14th at 1500m, 3rd at the mile and 11th over 3000m. McPhillips was the 5th fastest in the world over 800m, while English was 20th. Coscoran was 11th fastest over 3000m.

National Championship statistics

At 153 consecutive editions, the Irish Senior Track and Field Championships continues to be the longest-running national championships in the world.

Kate Veale (5000m Walk) won her sixth consecutive title (and 11th in total). There was a fifth consecutive title for Lavin (her 10th national 100m hurdles title in total), Sean Mockler (Hammer), and Michael Healy (Weight for Distance). English also won his 10th Senior 800m title. Saragh Buggy, who has been peerless in the triple jump for nearly a decade, had her nine-year-win streak broken, reinforcing just how incredible Terry McHugh’s 21 consecutive javelin titles (1984-2004) are.

Indoors, Buggy won her ninth Triple Jump title, Michaela Walsh (Shot Put) and Veale (3000m Walk) each won an eight consecutive title, while David Kenny picked up a fifth consecutive title in the 5000m Walk. At the other end of the scale, 2005 is the last time someone successfully defended a pentathlon title, with 10 different winners in the last 10 editions.

The Men’s Cross Country championship has had a different winner in each of the last ten editions.

More fourths

The most shocking thing about the Irish success at the European U23 Championships was less that they won 5 medals, and more that nobody finished fourth.

Those who did finish 4th this year: Lavin (60m hurdles, European Indoors); Gidey (Half Marathon, European Road Running Championships); Matthew Newell (5000m Walk), Thomas Williams (Hammer) and the Women’s Sprint Medley Relay at European Youth Olympics; Jack Raftery (400m, World University Games), Precious Akpe-Moses (200m, European U20 Championships) and McPhillips (800m, World Championships).

Other random facts and figures

In finishing 9th in the Marathon in Tokyo, five-time Olympian Fionnuala McCormack achieved her highest ever placing at a global event. Her second highest, 11th place in the steeplechase in Osaka, came 18 years ago. McCormack has now represented Ireland 46 times at senior championships. She only needs two more appearances to draw level with Terry McHugh, Ireland’s most capped athlete.

Five Irish athletes (Healy, English, Lavin, Becker and Coscoran) completed the Tokyo-to-Tokyo track and field streak (i.e. competed in the two Olympic Games, three World Championships and two European Championships from Tokyo 2020 to Tokyo 2025, inclusive).

After the fifth round of the hammer final at the World University Games in Germany, Tuthill was in the silver medal position with a best of 68.46m. Eighteen years earlier, Eileen O’Keefe won World University Games silver in the hammer with a best of 68.46m. Tuthill improved to 69.98m in the final round, securing the silver medal but undoing what would have been the stat of the year.

McPhillips’ 800m run in the World Championship final earned him 1532 World Ranking points (1262 for the time and 270 for placing 4th), the most achieved by an Irish athlete since the World Rankings were introduced in 2020. However, Coscoran’s indoor mile time, worth 1273 points on the World Athletics tables, is the best scoring performance ever by an Irish athlete.

English has competed at seven consecutive World Championships (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025); all at 800m. Phil Healy has competed at five consecutive European indoor Championships. Cormac Dalton and Danielle Donegan completed the Portugal to Portugal Euro Cross Country streak, having completed in all six editions from Lisbon 2019 to Lagoa in 2025.

Brian Fay became the first Irishman to finish top 10 in the senior men's race at Euro Cross on more than one occasion. He just pipped Cormac Dalton, who finished 11th in Lagoa, to that particular honour. Anna Gardiner competed in the U20 race at Euro Cross for the fourth time, the first Irish athlete, we believe, to do so. Emma Hickey not only won Wexford's first medal at Euro Cross, but we also believe that she is the first Wexford athlete to ever compete at the event (Wexford athletes have competed at World Cross in the past).

The 2:12:11 run by Paul O'Donnell in finishing 3rd (behind David McGlynn 2:11:01 and Ryan Creech 2:11.46) at this year’s Dublin Marathon is the fastest time ever needed to make the men’s national championship podium.

What next?

2025 has been a record-breaking year on many fronts. With World Indoor Championships, European Championships, Commonwealth Games, and many other events due to take place, 2026 could see more silverware coming the way of Irish athletes.

Twenty-five medals in 2025 has a very nice ring to it, and while hoping or expecting 26 in the year ahead might be a bit too optimistic, one can't help but feel that this is just the beginning of a golden era of Irish athletics.

We’ll keep you informed of who has achieved standards and who sits within quota for the various events, who wins medals, and what records are broken. But we also hope to inform you of some of the less obvious achievements and statistics.

References: The information in this article has been compiled using competition results and data from the World Athletics rankings and toplists; the Athletics Ireland toplists and roll of honour documents, and various other online sources.

Original article published 1 Nov 2025; updated 23 Dec to include the European Cross Country Championships results and statistics.

The 20th World Athletics Championships will start in Tokyo this Saturday, 13th September. More than 2200 athletes, representing almost 200 countries, will compete for 49 World titles across the nine days of competition.

Among them will be 28 Irish athletes, 21 of whom have qualified in individual events, along with teams in the Women’s 4x400m the Mixed 4x400m relays.

Irish participants

While medals are not expected, the Irish team boasts plenty of experience, including World University Games Champion and World Indoor medallist Kate O'Connor (Heptathlon), and her fellow European indoor medallists Mark English (800m) and Sarah Healy (1500m).

Andrew Coscoran made the semi-final of the 1500m at the Olympic in Tokyo in 2021 and Cathal Doyle made the semi-final in Tokyo last year. Both will be looking to advance beyond the heats. Coscoran is entered for the 5000m, his first major championship at this distance, alongside Brian Fay and Darragh McElhinney, the two fastest Irishmen ever at the distance.

This will be English's 7th World Championships. He will be joined in the 800m by Cian McPhillips, who'll be competing at his first. Laura Nicholson is another new to competing at this level, and she'll be taking on her first major championship alongside Healy and Sophie O'Sullivan in the women's 1500m.

Efrem Gidey will be competing in the 10,000m, also his first taste of World Championship competition, after breaking the Irish Record and winning the European 10,000m Cup earlier this year.

Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) ran a National Record of 12.62 to finish 5th in the semi-finals in Budapest two years ago. She'll hope to get somewhere close to that form when she takes to the track next week.

Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker are both due to race in both the mixed and women's 4x400m relays, but are also on the startlist for the 400m. The European Championship qualification time - 51.20 - should either hit it, would be a welcome bonus heading into the winter.

Oisin Lane, another at his first global senior championships, will open the Irish account in the 35km walk, the very first competition of the Championships in the early hours of Saturday morning. 2021 Olympian David Kenny will be competing at his third World Championships in the 20km walk.

Fionnuala McCormack, Ireland's most capped female athlete and a five-time Olympian, hasn't competed at a World Athletics Championships since her steeplechase days in 2011. This time she'll be competing in the Marathon. Irish record holder Peter Lynch and former record holder Hiko Tonosa will contest the men's marathon.

Having finished 13th in Budapest and 14th in Paris, O'Connor will be looking to break into a global top-10 for the first time. In the form of her life this season, the Irish record again stands danger.

Nicola Tuthill is edging ever closer to Eileen O'Keeffe's national Hammer record, and that's the sort of mark that would see her make the final. Multi-events aside, Ireland have not had a field event finalist at global level since Deirdre Ryan finished 5th in the High Jump at the World Championships in 2011. 

Irish Shot Put record holder Eric Favors, now a regular at this level, completes the individuals.

Rachel McCann, Jack Raftery, Conor Kelly and Cillín Green join Mawdsley and Becker on the Mixed 4x400m relay squad, while McCann, Cliodhna Manning, Michelle Duggan and Jenna Breen complete the women's 4x400m relay squad.

Following the action

To help you follow the action, we’ve put together an Irish-specific timetable, which we will update throughout the competition as Irish athletes qualify through to semi-finals and finals of their respective events.

We’ll also keep you up to date with all the ways you can watch and follow the action.

Field-a-Team: Tokyo

If you’d like to get more involved with the action in Toyko, you might consider taking part in Field-a-Team: Tokyo, our fan-engagement competition.

Unlike traditional prediction competitions, athletes in your team will score points simply by finishing in the top 8, and you just have to predict the medallists in 14 events, not all 49.

The winner will be the player whose team has accumulated the most points. There will be no prizes, except for the honour of being the first TrackAthletes World Championship Field-a-Team winner!

Other news

Irish teams have been selected for two other global events that start later this month. Thirty-three athletes are due to compete at the World Mountain Running and Trail Running Championships in Canfranc, Spain, from 25th to 28th September. They’ll be led by seasoned internationals Zak Hanna and Sarah McCormack.

Three Irish athletes will compete at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, India, from 27th September to 5th October. Three Irish athletes have been selected. Orla Comerford (100m and 200m) and Greta Streimikyte (1500m) will compete in T13 events, while Lana Sutton (100m and 200m) will compete in the T38 category.

Qualification for next summer's European Championships and Commonwealth Games has already begun. We'll keep these up to date right until the close of qualification next summer.

As we wrap up our first track season, the TrackAthletes team would love your feedback on the site. We are very grateful for all the generous donations we received over the past few weeks. If you didn’t get a chance to donate, and would like to do so, you can do so here.

As some of Europe’s top Under 20 Championships reach the climax of their seasons, senior athletes will be taking what could be a final shot at Tokyo qualification, while some of the province’s top talent will be on display at the Northern Ireland and Ulster Championships.

European Under 20 Championships

A team of 38 Irish athletes have travelled to Tampere in Finland for the European U20 Championships, where the male one-lap athletes will be particularly hopefully of medals. Conor Kelly is the fastest European U20 this year, and him and his teammates have also run the fastest 4x400m time in Europe this year.

Times, however, mean little at underage championships, where tactical nous and putting in a big performance on the day can lead to breakthrough performances and unexpected medals.

Either way, expect four action-packed days – all available to watch on Eurovision Sport.

Oordegem awaits

Saturday's IFAM Oordegem has a particularly strong entry – both from Ireland and further afield - for a Continental Tour Bronze meeting.

The men’s 5000m boasts 6 athletes with personal bests of 13 minutes or better – the ideal standard for Nick Griggs and Darragh McElhinney who are chasing Tokyo spots. That’s assuming they make it into the A race. Efrem Gidey, Cormac Dalton and Callum Morgan are also entered at this distance.

There is the chance of another head-to-head between Mark English and Cian McPhillips over 800m (English said after his win at Nationals on Sunday that he was heading back to altitude before worlds, but his name appeared on the entries here earlier this week).

Newly minted National 400m champion Sophie Becker (400m) is another whose name only appeared this week. Other one-lap entrants include Cliodhna Manning and three of the top four from the men’s race last Sunday (Chris O’Donnell, Ciarán Carthy and Andrew Egan).

Ciara Neville will be looking to build on recent momentum. She is entered for both the 100m and 200m, as is National 200m Champion Marcus Lawler.

Alex O’Neill (800m), Laura Nicholson (1500m) and Roisin Flanagan (5000m) all still have outside chances of making the team for Tokyo. Nicholson, who already has the Athletics Ireland B standard, will be looking for enough points to maintain her precarious spot within quota, while O’Neill and Flanagan first need to secure the respective standards of 2:01.00 and 15:22.00.

Seán Donoghue, Shane Bracken and Lughaidh Mallon are among those entered in the 1500m, a particularly strong event for the Irish men at the moment.

Other Continental Tour meetings

Irish athletes will be competing across a handful of other Continental Tour Bronze and Challenger meetings over the coming days.

Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) is the sole Irish athlete on the startlists for the Serbia Athletics Meeting on Thursday where she will be looking for another positive performance.

National bronze medallist Andrew Thompson (800m) and Paralympian Greta Streimikyte (1500m) are among the Irish entrants for the final British Milers Club Grand Prix in Trafford on Saturday.

Brian Fay (3000m) is on the most recent startlist for the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna on Sunday and Cathal Doyle will race the 1000m in Białystok (Poland) on Saturday.

Northern Irish and Ulster Senior Championships

While some are likely not to compete, entries for the Northern Ireland and Ulster Championships includes Sean Aigboboh (100m), Callum Baird (100m, 200m), Orla Comerford (100m, 200m), Sarah Leahy (100m), Kate O’Connor (200m, 100m hurdles), Rachel McCann (200m), Kate Doherty (400m), Anna McCauley (100m Hurdles, Long Jump), Lauren Callaghan (Long Jump), John Kelly (Shot Put) and Anna Gavigan (Discus Throw).

At close of play on Sunday, there will be just two weeks left in the Tokyo qualification window. Dreams could be very well made, or broken, this weekend.

The National Senior Championships will get August started, and the Diamond League final will draw it to a close. The European U20 Championships will take place in Tampere (Finland) from 7th to 10th, and athletes not yet guaranteed their spot in Tokyo will be making a last-ditch effort to pick up ranking points and achieve standards before the close of the qualification window later this month.

National Championships

The Irish Senior National Championships will be held in Santry stadium on 2nd and 3rd August. Irish titles are always highly coveted, and some exciting racing is guaranteed. We’ve highlighted elsewhere some of the events and athletes to look out for.

Both days of the National Championships will be shown live on the Athletics Ireland Youtube channel. The 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m track finals will be shown live on RTÉ 2 from 5:00-7:30pm on Sunday evening.

Diamond Leagues

While the season may feel like it’s drawing to a close, there are still regular-season Diamond League events in Silesia (16th August), Lausanne (20th August) and Brussels (22nd August), as well as the final in Zurich on 27th and 28th of August.

Startlists are not yet available for any of these events, but we know that Sarah Healy has already done enough to qualify for the final in the 1500m and that she will race both that and the Silesia meeting. She has had an outstanding year already, and has picked up four top-three finishes in the earlier meetings this season.

Diamond League events are shown on Virgin Media.

European U20 Championships

A very strong Irish team will head to Tampere in the coming days for the European U20 Championships. Conor Kelly and the men’s 4x400m relay team, both at the top of the 2025 European U20 rankings, are among those with medal aspirations.

Sean Doggett (400m) and Cormac Dixon (3000m, 5000m) and others will be looking for top 8 finishes. Ireland have qualified teams in all four relays, ensuring that many athletes will be exposed to competition at this level for the first time.

All sessions of the championship will be shown live and on demand on Eurovision Sport.

Continental Tour Meetings

The penultimate Continental Tour gold of the 2025 season, the Gyulai István Memorial/Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix will take place in Budapest on 12th August. Among the world starts announced to date are Femke Bol, Mondo Duplantis and Miltiádis Tentóglou. While it’s not yet known if any Irish athletes will be joining them, this promises to be one of the best meetings of the year. Continental Tour Gold meetings tend to be shown on the World Athletics streaming platform.

The Continental Tour silver meetings in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia) on 8th August and Bern (Switzerland) on 16th August, will offer final opportunities for athletes to boost their Road to Tokyo rankings before the end of the qualification window. We’ll update these meetings with Irish athletes if and when any are named on the startlists.

IFAM Oordegem (Belgium) on 9th August (Continental Tour Bronze) promises to be a busy one for Irish athletes, and may be a last-chance opportunity for some to make the team for Tokyo. Nick Griggs, Darragh McElhinney, Efrem Gidey, Jack O’Leary, Cormac Dalton and Roisin Flanagan are all entered for 5000m. Shane Bracken and Seán Donoghue are listed for the 1500m, while Cian McPhillips, Emma Moore and Alex O’Neill are all down for the 800m. Athletes entered for the 400m include Jack Raftery, Cillín Greene, Chris O’Donnell, Cliodhna Manning, Arlene Crossan and Kelly McGrory.

The final BMC Grand Prix (Continental Tour Challenger) will be held at Trafford on 9th August and is likely to feature Irish athletes.

Among the current entries for the Continental Tour Challenger Meeting voor Mon in Belgium on 16 August are Chris O’Donnell (200m, 400m), Lauren Cadden (400m), and Nick Griggs and Shanee Bracken (1500m).

Other events

Irish athletes will be looking for fast times, big jumps and long throws, and to make the most of late-season form, at a number of meetings in the UK over the coming weeks. With the qualification window now open for next summer’s European Championships in Birmingham, there’s still much to play for.

Indeed, entries for the Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior (open) Championships include a number of athletes who’ll be looking to make the Northern Ireland team for Birmingham. Kate O’Connor and Anna McCauley have both already secured the consideration standard in the heptathlon. O’Connor is entered for the 200m and 100m hurdles while McCauley is due to compete in the long jump and 100m hurdles.

Other notable entries include Sean Aigboboh (100m), Callum Baird (100m, 200m), Orla Comerford (100m, 200m), Sarah Leahy (100m), Rachel McCann (200m), Lauren Callaghan (Long Jump), John Kelly (Shot Put) and Anna Gavigan (Discus Throw).

The Stratford Speed meetings have been a happy hunting ground for Irish athletes in search of fast times, and it was at the August edition of last year’s series that Israel Olatunde set the national 100m record. Early entries for that event this year (17 August) include Olatunde, along with Michael Farrelly, Sean Aigboboh, Molly Scott, Ciara Neville and Sarah Leahy.

Ireland’s top pole vaulters this season – Conor Callinan and Clodagh Walsh – are both among the Irish entries for the Vault Manchester Summer Series meeting on 6th August.

A number of Irish athletes broke personal bests at the British Milers Club Record Breakers meeting at Tooting Bec last year, and some may return for mid-week action there on 20th August.

Two big half marathons towards the end of the month will herald the start of the autumn road racing season. The Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Larne on 24th August is attracting some of the biggest global names in endurance running with Greffory Kamworor and Joshua Cheptegei among those expected to start. Less than a week later, the National Half Marathon Championships will take place in Tullamore. Both races should feature strong domestic fields.

Before then, Peter Lynch, Barry Keane & Fearghal Curtin, three of Ireland's top road runners, are due to compete at the Beach to Beacon 10km in Cape Elizabeth (USA) on Saturday 2nd August.

The sometimes complicated, often cumbersome system of qualification by ranking points was first introduced for the 2020 Olympics. As we reach the three-and-a-half weeks to go point on our second trip along the Road to Tokyo, it’s worth taking stock of who is still on the journey, what they still have to do, and what impact this weekend’s National Senior Championships might have.

The basics

While, for the majority of events, qualification standards from 1st August 2024 have been acceptable, rankings are calculated for a 12-month period, so only performances between 25th August 2024 and 24th August 2025, in addition last year’s European Championships (most recent global championships) and Olympic Games performances, can contribute to an individual’s ranking score.

The relatively generous placing points available for National Championships (classified as category B events, the same as Continental Tour Silver meetings), means that results on Saturday and Sunday could have a significant impact on final rankings.

The often-tactical distance races at National Championships, however, means that the performance scores are sometimes so low that no matter how many additional points are on offer, they’re not going to improve an individual’s score.

And while athletes might be excited by the potential boost that a win in a fast time (or long distance) might give their ranking, they should remember that athletes from most other countries are also benefiting from relatively easy access to category B points this weekend.

For the past two years, the National Championship weekend fell right at the close of the qualification window, so it held particular significance for those still seeking Auto Qs, B standards and ranking points.

This year, athletes will still have three weeks to pick up points and get themselves within a quota spot for Tokyo, but there is an ever-diminishing number of opportunities to do so. Few athletes who do not already have the Auto Q will be invited to any of the remaining three regular-season Diamond League meetings, or the Continental Tour Gold (Cat A) meeting in Budapest.

Continental Tour Silver (Cat B) meetings in Slovakia and Switzerland may provide further qualification opportunities, as would an outstanding performance at any of the half-dozen or so remaining European-based Continental Tour Bronze meetings.

Irish athletes already selected and qualified

Irish athletes who benefited from last Summer’s Olympics being included in the qualification window include Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley, Sarah Healy, Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Lavin who all achieved the standard in Paris.

Andrew Coscoran (1500m) achieved the required mark indoors and Mark English, Cian McPhillips (800m) and Cathal Doyle (1500m), as well as Adeleke in the 200m, did so earlier this summer. Barring injury, there isn’t currently any reason why these athletes shouldn’t all be on the plane to Tokyo.

The women’s 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay both secured their spots at the World Relays in early May. Results in the 400m races this weekend may well help determine the makeup of these teams.

Marathon runners Hiko Tonosa, Peter Lynch and Fionnuala McCormack were all within quota at the end of the qualification window for that event, and have already been selected for Tokyo.

Athletes within quota, with the B standard

In addition to obtaining a quota invite from World Athletics, Irish athletes must also have achieved the B standard set by Athletics Ireland, or be selected for a relay team (i.e. already be on the plane), to be selected for the Irish team.

Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon), ranked 13th with 24 places available is the best placed of all the Irish athletes currently within quota. With few multi-event competitions still to take place, she is all but guaranteed her spot in Tokyo.

Nicola Tuthill (ranked 22 in the Hammer, with 36 places available) is almost certain to join her. Unlike O’Connor, who will now turn her attention to individual disciplines, Tuthill does still have the opportunity to improve her ranking score; the win on Sunday with a throw in the region of 68 metres would do just that.

It would appear that David Kenny (20km Walk) and Oisin Lane (35km Walk) have also done enough to secure their place in Tokyo. They are ranked 47th and 32nd, respectively. While Kenny is due to race the 10,000m on Saturday, he is unlikely to improve his ranking, as the event, not being a championship distance, only carries category D status.

The men’s 5000m is potentially interesting from an Irish perspective. Brian Fay currently sits in 36th position, with 42 places available. Not all the athletes ahead of him will choose to do the 5000m in Tokyo, but there may well be athletes who have not yet completed the required three events or have a 'dud' performance to drop from their score, and who will shoot up the rankings after their national championships or one of the subsequent meetings.

Fay is entered for the 5000m on Sunday, but in addition to winning he would need to run 13.17, or faster, to improve his ranking. Either way, he currently looks like the most likely of the Irish to make Tokyo.

Coscoran, has indicated that he would also like to make it to Tokyo in 5000m as well as the 1500m. He currently sits in 38th place in the longer event.

Should he choose the 5000m on Sunday, the win in 13:51 would improve his placing (his highest score is much higher than Fay’s and his lowest score is much lower). The win and anything faster than 13:43 would see him overtake Fay in the rankings.

Athletes not within quota, with the B standard

While this group of athletes, which includes Sophie Becker, Jack Raftery and Laura Nicholson, need points rather than a specific performance, a good performance would help maximise the points they get and the likelihood of gaining one of those coveted quota spots.

Having been injured for part of the season, Becker is currently 10 spots outside a quota space. While she would need to win in 50.67 (which would be inside the Auto Q anyway) or faster to make the quota cut-off next week, the win and anything faster than 53.85 would improve her score ahead of other race opportunities. The win, of course, is not guaranteed.

To date, Raftery has completed sparingly during the qualification window, and while this 44.98 personal best at European Team Champs earned him 1221 points, his three lowest scores (1143, 1107 and 1100,) will all need to be upgraded dramatically if he has any chance of making the individual event.

The win on Sunday in 45.69 (the time he ran in the World University Games final) would see him still needing two performances worth 1245 points to make the leap currently required. That would probably require a couple of Diamond League starts. A time in the region of his 44.98 personal best on Sunday would make the work required in the coming weeks a little more achievable.

Nicholson hit the Athletics Ireland B standard early in the NCAA season. The World Championships may not even have been on her mind at the time. With 56 quota spots available, an increase on previous championships, Nicholson may have an easier task than most to make the team.

The win, and something in the region of 4:13 would give her enough points to be within quota as things currently stand, and while results elsewhere are likely to raise that bar, she may benefit from withdrawals and non-selections of athletes ahead of her.

Israel Olatunde (100m) has considerable work to do if he has any hope of making the quota cutoff. If he has Tokyo aspirations, he’ll be hoping for a 2.0 m/s following wind on Sunday, helping him to the win in a very fast time; multiple withdrawals from the Road to Tokyo rankings; and maybe even a Diamond League start or two later in August. Tokyo is not impossible, but it certainly seems unlikely.

Despite racing the 1500m this weekend, Darragh McElhinney still has the opportunity to make Tokyo in the 5000m. He is due to race that distance in Oordegem, Belgium on 9th August. While he has already hit the Athletics Ireland B standard, he may need to run faster again to get inside the quota.

Efrem Gidey is just 4 spots outside the quota for the 10,000m. With no 10,000m this weekend; Gidey is set to race the 5000m. He’ll be hoping that results at National Championships elsewhere don’t scupper his chances of making the team for Tokyo and that he benefits from withdrawals and non-selections of athletes from other federations.

Jenna Bromell has run inside the Athletics Ireland B standard for the 800m, but has struggled to get in the races required to achieve the required ranking. Indeed, she’ll need both the heats and finals this weekend just to meet the required five performances. A place in Tokyo is therefore unlikely.

Luke McCann (800m) and James Dunne (1500m), who have the required B standards are both currently injured, and Sophie O’Sullivan, who has the B standard in the 800m, is likely to focus on the 1500m.

Athletes in quota without the B standard

Eric Favors has spent the last month picking up ranking points, moving from just outside quota, to four spots inside it. It now appears that all he needs to do is get the Athletics Ireland B standard of 20.40.

Favors set a new season’s best of 20.05 in his most recent competition, and will be looking to improve further on Saturday. He’ll then return to the US where he’ll have some final opportunities to achieve the standard if he hasn’t already done so. His PB and Irish record is 20.93 from April last year.

Jodie McCann made the 2024 Olympics at 5000m, but appears to be focusing on the 1500m this season. Her best performance of the season - 4:09.18 run indoors in February – is short of the 4:08.00 Athletics Ireland B standard. McCann’s PB is 4:08.34 from February 2024.

Others

A small number of other athletes have an outside chance of still making the team. Nick Griggs is probably the most likely of those. He doesn’t have a B standard, and would likely need to hit the Auto Q (3:33.00) to make it to Tokyo in the 1500m.

He’s more likely targeting the 5000m, which, like McElhinney, he’s due to race in Oordegem. There, he would need the win, and to go well inside the 13:18.00 B standard to have any hope of making the quota.

Of course, any athlete who hits the Auto Q would no longer need to worry about ranking points.

And so...

As things currently stand, 17 individuals and two relay teams would make it to Tokyo. The team may grow (or shrink) slightly over the next three weeks, but the situation is unlikely to change dramatically, at least until withdrawals are made. Either way, we'll keep the status of Irish athletes on the Road to Tokyo updated over the coming weeks.

Note: all calculations and references to quota cut-offs are based on the current points needed. These points will increase based on results at other national championships this weekend, and other meetings over the coming weeks, though there will be retired athletes, athletes qualified in multiple events, injured athletes, athletes serving doping bans and athletes not likely to be selected by their national federation taking up spots in the current quota allocation. Athletes will move up once these athletes have been withdrawn at the close of the qualification period.

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

This 2025 World Indoor Championships will take place this weekend in the Chinese city of Nanjing. Six Irish athletes are due to compete, including recent European Indoor medallists Sarah Healy (3000m) and Kate O’Connor (Pentathlon).

A proud history

Across the previous 20 editions, Irish athletes have won nine individual medals - in track events from 60m hurdles to 3000m - as well as a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m in 2004.

Marcus O’Sullivan and Frank O’Mara have five world indoor titles between them, with O’Sullivan winning the men’s 1500m in 1987, 1989, and 1993, and O’Mara taking 3000m golds in 1987 and 1991.

Indeed, 1987 - the second time the event was held - was a particularly successful edition for the Irish, with Paul Donovan also taking silver behind O’Mara.

Sonia O’Sullivan (3000m silver in 1997) won Ireland’s next medal, and the most recent in the middle distances.

Paul McKee won bronze in the 400m in 2003; Rob Daly, Gary Ryan, David Gillick and David McCarthy won the historic relay medal in 2005; and Derval O’Rourke took the 60m hurdles title in 2006.

With 10 medals, including six titles, in the first 21 years of the competition, Irish athletes have now gone 19 years without a World Indoor medal.

Irish contenders

Unlike the European Indoors, we have no outstanding medal contenders, but Healy and O’Connor certainly have an outside shot at making the podium. Andrew Coscoran (1500m; 3000m), sixth at European Indoors, could finish higher here than he did in Apeldoorn.

Sarah Lavin (60m Hurdles) - Ireland’s highest individual finisher in Glasgow last year with fifth place - will be looking to continue the progress she showed at European Indoors, and will, at the very least, be looking to finally get into the 7.8s.

Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m), the only member of the team not to have competed at the European Indoors will come here with fresh legs, while James Gormley (3000m) will look to build on his first experience of racing in the green.

Indoor running has come a long way since 1987, so double-gold is a lot more difficult to achieve these days. That said, Irish athletics is in a much better place that it was nine years ago, when a team of just one was send to the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland.

How they got here

Athletes qualified for Nanjing based on performance (either Auto Q or by being next best on the toplist) or Wildcard, apart from the multievents, where athletes qualified by world ranking, and the relays for which any country could enter a team.

The target was to fill approximately half the fields with Athletes who had achieved the Auto Q, either indoors or outdoors, since 1st September 2024. In most track events, however, approximately a third of the final entries are made up of those who hit Auto Qs, and for the field events it is far fewer.

Up to two qualified athletes from each country can compete in each event, in addition to a maximum of one wild card entrant per country – which is awarded to the current year’s World Indoor Tour winners.

Because of the protracted build-up to this event, World Indoor Tour winners from 2019 and 2020 (subject to showing current form) were also eligible for a Wild Card this time around.

The remaining places were allocated based on the next best performances – achieved indoors or out – during the qualification window. Some events, most notably the women’s 400m, have not met their target quota, and both relays will be straight finals.

Of the Irish team, Healy, Coscoran and Lavin all achieved the Auto Q indoors and O’Connor qualified via her ever-improving world ranking. O’Sullivan, thanks to an outdoor performance earlier this year, was just outside the quota at the close of the qualification window. Herself and Gormley, who was a bit further off the cut-off, both made the team when withdrawals of other athletes moved them within the quota.

Mark English and Cian McPhillips were both named in the selected team, but have been forced to withdraw due to illness and injury respectively.

Other Irish athletes were within the quota at close of qualification (or close enough to be moved up), but had either ended their season or had not achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard.

And so, we have a team of six. Can they add to Ireland’s medal tally?

How we got here

Is a second major indoor championship in the same season unusual I hear you ask? Yes, it is, and it certainly wasn’t the original plan, but it is not completely unheard of.

The European Indoors, which predated the World Indoors, began life as an annual event, and continued thus, even after the World Indoor Championships were introduced in 1985. The first three editions of the biannual World Indoor Championships therefore ‘clashed’ with European Indoor years, before the continental decider was also reduced to a biannual event.

European and World Indoor Championships are now normally held in alternative years, but Covid-related cancellations are still having an impact on the global athletics schedule.

Nanjing was originally due to host the event in 2020. The event was pushed back to 2021, later cancelled, and then to 2023. Belgrade hosted the 2022 event, but Chinese pandemic regulations meant that the Nanjing event was again delayed.

In the meantime, Glasgow (2024) and Toruń (2026) had already been awarded future editions, but World Athletics were keen to keep the Chinese onside, particularly since the venue – Nanjing’s Cube – was purpose-built for the event. And so, they added the event to the 2025 calendar.

Nanjing essentials

Nanjing, a city of approximately 9.5 million people is located in the Yangtze River Delta, approximately 300 kilometres west-north-west of Shanghai.

It is recognised as one of the four Great Ancient Capitals of China – alongside Beijing, Luoyang and Xi-an – and was one of the nation’s most important cities for more than a century.

Nanjing hosted the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games.

How to follow

We’ve shared some useful information on how to follow on our World Indoor Championship page, including a timetable of when Irish athletes are competing and details of how to watch.

Because China is eight hours ahead of Ireland, the morning sessions will be in the very small hours, while the evening sessions will be late morning/lunchtime our time. The field events - all straight finals - are spread across morning and evening sessions, so fans of the jumps and throws may wish to bank some extra hours sleep in the next few days.

It's been an epic six weeks tracking the route Irish athletes took to Apeldoorn. Some came into 2025 with the Auto Q already secured and many hit it in their first competition of the year. Others had plenty of ranking points, but needed the Athletics Ireland B standard to be selected. 

A few hung out around the quota cut-off for the past few weeks, knowing (or at least hoping) that there would be some withdrawals. And here we are with a team of 19. This is a summary of how each individual and team qualified for Apeldoorn.

Bori Akinola (60m) was sitting in or around the cut-off mark coming into the season, and once he nailed the Athletics Ireland B standard (6.65) at the National League on 19 Jan he was all but assured his place, given the number of athletes ahead of him on the Road to Apeldoorn who were unlikely to compete. Akinola’s silver medal at last summer’s National Seniors made up a big chunk of his final ranking score, along with his win from National Indoors and that 6.65 from the national league. Two rounds of the UCD Track and Field Meeting in June were enough to complete Akinola’s Apeldoorn-qualifying score.

Sharlene Mawdsley (400m): While her place by ranking was never in doubt coming into the season, Masdsley made things straightforward when she achieved the Auto Q in her first race of the season in Glasgow on 2 Feb. Her 51.69 that day was an indoor personal best, and her fastest time of the season so far.

Lauren Cadden and Rachel McCann (both 400m) were selected for relay teams in Apeldoorn and therefore did not need to hit the Athletics Ireland B standard. They took the final two slots on the Road to Apeldoorn (Cliodhna Manning and Arlene Crossan were next in line for a place). Like Akinola, both Cadden and Manning benefited from the podium finishes at last summer’s National Senior Championships and the placing points that it, as a Category B event, carried. But most importantly, they had enough outdoor performances (at least 3) to have a ranking score. Both will be making their senior individual debut in Apeldoorn.

Mark English (800m), a regular in high-scoring races, rarely struggles to gather ranking points. He was already sitting pretty on 1240 points when he ran the Auto Q (and smashed the Irish record in the process), at the Millrose Games on 8 February. English, a two-time medal-winner at this event, goes into Apeldoorn ranked third of the field on season’s best.

Cian McPhillips (800m) looked to have a mountain to climb when sitting in 48th place. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, he ran 1:45.33 – an outright PB, second on the Irish all-time list, and most importantly the Auto Q for Apeldoorn. McPhillips is ranked fifth by season’s best among the field.

Cathal Doyle (1500m) seems to love just missing Auto Qs, and the Road to Apeldoorn has been no different; the 3:37.00 standard just alluding him on this occasion. He did, however, achieve the B standard on 7 Feb and thanks to three Category A top 4 finishes, a swift Olympic semi-final result, and another fast category C podium finish, Doyle amassed a massive ranking score of 1289 points. That’s almost 200 points more than was needed to make it on quota.

Sarah Healy (3000m): Because she had raced no 5000m races outdoors last season, Sarah always needed the Automatic qualification standard of 8:48.00. She achieved that in Boston in her first race of the season where she broke the Irish record, and improved it a week later in New York. Her time then - 8:30.79 – ranks her second by time among the Apeldoorn field. Sarah did also achieve the Auto Q for the 1500m, but has opted for the longer distance in Apeldoorn.

Jodie McCann (5000m): Having chased ranking points for the 5000m in Paris last summer, Jodie had a good chance of making Apeldoorn on ranking, so long as she achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard. She achieved that on 4 Feb, and while sitting in the last of the 24 slots the week before the window closed, she was well within the quota once withdrawals were made. McCann’s final ranking was made up of the same three performances that got her to the Olympics.

Andrew Coscoran (3000m), like Healy, needed the Auto Q, and that he delivered in his first outing of the season, with an impressive win and national record-shattering 7:30.75 in Boston. The following week Coscoran broke the Irish 1500m and mile records, but, like Healy, has chosen the longer distance in Apeldoorn. He is ranked third in the field on time.

James Gormley (3000m): A former British junior international, the first step for James was to gain his Irish eligibility, which happened in November last year. James hit the Auto Q in Boston on 14th February to secure his place.

Sarah Lavin (60m hurdles): has been making a habit of getting qualification out of the way early, and she achieved the required standard (8.00 seconds) at the World Indoors in Glasgow last March, within the first week of qualification for this event.

Kate O’Connor (Hepathlon) surpassed the Athletics Ireland B standard for Apeldoorn with her best heptathlon performance last summer, and she came into the indoor season sitting just inside the quota spots. Her 4683 national record on 2 February, however, bettered the Auto Q.  She is one of only three of the field to do so this season.

The Mixed 4x400m and Women's 4x400m relay teams both qualified by time, thanks to their Rome and Paris performances respectively. Netherlands, as hosts, were guaranteed a slot in each relay, the next three teams were decided based on 2024 toplist, and the final two slots in the 6-team finals were allocated based on cumulative times of a country’s best 4 performers this indoor season.

Orla Comerford (PA 60m) will also compete in Apeldoorn, European Athletics having added two Para Athletics events to the programme.

The 1500m (and its imperial near-equivalent, the mile) is a wonderful distance. Fast and furious, slow and tactical, or steady with a gradual and sustained burn-up, it is always exciting, but especially where there are championship medals on the line. 

The standard doesn’t always have to be elite for races to be interesting, but with the maximum six spots filled at both the Olympics in Paris and the World Championships in Budapest, Ireland is currently experiencing a golden age of metric milers.

And over the past five years, we’ve been treated to some particularly special 1500m and mile races, involving Irish athletes, at home and abroad.

These are some of our favourites.

Who even won this one?

Robinson versus Tobin, Irish National Senior Men’s 1500m final, 23 August 2020

A few weeks later than originally planned, the 2020 Irish Championships stretched out over two weekends in late August. Fans were banned. Coaches watched through the gate from Santry Park. With additional Covid-19 restrictions in place in Kildare, some athletes couldn’t even make it to north Dublin. And with Olympic qualification suspended, there were no world ranking points on offer.

Deprived of athletics action for much of the preceding six months, the average athletics fan would have watched snails race on a treadmill by this point; some probably already had. The athletes, too, were desperate to make the most of every available race opportunity. And Athletics Ireland dearly wanted to maintain the unbroken streak of national championships, which stretches back to 7 July, 1873. 

Any sort of racing would have sufficed; a race finish going viral (still too soon, perhaps?) across the world was more than anyone could have wished for.

The men’s 1500m, which concluded session five on the first weekend, featured two names we’d already heard a lot about, along with one we were to hear more of in the future.

Paul Robinson won the national indoor 1500m title in 2011 and made his senior debut over the distance at the European Championships in Helsinki in 2012. He competed in the 800m at the World Championships in Moscow in 2013, after winning the national 800m title, and was fourth over 1500m at the European U23 Championships, set an Irish U23 1500m record of 3:35.22 (which stood until July 2024) and finish ninth in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships. 2014 picked up where 2013 left off, with new personal bests over 1,000m (2:17.93); mile (3:54.77), 3000m (7:58.56) and 5000m (13:54.34) and a fabulous fourth place at the European Championships in Zurich. At just 23 years of age, the future looked bright for Robinson and Irish middle-distance running. 

Also in 2014, aged just 19, Seán Tobin, clocked 3:59.91 to become the youngest Irish athlete (at the time) to break four minutes for the mile. He won his first national senior title, over 1500m, in 2017, the year he set his still-standing 1500m (3:41.80) and mile (3:57.00) personal bests. Tobin competed in the senior race at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships and the 2017, 2018 and 2019 European Cross Country Championships. His 10th place finish in 2018 made him the first (and, to date, only) Irish male athlete to ever finish top 10 in both the Junior/U20 and Senior races at Euro Cross. He also competed at the 2019 European Indoor Championships, over 3000m.

Andrew Coscoran, five years Robinson’s junior, was just starting to make waves. He made his senior international debut at the European Team Championships in 2019, and ran 3:37.98 indoors in February 2020. He was the reigning national senior indoor champion, and was looking to add his first national outdoor title, after silver in 2019.

***

Tobin shot into the lead approximately 50 metres in, and led through 400m in around 58 seconds. Coscoran, who had initially tried to follow, was by then 5 metres back, leading the chase.

Tobin continued to push the pace, and build the lead, into the wind. By 800m, reached in around 1:58, the gap was a good 20 metres, Robinson now the one trying to bridge the gap.

Tobin’s lead over Robinson was down to about 10 metres with a lap to go, Coscoran a further 15 or 20 metres behind.

With 300m to go, it was still Tobin, with Robinson about the bridge the gap. 

Both really wanted to win.

Both had a little bit of speed in the arsenal.

Watch what happened next without spoilers here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtsPqWFaXOE

A bit like the famous 10,000m finish between Paul Target and Haile Gebresalise at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, watching this back it’s easy for the mind to think that there’ll be a different outcome: that the hunted will be easily slain on that home straight, that the hunter, the one with the 1:45.86 800m speed, poised with 100m to go, will easily glide past. We’ve watched championship races before. We know how this ends.

But the race-watching mind doesn’t know everything.

Tobin rallied. A National title was important to him too.

They strained. They leaned. Only the photo finish could decide this one.

Two hundreds of a second separated them in the end.

Entertainment we were all long overdue. 

Relive the race from the start here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsv_LRD346c&t=6732s

Robinson, for the record, did get the nod, but it hardly seems to matter now who won; they’ll both be remembered for their part in what was a truly memorable race, one where winning was all that mattered.

Coscoran, the future Irish record holder, completed the Dublin Track Club sweep, and probably picked up a thing or two about close finishes that day. He made the Olympic semi-final the following year.

Tobin went on to win the 10,000m title on the second weekend of the championships. He ran a marathon in Antarctica in 2022, and he made the Irish team for the 2024 European Cross Country Championships, but injuries mean that we have, as yet, to see his full potential. Could 2025 be the year?

Robinson’s career, thwarted by injury after 2014, continues to ebb and flow. He ran 3:36.57 in February 2024, a reminder of what could have been.

Cian McPhillips, who finished fifth, went on to win the European U20 championships in 2021. He too knows all too well the burden of talent and the frustration of injury.

Athletics is anything but predictable. Perhaps that’s what makes it so appealing.
 

Morton Mile Classic

Coscoran, Doyle and the rest, Morton Mile, Morton Games, Santry, 2 July 2022

The gun went. Australian Callum Davies sat in behind the pacemakers. Andrew Coscoran followed. The rest were strung out behind. There was even a fall. A typical paced circuit affair.

Until it wasn’t.

With 650m to go they all started getting involved. Darragh McElhinney was the first to close up and slot in behind Coscoran. Then went Nick Griggs. Cathal Doyle and Shane Bracken followed. With 400m to go Irish athletes filled 2nd to 6th place. With 250m they were all queueing up; getting into the ideal position from which to strike. 

Coscoran, the fastest on paper. Doyle, who stunned everyone in the 1500m at the National seniors the previous week. McElhinney, a 5km specialist, with a decent kick. Griggs who ran Coscoran close over the same distance indoors. Bracken, the national 1500m silver medallist; he too with a serious turn of pace.

We were definitely in for a treat, and not of the plain jelly and ice-cream variety. This was an assiette à dessert of Michelin quality.

With 200m to go, they were four abreast behind Davies, each trying to measure their effort to perfection. None of them ready to show their cards just yet. Corscoran eventually pulled alongside Davies with 150m to go. Doyle made his move around the outside. McElhinney was wedged between them at this point, his normally sublime stride looking strained against the shorter-distance men. But he wasn’t giving this one up without a fight.

They were still four-wide into the home straight.

Then Doyle and Coscoran pulled clear. North Dub versus North Dub. Shoulder to shoulder. Stride for stride. Coscoran, first, looked to have the edge. Then Doyle levelled and inched ahead. The finish line was coming, but not quick enough. Doyle leaned. Coscoran dived. Nobody wanted to call this one.

There was a visible buzz around the track. The lads had put on a great show. The perfect finale to the 2022 Morton Games. Irish athletes would fill the top three places. Five had run under 4 minutes. But who’d won? Doyle’s supporters were celebrating. Rushing onto the track to congratulate him. He didn’t look sure. Coscoran too was waiting.

And eventually the result appeared. Coscoran had edged this one; 3:57.09 to Doyle’s 3:57.11.

Coscoran looked full of energy. Buoyed by the win, chatting, reliving the dive.

Doyle looked utterly sickened. The sweet smell of victory now the sour aftertaste of defeat.

Andrew Coscoran, here’s your big fancy trophy. Cathal Doyle, thanks for taking part.

Watch the race here!

The rematch to match all rematches

Healy v O'Sullivan, Irish National Senior Women’s 1500m final, 30 July 2023

Just a week ago they finished a metre apart in first and second at the European U23 Championships. Now Sophie O'Sullivan and Sarah Healy have to do it all over again, this time for the Irish Senior title.

Three and three-quarter laps of the track. Two in-form athletes. One national title.

O’Sullivan is looking for her first national title.

Healy is looking for revenge.

After an exceptional afternoon of finals, the Santry crowd are looking for blood. Metaphorically at least.

O’Sullivan and Healy ease ahead off the line, both doing just enough to get in front, from where they can dictate things. 

O’Sullivan slots into the lead. Healy in behind her. The rest of the field settle in to get the best view they can of this one too. 

Through 300m in 53 seconds, and the leading two have almost a 10-metre lead. The stage is all theirs.

Just before the 400m mark (reached in 71 seconds), Healy lengthens her stride and moves ahead of O’Sullivan, quickly building a three-metre lead. 

By 700m, the pace still quick, O’Sullivan has closed the gap.

2:14 through 800m. A 63 second lap. 

By 1000m the pace has slowed again. Healy still leading. O’Sullivan sitting on her shoulder.

They’re at least 80m ahead of the rest through the bell, but they’ve both slowed again.

Healy holds the inside line. O’Sullivan comes right up on her shoulder. They almost bump.

They’re jogging now.

Watching for each other’s next move.

We’re more used to seeing this sort of thing at the velodrome.

A 72-second lap.

280m to go. O’Sullivan makes a move.

Healy responds immediately. And decisively.

She has a clear gap with 200m to go.

5 metres clear with 100m to go. Looking majestic.

O’Sullivan is working hard. She’s closing on Healy down the home straight. 

But Healy finds a little more.

She takes the title. 

4.11.9 on the clock.

That’ll do.

The crowd is in shock.

They’ve never seen anything like this.

Long live this rivalry.

Watch the race here!

Bonus video: Mageean v Healy, European U23 Championships

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MNtlrVcVTg

Man down, by two

Doyle versus Griggs, 2024 Irish National Senior Indoor Men’s 1500m final, 18 Feb 2024 

With many athletes closely matched in standard and finishing speed, we’ve had some very, very special head-to-heads in recent years. Being involved in a close finish, particularly if there’s a dive or two involved, is the badge of honour the current generation seem to chase. And when it comes to the impact of diving finishes, one athlete in particular springs to mind.

Cathal Doyle started 2024 with a growing reputation for winning races. Just a week after losing out in a close finish to Andrew Coscoran at the Morton Games in 2022 (a race he ran with a broken wrist following a dive earlier that summer), he won the mile at the Cork City Sports. He later added the 2022 and 2023 National Senior titles to his growing resume.

Success at European age-group championships means that Nick Griggs, still a teenager, has been a household name since 2021. He made the Senior World Championships in 2023, picked up his second individual European U20 Cross Country medal in December, and officially graduated to the senior ranks in January 2024.

Both were on the verge of the big-time. Both had Paris in their sights. But first, both very much wanted to win a national indoor title.

After a chaotic start, Philip Marron took the lead. The main protagonists sat in fourth and fifth, Doyle on the rail, Griggs slightly more involved. With others happy to take on the pace, it remained the same through the first kilometre or so, as they rattled off 400m splits of 65 seconds, 65 seconds, and then a 58 through 1200m.

Griggs went into third with 600m to go; not so much a move, as merely paying more attention. Doyle followed. 

There were seven athletes closely bunched with 300m to go. Now Doyle took closer order. Griggs followed.

Doyle edged into the lead at the bell. Griggs, ever so slightly adrift, responded.

With 100m to go, they’d got a gap on the rest of the field. 

Doyle straining; Griggs chasing.

Doyle was still leading into the home straight. Griggs had to go wide, off the bend, and into lane two, ready to pounce.

Doyle put the head down, seemingly willing the line forward. 

Griggs too was leaving it all out on the track.

Two athletes giving it everything they had.

Neck and neck.

Just a few more metres.

Stride.

Lean.

Dive.

Both of them did their best Superman impression across the line, providing an additional obstacle for the rest of the field.

Griggs was smiling; whatever the result he knew they’d entertained.

Doyle was grimacing… and holding his wrist. 

Watch the race here!

Doyle won the precious title, and then spent the following weeks with his wrist, again, in a cast. 

Once the outdoor season got underway, he went in search of championship qualification. First up was European Championships in Rome. 38 athletes achieved the standard: 3:36.00. But there were only 32 places. His ranking score was good, but was never going to be good enough. He needed the Big Q. And he got close. 3:36.02 in Karlsruhe on 11th May; 3:36.32 in Andujar on 17th May; 3:36.14 in Brussels on 26th May. Close, but ever so far.

But there was still Paris and the Olympics to aim for, and next race out he ran 3:34.31 in Nice. Another PB (3:34.09) followed in Turku three days later; his first continental tour gold win. Then a third national senior title. And on 2nd July, confirmation that he was within quota for Paris. 

Griggs, meanwhile, did make Rome; a 3:35.90 PB in Chorzów on 18th May good enough for the Auto Q.

He didn’t amass enough points for Paris though. Instead, he rewrote the Irish U23 record books: 13:13.07 for 5000m in Santry on 12th July; 7:36.59 for 3000m in London on 20th July; And then, on 24 July in London, another 1500m PB; 3:35.04 good enough to finally eclipse Paul Robinson’s 11-year-old mark.

What might 2025 hold for these two?

Some more exciting races we hope.

But, please, no more broken wrists.
 

Patience is a virtue

Mageean versus the rest, European Championships women’s 1500m final, 9 June 2024

Ciara Mageean had never won an international title. She’d finished third at this event in 2016. In 2018 she was fourth. She won silver at the most recent edition in 2022. She also had a bronze medal from the European Indoor Championships in 2019. Silver too from Commonwealth Games. But she’d never won a title. And then she finished fourth at the 2023 World Championships.

Would 2024 be her year?

It didn’t start out that way. An injury picked up when setting the World Parkrun best in Belfast in December, and some further niggles, meant she didn’t open her 2024 season until 25th May.

But a new Irish 800m record of 1:58.51 and a win over 1500m in Ostrava, indicated she was very much in shape; and in the absence of defending champion Laura Muir, very much the one to beat in Rome. 

***

One by one the athletes are being called onto the track.

Agathe Guillemot (FRA); Ireland’s Sarah Healy; Katie Snowden (GBR); Marta Pérez (ESP);Yolanda Ngarambe from Sweden; Jemma Reekie (GBR); Nele Weßel (GER); Salomé Afonso (POR)… All running out, and sprinting down to the start line.

Ciara, walks out, calm as you like, acknowledges the crowd. If she’s bricking it, it certainly doesn’t show.

The gun goes, Reekie sprints to the front and takes the lead position on the rail. Georgie Bell, the third Britain in this race, slots in beside her. Guillemot sits on the rail right behind these two. Mageean is towards the outside of lane one, just behind Reekie and Bell. With Snowdon just behind, she’s surrounded by Brits. 

And so it stays.

67.7 through the first 400m.

Mageean sits in.

As you were through 800m.

2:16.3; a 68.7-second lap.

Still Mageean waits.

1,000m in. 

Mageean holds.

Reekie and Bell put the foot down 20 metres or so before the bell. Mageean spots the danger and follows.

It’s Reekie and Bell, neck and neck, through 1200m in 3:19.0. Mageean is still tucked in right behind. 

No panic.

How can she be so damn calm?

Guillemot, who missed the break at the bell, is chasing the leading three.

200m to go. Mageean could easily go wide. She doesn’t.

They crown the bend. Still Mageean waits.

120m to go. Reekie and Bell are still just in front. Mageean is still stuck to them like glue, but Guillemot is to her right now, blocking the way out.

There’s five or six metres between these four and Healy and Pérez in fifth and sixth. 

110m to go. Mageean needs some space. It’s clear now that she’s got the pace. But she's boxed.

Has she waited too long?

100m to go. The slightest bit of daylight appears between Reekie and Bell. Mageean ever so gently nudges her way through.

Reekie is fading.

Mageean is pulling away.

Bell and Guillemot chase hard.

The line is coming.

Nobody can catch her now.

A champion at last.

***

Patience is a virtue.

But anyone who watched Mageean race that night knows it’s much more than that.

And racing is sometimes easier than watching.

We all know that now too.

Full race with introductions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHExtUEGsD0