Kate O'Connor

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.

If it feels like there’s been non-stop championship action year after year since Covid, that’s because there has been. And it’s not due to end just yet: 2025 will be the fifth consecutive year with a global senior outdoor track and field championship.

Indeed we’re still experiencing the knock-on effects of earlier Covid-related postponements, with both European and World Indoor Championships set for March.

Here’s a summary of the significant international athletics events scheduled for 2025, the majority of which will feature Irish athletes.

European Indoor Championships, Apeldoorn, NED, 6-9 Mar

The Dutch city of Apeldoorn will play host to the sold-out European Indoor Championships over four days in early March. Athletes will qualify by qualification standard or world ranking. Nine Irish athletes have already achieved automatic qualification standards. Both the Women’s 4x400m and the Mixed 4x400m relay teams are also qualifed, with the latter making its European Indoor debut in 2025.

It’s been six years since Mark English (800m) and Ciara Mageean (1500m) won Ireland’s last European Indoor medals. Ireland’s best result last time out was Darragh McElhinney’s fourth place in the 3000m. Phil Healy finished fourth in the 400m in 2021.

It’s not clear yet who’ll be racing indoors, how many members of the giant-slaying relay teams will be available or who has wintered particularly well, but it’s difficult to see Ireland going a third consecutive European Indoor championship without a medal.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes

European Throwing Cup, Nicosia, CYP, 15-16 Mar

The indoor season won’t even have concluded by the time the top throwers open their 2025 campaigns. A little bit of Mediterranean sun will help break up the winter training for those lucky enough to punch their ticket to the Cypriot capital.

Nicola Tuthill finished second in the U23 hammer at the past two editions, and may well be looking to go one better in her final year in the category, though she could instead opt to compete against the senior athletes. The ever-improving Oisin Joyce (Javelin) and Niamh Fogarty (Discus) are others who may be looking to make a mark at this level.

Event information
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish Athletes who have achieved consideration standards

World Indoor Championships, Nanjing, CHN, 21-13 Mar

Just two weeks after the European Indoors, the World Indoor Championships will be held in Nanjing, China. If you’re thinking it’s unusual to have two championships indoors, you’re not wrong, though it’s not completely unheard of.

China is a long way to go for an athlete early in what could be another long year. But an additional championship may offer a bonus opportunity for an athlete to get on an international rostrum, or to gain experience at this level. We will wait to see how many Irish athletes will make the trip. Rhasidat Adeleke, one of only two athletes currently qualified, has already stated that she'll be skipping both the European and World Indoors this year.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes

European Running Championships, Brussels-Leuven, BEL, 12-13 Apr

The European Running Championships, which will feature 10km, marathon and half marathon championship races, is making its debut this year. The event is being billed as a festival of running, and athletes of all levels can enter to compete alongside the elite athletes.

The 10km and half marathon will be run around the streets of Leuven. The marathon will start by the Royal Palace in the centre of Brussels, and make its way east, via Tervuren Park and the Royal Museum of Central Africa, to Leuven. The half marathon will be held on Saturday 12th April, while both the 10km and marathon races will take place the following day.

The marathon championship replaces the one traditionally held with the European Championships in non-Olympic years (last held in Munich in 2022), while the half-marathon was contested alongside the European Championships in 2016 (Amsterdam) and 2014 (Rome). This will be the first time that European championship medals will be awarded for 10km on the road.

Fionnuala McCormack finished seventh in the marathon in Munich, while Shona Heaslip in 34th was Ireland’s top half-marathoner in Rome last year.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish athletes who have achieved consideration standards

World Relays, Guangzhou, CHN,10-11 May

Last year the best teams were fielded in the first round of both the Women’s 4x400m and Mixed 4x400m. With Olympic qualification secured in both events, all the eggs were then placed in the mixed relay basket for the final, and the team set a (then) national record and won bronze.

Both those teams are ranked high enough to be guaranteed a spot in Guangzhou, but Ideally, the Men's 4x400m team would also qualify (they finished 2024 ranked 30th on the Road to Guangzhou, so they might just be one of the 32 teams invited). The men’s 4x100m team, currently ranked 37th, would require some withdrawals to qualify.

Fourteen of the teams for the World Championships in Tokyo will be chosen from the World Relays, the other two spots will be allocated to the next two best teams on time during the qualification window.

The Irish Women’s 4x400m are currently ranked fourth, so if two of the teams ahead compete in Guangzhou and finish top fourteen, then they’ll qualify regardless (presuming that teams are not going to run faster than the time Ireland did in the Olympic final between now and close of the Tokyo window). If the Netherlands, USA and Great Britain choose to skip World Relays, Ireland have a chance of finishing top 14 in Guangzhou without their strongest team.

The Mixed 4x400m team are currently ranked 5th. In theory, they could also qualify for Tokyo irrespective of their Guangzhou performance, but that would depend on at least three of the United States, Netherlands, Great Britain and Belgium taking automatic spots, and nobody else running faster than the 3:09.92 the Irish quartet ran on their way to the European title.

Event info
Athletics Ireland selection policy

European Race Walking Team Championships, Poděbrady, CZE, 18 May

After hosting the 2021 and 2023 editions of this biannual event, Lázeňský Park in Poděbrady will again host the European Race Walking Team Championships. The event, established in 1996, now includes senior men's and women's 20km and 35km races, and 10km races for U20 men and women.

The event provides individuals with a good opportunity to obtain qualification standards for the summer’s major events. Those finishing in the top 8 in the senior events also receive bonus placing points towards world ranking scores.

The team scores in the senior races are calculated by aggregating the positions of the first three finishers. The top two athletes per country count in the U20 team event. The Irish senior men’s 20km team (Alex Wright, Robert Heffernan and Cian McManamon) won bronze at this event in 2017.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish athletes who have achieved consideration standards

European 10,000m Cup, Pacé, FRA, 24 May

Similar to Poděbrady for the Race Walking Team Championships, Pacé in France will host the European 10,000m Cup for the third time, though the last edition was actually held alongside the European Championships in Rome last summer.

There will be A and B races in both men’s and women’s categories, with athletes seeded according to prior accomplishments. The addition of pacemakers allows athletes to avail of a rare opportunity to chase personal bests and championship qualification standards while surrounded by athletes of a similar ability.

A full Irish team competed in the men’s race in Rome last year, while Íde Nic Dhomhnaill and Shona Heaslip finished first and second respectively in the women’s B race in Pacé in 2023.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish athletes who have achieved consideration standards

European Team Championships, Maribor, SLO, 24-29 Jun

After a stunning team performance in the lowest division two years ago, Ireland are back where they belong in the second division of Europe’s international team competition. A lack of field event power has historically made it impossible to challenge for a place in the top division but, with growth there, 2025 will give some indication of whether or not further promotion is possible for the current generation.

The target, however, this year must surely be to solidify their place, and for athletes – particularly those in the field events – to gain experience at this level. And if everyone shows up, who knows, maybe we could all be surprised.

Ireland’s opposition in Slovenia will include the hosts Slovenia, Austria and Israel who were promoted with Ireland in 2023, Belgium, Turkey and Norway, who were relegated from the top division last time, along with Romania, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia, Croatia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Latvia.

Event information
Athletics Ireland selection policy

European U23 Championships, Bergen, NOR, 17-20 Jul

Nicola Tuthill, Nick Griggs, Elizabeth Ndudi and Oisin Joyce are just some of the Irish athletes who’ll be eligible to compete at the 15th edition of the European U23 championships in Norway in July.

Tuthill finished 4th in 2023, and has improved her best by almost two-an-a-half metres, made a European Senior final, and competed in the Olympics since then. Griggs and Ndudi both European U20 champions, and Joyce, a World U20 medallist, will also be looking for medals, should they choose to compete.

Irish athletes have had much success at European U23 Championships in recent years. Sophie O'Sullivan, Sarah Healy, David Kenny, Eilish Flanagan and Nadia Power have all won medals since 2019; of those, only Healy had won won a European medal at U20 level.

Event website

FISU World University Games Summer, Rhine-Ruhr, GER, 21-27 Jul, 2025

It’s not clear yet if Ireland will send a team to the biannual, multi-sport event for students. The athletics programme, which will be held in Lohrheidestadion in Bochum, starts the day after the European U23 championships conclude in Bergen.

European U23 Championships will likely be the priority for those who are eligible for both, but athletes like Nicola Tuthill could easily compete in Norway and Germany. Others, for example Sophie O’Sullivan and Jack Raftery, would be eligible for World Universities but not European U23s.

Ireland didn’t send a team to the last edition in Chengdu. Marcus Lawler won 200m bronze six years ago, 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.

Event website

European U20 Championships, Tampere, FIN, 7-10 Aug

While senior athletics is very much our focus here, it’s difficult to ignore the main under-20 competition of the year. The European U20 Championships is always a good chance to watch some of the up-and-coming talent. The athletes always look like they’re having fun, and with all events shown live and for free on the Eurovision Sport site, it’s an easy event to follow.

Elizabeth Ndudi (gold LJ) and Nick Griggs (silver 3000m) made the podium in 2023. Indeed, 10 Irish athletes have earned 12 medals at European U20 level since 2017. Of those athletes, Griggs, Kate O’Connor, Sarah Healy, Darragh McElhinney and Rhasidat Adeleke have since gone on to compete in global senior championships, with John Fitzsimons also competing at European Senior level.

Irish athletes won five medals at the European U18 Championships in 2023, and some of the athletes who competed at World U20 Championships last year are still eligible, so there’ll be no shortage of talent this time either.

Event information

World Championships, Tokyo, JPN, 13-21 Sep

While there will be plenty to keep the keen athletics fan entertained all summer, they’ll have to wait until September for the ‘big dance.’

Over nine days, the world’s best athletes will compete in the Japanese capital for 49 World titles. Ireland’s last World Championship medal came in 2013 (Rob Heffernan, Gold, 50km walk), and only five Irish athletes have ever won medals at this level. With four near misses in the last two global majors, surely the Irish are due a bit of luck.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes

World Road Running Championships, San Diego, USA, 26-28 Sep

While this event may not feature an Irish team, all three Championship events (mile, 5km and half marathon) will be run alongside mass participation events, so anyone can enter.

This will be the first time either the World Half Marathon Championships, or the now-expanded World Road Running Championships, will be hosted by the USA. No Irish athlete has ever won a medal at this event.

Event website

European Cross Country Championships, Lagoa, POR, 14 Dec

After the long trip to Asia for last year’s event, Europe’s premier Cross Country event returns to the Western extremity of mainland Europe, and the Algarve town of Lagoa.

Ireland had a breakthrough performance the last time the event was held in Portugal (Lisbon, 2019), when Efrem Gidey (U20) and Stephanie Cotter (U23) won individual bronze medals and both the U23 and senior women’s teams won silver.

In the four editions since then, Darragh McElhinney (U23 silver, 2021), Nick Griggs (U20 silver, 2022; U20 bronze, 2023; U23 silver 2024) and Dean Casey (U20 bronze, 2023) have added individual medals. The U20 men, U23 men and senior women have also earned six sets of team medals between them.

It’s a long way until December and predicting who’ll be competing and challenging for medals is near impossible, but one thing we can be assured of is a big and vocal travelling group of Irish supporters.