Clodagh Walsh

The two-day Eugene Diamond League is the marquee event for international stars this weekend, but Irish age group athletes will be battling for national under-20 and under-23 titles in Tullamore on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, the quest for Birmingham qualification continues for Cathal Doyle, Finley Daly, Cillian Kirwan, Alex O’Neill, Eimear Maher, and others at various continental tour meetings around Europe.

Diamond League

The Prefontaine Classic/Eugene Diamond League is spread over two days, with all the Diamond Events taking place on Saturday. Among the star-stuffed fields are Sarah Healy (Mile) and Rhasidat Adeleke (400m).

After skipping the indoor season, Healy started her outdoor campaign with 5000m at the Rome Diamond League in early June and finished 11th in the 1500m (4:01.50) in Paris last Sunday. She has achieved the Birmingham standard for both distances, though will likely only contest the 1500m there, and will be looking for a confidence-boosting result in ‘Tracktown’.

The Dublin woman’s Mile personal best is the 4:16.26 she ran at the London Diamond League last July. That time places her 2nd on the Irish all-time list, behind Ciara Mageean’s 4:14.58 national record. Her opposition on Saturday includes World Record Holder Faith Kipyegon, Jessica Hull, Georgia Hunter-Bell, and Nikki Hiltz.

Adeleke will be racing in the 400m on Friday night (early Saturday morning Irish time). Though not a Diamond event, the startlist includes eight athletes who have broken 50 seconds for the distance. 2026 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion Dejanea Oakley, with a best of 48.79 from earlier this year, is the fastest in the field.

Adeleke is likely to need the 51.20 European Championship standard in this or one of her upcoming races to secure her spot in Birmingham, and five good results between now and the beginning of September (or a Diamond League final win) to make it to the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

Maddie Mooney, who ran a personal best of 4:11.32 in Portland two weeks ago, is tasked with pacing a high-quality women's 1500m on Saturday, ahead of some races in Europe over the coming weeks, 

The Diamond events will be shown live on Virgin Media Two from 9-11pm on Saturday. The women’s Mile is the penultimate event on the programme. The women’s 400m is at 4:37am on Saturday morning.

Continental Tour meetings

Doyle edged closer to Birmingham qualification when he ran 3:33.79 in the 1500m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb last Friday. He is now within quota for Birmingham, and just 0.29 off the qualification standard which would all but guarantee his place at the European Championships.

Bettering the 3:30.50 qualification mark will be one of his targets when he lines up at Meeting Stanislas Nancy (Continental Tour Silver) in Tomblaine, France, on Friday, ahead of races over 800m in Cork and the Mile in Santry next week.

The list of entries for Meeting National Est Lyonnais on Saturday includes four Irish athletes with at least one eye on Birmingham qualification.

Kirwan (800m) achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard in Vienna two weeks ago, but in what is a very competitive event, he may need to run the automatic qualification standard (1:44.80) to secure his spot in Birmingham (27 of the 32 spots available on the Road to Birmingham rankings are currently occupied by those qualified by standard or wild card).

Daly just missed the Athletics Ireland B standard in the 3000m Steeplechase at a BMC event in Birmingham at the end of May. In addition to bettering the 8:35.00 needed, he’ll also be looking to add ranking points to elevate himself within quota.

With lifetime bests faster than the Athletics Ireland B standard in their respective events, both Dunne (1500m) and O’Neill (800m) know that they have what it takes to make the team for Birmingham. With just a month of qualification remaining, they’ll be looking to replicate the form they showed in 2025, and pick up adequate ranking points along the way.

Saturday’s Meeting voor Mon in Polsstokgala, Belgium, lists a dozen Irish athletes among their entries, including some who are also entered for meetings elsewhere. We refer here only to athletes who are not listed on entries for other meetings.

Arlene Crossan, who has been in flying form so far this season, is due to race over 400m Hurdles. The Donegal woman ran a personal best of 57.95 in Brussels in May. Louis O’Loughlin, another athlete in personal best form this season and Amy O’Donoghue are all due to race over 1500m.

Maher, with a best of 4:08.67, and Jodie McCann, with a best of 4:08.34, will both have the 4:07.00 Athletics Ireland B-standard for Birmingham in their sights when they race at the X Ordizia Meeting - International Meeting Jose Antonio Peña in Spain on Saturday.

There are numerous Irish athletes on the startlists for The Pursuit 5,000m (Continental Tour Challenger) in Stirling, Scotland, on Saturday. In addition to the 5000m races, where Emily Haggard-Kearney, Faye Dervan and Jamie Battle are entered, the event also includes 800m races. Niamh Carr and Callum Hurley are among the leading Irish entrants at the shorter distance.

National U20 & U23 T&F Championships

Some of Ireland’s top developing talent will be on display at the National U20 and U23 Championships in Tullamore across the weekend. In addition to the national medals on offer, some of the under-20 athletes will be looking to secure their spot at the World Championships in Eugene next month.

Among the athletes who have achieved the required standards for Eugene (two for most events, one for 3000m, 5000m, walks, steeplechase and combined events), are Ethan Dewhirst and Des O’Neill (400m Hurdles), Saoirse Fitzgerald (800m), Gemma Galvin (1500m), Orlaith Manion (100m Hurdles), Ellis McHugh (400m Hurdles), Siún Quinn (High Jump), Cillian Gleeson (5000m), Dearbhla Allen (3000m Steeplechase), Seamus Clarke, Matthew Newell (5000m Walk), Enya Silkenna (Heptathlon) and Eoin O’Callaghan (Decathlon). All are entered, though not all in the event for which they have standards.

Sofia Grango (200m), Molly Daly, Erin Friel (both 400m), Pia Langton (800m and 1500m) and Mikey Kent (Long Jump) are among those looking for a second standard in the coming days.

Among the leading U23 athletes entered are Anna Gavigan (Discus), who isn’t a huge distance from Birmingham qualification, Max O’Reilly, Lucas Fadden, Sean Doggett, Fintan Dewhirst and Joe Doody in the sprints, distance athletes Neasa Ni Ainifein (1500m), Amy Greene and Heather Murphy (5000m), Aisling Lane (3000m Walk), Adam Nolan (110m Hurdles) and Conor Callinan (Pole Vault).

Patricia Jackman, who made her Irish debut at the European 10,000m Cup in May, is the lead entry in the National Senior 10,000m championships, which is being held as part of this event.

See the Athletics Ireland website for a more detailed preview of the event.

Elsewhere

Sommer Lecky (High Jump) and Clodagh Walsh (Pole Vault) are among the Irish entries for the England Athletics Senior and U20 Championships, which will run from Friday to Sunday in Bedford.

Nicola Sheridan (Marathon) and Grace Lynch (Half Marathon) are among the elite entries for the Gold Coast Marathon. The longer distance, which will take place on Sunday, is a World Athletics Gold Label race. The Half Marathon on Saturday, will incorporate the Oceania Half Marathon Championships.

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

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

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

NCAA Div I Nationals

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

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

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

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

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

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

Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior Championships

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere on Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday's action

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

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

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

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

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