Nicola Tuthill

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Picture Credit: Eric Bellamy

World Athletics Profile
IUAA Profile

Country: Ireland

Counties: Cork

Clubs: U.C.D. A.C.

Universities: University College Dublin

Events: Hammer Throw

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Personal Bests

Hammer Throw 72.73 28-06-2026

Season's Bests

Hammer Throw 72.73 28-06-2026

Senior Championship Teams

Year	Championship	Location	Event	Result
2026	European Throwing Cup	Nicosia, Cyprus	Hammer Throw (Women)	Silver; 72.48 PB
2025	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	Hammer Throw (Women)	11th ( 69.49)
2025	FISU World University Games	Bochum, Germany	Hammer Throw (Women)	Silver (69.98)
2024	Olympic Games	Paris, France	Hammer Throw (Women)	8th in group
2024	European Championships	Rome, Italy	Hammer Throw (Women)	9th (69.09)
2023	European Team Championships	Chorzów, Poland	Hammer Throw (Women)	2nd (67.85)

Achievements

2026

European Throws

Hammer Throw Silver

2025

National

Hammer Throw Champion

2024

National

Hammer Throw Champion

Upcoming Events

25 Jul - 26 Jul 2026 - National Senior T&F Championships (Ireland)

Category: Irish Domestic, Championship (B)

Website Timetable Startlists

Results Live Stream

Championship Qualification Status

Nicola has qualification standards for the following championship(s):

European Championships 2026 - Birmingham

Qualification Standard: Hammer Throw (Women) - 72.73

Articles

Morton Games all set to start the weekend with a bang

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 09, 2026

After an exciting evening in Bishopstown mid-week, the continental tour rolls into Santry on Friday, where the Morton Games will kick-start another exciting weekend of athletics.

Abroad, middle distance athletes will be racing at the Watford BMC, many of the sprinters and hurdlers are heading to the Stratford Speed meeting in London, while a mix of sprinters and jumpers will be chasing personal bests in Kortrijk, Belgium. Athletes will also be competing in Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Germany and the United States.

Junior athletes have until Sunday night to achieve standards for the World U20 Championships, while this weekend marks the two-weeks-to-go point on the Road to Birmingham. By the end of the weekend, there will be just 4 weeks to go until the biggest event of the year.

Morton Games

The second of Ireland’s two Continental Tour Bronze meetings, the Morton Games, will feature many of the athletes we saw in Cork on Wednesday, including a similarly world-class women’s hammer field, some additional overseas star quality and a few Irish athletes we’ve not seen a huge amount of this season.

Fans will have a sneak preview of some of the national title battles that will be fought out on this track in two weeks’ time, as well as witness some evolving twists and turns on the road to Birmingham.

For a detailed breakdown of the international and domestic athletes to look out for, check out the news features on the Morton Games website. Here we’ll take a look at a few interesting events from an Irish perspective.

Women's 1500m

The unfolding storyline of the women’s 1500m - and the cacophony of potential outcomes in terms of Birmingham qualification - is particularly intriguing. Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan boxed off the automatic qualification standard at the World Championship last September, and are highly likely to be on the European Championships team.

While Ciara Mageean almost certainly won’t use her wildcard spot as defending champion, Irish athletes have known that there was another spot up for grabs, irrespective of Mageean’s availability, and three athletes in particular have been invested in chasing that final spot.

Both Eimear Maher and Jodie McCann achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard in the past week. Laura Nicholson, however, is the only one of the three currently within quota on ranking points. Both criteria need to be met to make the team.

Nicholson will be hoping to better the 4:07.00 mark on Friday, and both her and Maher will be looking to increase their ranking points in Santry. McCann, whose points from Wednesday won't be added until next week, is racing in Portugal on Saturday (see below).

A fast race at Nationals has the potential to elevate all three within quota come close of qualification, but the side quest of securing a national title is more likely to lead to a cagey contest. And the dream outcome for any of the contenders would be hitting the 4:03.50 automatic standard in the coming weeks.

Men's 5000m

Darragh McElhinney, Nick Griggs (both with the automatic standard) and Brian Fay (currently sitting in a quota spot) are likely to make the 5000m in Birmingham, and they will be among those racing that distance on Friday. Griggs wasn’t far off Fay’s National record of 13:01.40 last summer, and in the right conditions on the right day, all three have the potential to break 13 minutes.

Also racing over 12.5 laps are Jack O’Leary, who has the 10,000m standard for Birmingham, Cormac Dalton who ran a solid 3000m in Cork on Wednesday on return from injury, Callum Morgan, who’ll be racing this distance at the Commonwealth Games at the end of the month, and Shay McEvoy, who actually has the Athletics Ireland B standard for the 10,000m, but is too far down the rankings for that to be a realistic dream.

The national title decided at this distance last year was one for the ages. A slightly different cast, at the same venue, could well lead to similar showstopping performances. And that’s before we consider the more-than-cameo appearances of the overseas actors. While nobody knows what drama might unfold, this likely to be one not to miss.

Men's 400m

With the mixed 4x400m team now unlikely to qualify to defend their title in Birmingham, male 400m athletes will be hoping that they hold on to their top-16 position in the men’s 4x400m relay, for most, their only likely route to the European Championships.

Three of the athletes who would be hoping to make the cut for any team selected are racing on Friday, and will be looking to impress in the one-lap event. Jack Raftery, who has the Athletics Ireland B standard and is currently just outside quota, does still have a shot at making the individual event. This will be his first race since mid-May.

Sean Doggett has run personal bests both indoors and outdoors this year, and won the Irish U23 200m title on Sunday. He’ll be hoping to continue his progress on Friday as he looks to make his second European Championship team, following his debut in Rome as a 17-year-old.

Andrew Egan ran 45.86 last season, and is slowly building towards that level this season. Could he spring an upset on the reigning national and national indoor champions, and which, of any of them, will be the first Irish athlete to run sub 46 this season.

Other events

Bori Akinola and Sean Aigboboh will go head-to-head again over 100m, Nicola Tuthill will have another shot at upsetting the Olympic and World Champion and breaking the 19-year-old national hammer record, and Alex O’Neill will have another shot at the Athletics Ireland B standard she missed by 0.01 seconds last week.

There were no Irish winners in the international events in Cork. The Morton crowd will be hoping for a few podium-topping performances, not least in the men's mile which will close the programme. Cathal Doyle will be looking for his second Morton Mile title, and the fourth Irish win in five years. Hitting the 1500m point in 3:33.50 or faster – the automatic standard for Birmingham – would be the cherry on top.

Other Continental Tour meetings

Colin Doyle (100m), Paul Costelloe (100m, 200m) and Rhianna McCarthy (100m, 200m) are entered for the Fast Arms, Fast Legs Continental Tour Challenger meeting in Wetzlar, Germany on Friday.

A healthy consignment of middle distance runners are heading to Watford for the British Milers Club (BMC) Grand Prix, a Continental Tour Challenger meeting, on Saturday. Among them are Finley Daly (3000m steeplechase) who is chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham; and Neasa Ni Ainifein, Niamh Carr, Zoe Toland (1500m) and Ella Fennelly (3000m) who have been in personal best-smashing form recently.

Noah Harris, who just missed the World U20 qualification time in Cork on Wednesday, is also on the startlist for the 3000m. Pia Langton, who got her second World U20 qualifier in Cork on Wednesday, and Colin P Smith, who has got a lane at the Morton Games, are also on the startlist at the time of writing, but presumably won’t be racing.

The entries for the bronze level Moore-Guldensporenmeeting in Kortrijk include high jumpers Sommer Lecky and Daena Kealy; Lauren Callaghan who has been edging ever closer to the Athletics Ireland B standard for the long jump (6.55); Adam Nolan (110m hurdles), and sprinters Katie Bergin (100m, 200m), Molly Daly (400m), and Benjamin Richardson (100m, 200m).

McCann has run personal bests in her last two 1500m races, and bettered the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham in her most recent outing on Wednesday. She will race again at the Meeting of Braga in Portugal (Continental Tour Bronze) on Saturday, as she continues to boost her Road to Birmingham ranking.

Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) is also competing. Like McCann, she has the Athletics Ireland B standard, but needs a serious boost of ranking points if she is to make it to Birmingham.

Eilish Flanagan on the 5000m startlist for the Sound Running Sunset Tour in Los Angeles. This would be the Tokyo Olympian's first track race since 2024.

Sunday’s big meeting from an Irish perspective is Stratford Speed where a huge contingent of sprinters and hurdlers are entered. The women’s 400m Hurdles list, alone, contains the names of half a dozen Irish athletes.

Ciara Neville, Precious Akpe-Moses, Molly Scott, Sarah Leahy and Mollie O’Reilly are among the leading names in the women’s 100m, while Max O’Reilly, Colin Doyle and Michael Farrelly are entered in the men’s 100m.

Adam Murphy and Commonwealth Games-bound Anna McCauley look set to get a runout over 200m; Hugo Magee, Joe Doody, Darragh Murphy, Aaron Keane and Michelle Duggan are entered in the 400m, while Victoria Amiadamen and Cara Murphy are among those going in the 400m Hurdles.

After a mid-week win over 1500m in Joensuu, Maddie Mooney will again race in Finland, this time over 800m at the Tampere Meeting on Sunday.

Kealy, entered for both Morton on Friday and Kortrijk on Saturday, is also scheduled to compete at the Klaverbad International High Jump Meeting (Continental Tour Challenger) in Zoetermeer, Netherlands on Sunday.

Elsewhere

The Monaco Diamond League also takes place on Friday. There are no Irish athletes on the startlists, but fans can expect to see Faith Kipyegon (3000m), Simon Ehammer (Long Jump), Julien Alfred (200m) among the talent-packed fields. The meeting will be broadcast live on Virgin Media Two from 7-9pm.

Mikey Kent, another athlete chasing World U20 qualification, is entered in the long jump at two category F meetings in the Netherlands over the weekend. He has already surpassed the 7.60m standard once, and needs another jump in that range to book his ticket to Eugene.

Cork City Sports highlights busy day of Continental Tour action

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 08, 2026

All roads lead to the Munster Technological University (MTU) Campus in Bishopstown, Cork, on Wednesday, as elite athletes from across Europe, the USA and beyond take part in the 72nd running of the Cork City Sports.

Spectators in Cork can expect to see exciting action both on the track and the field, with the women’s Hammer and the men’s 100m among the likely highlights.

Irish stars confirmed for the meeting include Nicola Tuthill, who is edging ever closer to the 19- year-old national hammer record with every competition, speedsters Bori Akinola, Sean Aigboboh and Ciara Neville in the 100m races, 4x400m relay regulars Sophie Becker and Rachel McCann in the 200m, Sophie O’Sullivan (800m), Cathal Doyle (800m) and Fiona Everard (3000m).

Expected highlights in Cork

World and Olympic Hammer Throwing champion Camryn Rogers brings genuine elite quality to the meeting. The Canadian athlete has a personal best of 81.13 metres, placing her second on the World All-Time list.

Tuthill has been in formidable form already this season, and is fast closing in on Eileen O’Keeffe’s National record. She got a win over the world record holder in Poland last week, and will be hoping that the stiff opposition helps inspire a big performance in front of her home crowd.

Two of Ireland’s top sprinters go head-to-head in the men’s 100m, but will face strong opposition from the assembled international field.

Akinola, who improved his best to 10.19 at the start of the season, is the reigning 100m and indoor 60m champion, and has been unbeatable on the domestic scene in recent months. Aigboboh, now based in the US, meanwhile, has made big improvements, lowering the Irish 200m record to 20.27 in April.

Crunch time on the Road to Eugene

Among the Irish contingent are a number of under 20 athletes who have already achieved the selection criteria for the World U20 Championships, which will be held in Eugene, USA in early August.

Decathlete Eoin O’Callaghan, is down for the domestic pole vault and high jump after a busy weekend at the National U20 Championships in Tullamore. Dubem Amah hit the 200m twice on Sunday on his way to the Irish U20 title. Siun Quinn, with a PB of 1.85, is the leading Irish entry in a very competitive women’s high jump competition.

Mikey Kent (long jump) and Pia Langton (800m) have each achieved the qualification standards for Eugene in their respective events on one occasion, and will hope to add the required second mark tonight. Kent needs to jump in excess of 7.60 metres, while Langton will look to run 2:06.00 or faster.

Another under-20 athlete to look out for is Noah Harris. Harris finished 10th in the U20 race at the European Coss Country Championships in December and 38th at World Cross Country in January, suggesting that the 8:02.00 3000m qualification mark is within his capabilities. The deadline for Eugene qualifying is midnight on Sunday.

The Road to Birmingham continues

Emma Moore (800m) already has the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham, but is currently sitting just outside the ranking spots. Laura Nicholson who is currently sitting just inside the European Championship quota spots for the 1500m, steps down to the 800m tonight before making another attack on the Athletics Ireland B standard over the longer distance at the Monton Games on Friday.

Fiona Everard, who has been trying to qualify for the 10,000m at European Championships, will race the 3000m tonight. With time and opportunities to achieve standards and pick up ranking points disappearing, the Bandon AC athlete will be hoping for considerable withdrawals ahead of her on the Road to Birmingham rankings, if she can add to a dream season which has already included a top 10 finish at Euro Cross, top 25 at World Cross, and a team silver with the Irish team at the recent European 10,000m Cup.

Sophie O’Sullivan, 2025 NCAA 1500m champion, already has the qualification standard in that event, and will get in some speed work over 800m tonight. Irish shot put record holder Eric Favors has both the Athletics Ireland B standard and a comfortable position on the Road to Birmingham rankings. Ava O’Connor has the Athletics Ireland B standard, and is currently within quota, for the 3000m steeplechase. She will race over the flat 3000m tonight.

Ciara Neville broke a seven-year-old 100m personal best last month. The Irish champion will likely need to boost her ranking points to secure her spot for Birmingham.

How to follow

The event will be broadcast on the Cork City Sports YouTube channel, with timetable, startlists and live results available here. The women's hammer will open the international programme at 6.30pm.

Other Irish storylines

Cormac Dalton (3000m), a member of the silver-medal-winning Irish senior men’s team at last December’s European Cross Country Championships, will be toeing the startline for the first time since sustaining a stress reaction in his femur.

Niall Murphy, also racing the 3000m, won team gold with the Irish U23 team at the European Cross Country Championships in December.

Shane Howard is the number 1 Irish long jumper this season, but both Kent and Ryan Onoh are fast-improving. Onoh got the better of Kent to take the Irish U20 title on Sunday, a taste of a potentially intriguing rivalry over the coming years.

Nathan Cremin (800m) and Liam Lyons (mile) have both had major breakthroughs in the US collegiate system already this year. Cremin has improved his 800m best from 1:50.25 to 1:46.45, while Lyons improved to 3:38.38 over 1500m and 3:54.98 in the mile.

Elsewhere

Irish athletes are expected to compete a pair of other Continental Tour bronze meetings in Europe tomorrow. Jodie McCann and Ronan McMahon-Staggs (1500m) are on the startlists for Meeting Lignano, while Maddie Mooney (1500m) will compete at the Joensuu Motonet GP in Finland.

McCann will have another crack at the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham, which she just missed when running a personal best of 4:07.47 at the Ordizia Meeting in Spain on Saturday.

McMahon-Staggs, the national indoor bronze medallist, will be looking to improve his 2025 personal best of 3:38.23.

Mooney was on pacing duties at the Diamond League in Eugene on Friday, where she took the 1500m women to 1000m. She ran a personal best of 4:11.32 In Portland last month.

Sharlene Mawdsley due to make her Diamond League debut in Paris on Sunday

Elizabeth Egan | Jun 26, 2026

This weekend starts with a Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb on Friday and will end with a Diamond League meeting in Paris on Sunday. A small number of Continental Tour silver, bronze and challenger meetings are also due to take place across the weekend.

Sharlene Mawdsley (400m) will make her Diamond League debut in Paris, as Sarah Healy runs her first 1500m of the year. Though not a Diamond event, Andrew Coscoran is up against some formidable opposition in the men’s 1500m.

After breaking the National 1000m record in Ostrava, Mark English will return to the 800m in Zagreb, where Emma Moore and Cathal Doyle will continue their quest for Birmingham qualification.

Diamond League

On Friday, Paris Police Authorities requested the cancellation of major gatherings scheduled for this weekend in Paris. While temperatures are expected to have dropped by Sunday afternoon, the authorities stated that emergency services in the area are already strained. However, at the time of writing, it has just been confirmed that the event will go ahead under an adapted format.

Meeting de Paris is the 8th Diamond League of the season. Three Irish athletes have already competed in Diamond events in 2026, and Mawdsley will add her name to that list on Sunday when she takes on Marileidy Paulino, Natalia Bukowiecka, Lieke Klaver and others over 400m.

The Newport AC athlete secured the Auto Q for Birmingham last September, and has run the four fastest times of her career in her opening four individual 400m races of 2026. She is edging ever closer to sub-50, a time that would place her among the elite end of European 400m running.

Healy leapt to number two on the Irish all-time list for 5000m and achieved the European Championship Auto Q at the Rome Diamond League. Dropping down to a more familiar distance on this occasion, Healy will be looking to demonstrate the sort of form which earned her a maiden Diamond League win last season.

Coscoran has been in good, but not outstanding, form so far this season, falling just short of his mile best in his last outing in Oslo, and finishing 6th over 1500m (3:31.65) at the Rabat Diamond League. His three-year-old national record of 3:30.42 is ripe for revision when he combines the finishing speed he demonstrated in his opening races with ideal positioning at the bell.

Continental Tour Gold

There has been a strong Irish representation at all the European-based Continental Tour Gold meetings so far this season, and Friday’s Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb will be no different.

English has been racing extensively this season, to much success, already breaking national indoor 600m and 800m records, as well as the aforementioned national 1000m mark, and achieving his first Diamond League win in his opening race of the outdoor season.

Doyle still needs the Auto Q for the European Championships, a mark he missed by just half a second when finishing 5th at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Turku in early June, or some fast results in high-ranking races like Friday’s test in Croatia.

He is currently about 10 places outside the quota spots on the Road to Birmingham, but two good results would see him leapfrog many of those currently ahead of him. After missing out on a place in Rome, due to the quota spots being exceeded on qualification standards alone, Doyle will be keen to better 3:33.50, and not leave it up to the ranking-points lottery.

Moore ran a personal best 2:00.71 in Ostrava, and in the process secured the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham. She is currently two spots outside quota, but a similar result on Friday would catapult her up the rankings.

Benjamin Richardson, who will be eligible to represent Ireland from August 2027, is due to race the 200m.

Other Continental Tour Meetings

Nicola Tuthill is due to compete in the Hammer at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial (Continental Tour Silver) in Poznan, Poland on Sunday, ahead of appearances at both the Cork City Sports and Morton Games in July. Among her opposition will be the World Record Holder Anita Włodarczky, who has a PB of 82.98, but whose season's best is not far beyond the 72.48 Tuthill threw earlier this year.

A number of Irish athletes are entered for the Immobel Infinity EAP Meeting Nivelles, a Continental Tour Challenger meeting, in Belgium, on Saturday, and the Meeting International Troyes Aube (Continental Tour Bronze) in France on Sunday. Indeed, two of the sprinters, Colin Doyle and Lucas Fadden, are entered for both.

The Nivelles timetable has been adjusted to avoid the hottest part of the day, while there is no confirmation on the status of the Troyes Aube meeting at the time of writing.

Joining Doyle and Fadden in Troyes Aube will be Jodie McCann, who will continue her quest for the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham of 4:07.00, and valuable ranking points, over 1500m, and Arlene Crossan, who will look to continue her steady improvement over 400m Hurdles.

Sam Healy, Shane Howard and Ryan Onoh are all due to go in the Long Jump in Nivelles, where David Cussen (High Jump) looks set to open his 2026 account.

Fintan Dewhirst saw his younger brother Ethan again jump ahead of him on the Irish all-time list, and will be looking to continue his rise up the all-time rankings. Only two Irish athletes have ever broken 50 seconds for the event, but recent form suggests that a Dewhirst may well become the third. Kelly McGrory is entered for the women’s 400m Hurdles.

Sophie Becker is scheduled to race the 200m, while Jenna Breen is down for the 400m. Other entries include Orlaith Mannion (100m, 100m Hurdles), Oisín Lynch and Robert Hewison (800m)

While the Cork trio of Healy, Howard and Onah are potentially going head-to-head in Belgium on Saturday, another Long Jump talent, Mikey Kent, will be competing at Korzo Jump (Continental Tour Challenger) in Croatia on Sunday. The multi-skilled Wexford man added Irish schools Pole Vault and Long Jump titles to his growing resume in early June, winning the latter in a championship best performance of 7.57m (+1.9m/s).

Nathan Cremin (800m) and Zoe Toland (1500m), both of whom have been in personal best form this summer, were due to compete at Meeting International de Carquefou (Continental Tour Challenger) in France on Saturday, but that event has now been cancelled.

Rory Devaney, a recent transfer from the USA to Ireland, will compete in the hammer at the LA Throws Cup in Wilmington, California. Devaney has a best of 74.16m from 2025, and has thrown beyond 72 metres already this season.

Elsewhere

Niamh Allen and Fiona Everard are among the athletes racing at the tRUNsylvania International 10K Cluj in Romania on Sunday. They both sit just outside the qualification spots the 10,000m in Birmingham. As one of the few 10km races where the elite women start separately from the men, it provides female athletes with a rare opportunity to post a qualification standard on the road.

Everard has already bettered the 32:00 mark, but did so in a mixed race so it won't be enough to get her to Birmingham. it will, however, give her confidence ahead of this attempt. Allen, who finished 6th (32:15.79) at the European 10,000m cup earlier this month, will also be riding high on confidence. While the race could count for ranking points, they would both need to run faster than 32 minutes to improve their current score.

Update: the organisers of Meeting International Troyes Aube announced on their social media on Saturday morning that they had not received any request to cancel the meeting, and that it would go ahead as scheduled. The programme for Czesław Cybulski Memorial has been delayed because of the high temperatures forecast for Sunday.

Rome Diamond League featuring Sarah Healy over 5000m starts another action-packed weekend

Elizabeth Egan | Jun 04, 2026

The Rome Diamond League on Thursday will kickstart the weekend, which also sees the European Off-Road Running titles decided in Slovenia.

Irish athletes will compete in continental tour meetings in Norway, Belgium, the USA and Germany, while the Irish Milers Club meeting in Irishtown and the Munster Senior Championships at MTU are the major domestic meetings of the weekend.

The week has already started well, with Anna Gavigan breaking the Irish U23 Discus record in Italy on Tuesday and Cathal Doyle bettering the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham in Finland on Wednesday.

And the pace continues to quicken with plenty of Irish interest across Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Rome Diamond League

Sarah Healy has not run a 5000m since her covid-era 16:28.79 at the City of Lisburn Inter Club Invitational in Belfast in 2000.

Despite having the slowest personal best in the field, and not having raced since finishing tenth in the World 1500m final in Tokyo last September, Healy will step up to the Diamond League start line in Rome – the site of her maiden Diamond League win over 1500m last year - on Thursday, with much expectation.

Healy opened her 2025 season with 8:27.02 over 3000m in Rabat, becoming the second fastest Irish woman ever over the distance. It’ll be interesting to see how she fares with an additional five laps to run.

Mark English has been at both ends of Diamond League fields already this year, winning in Shanghai, before finishing 11th in Rabat. While not a Diamond event, his opposition in the 800m on Thursday looks formidable, and he’ll be looking to build on his opening run of the season.

Among those in English’s way are two athletes with 1:41 PBs (Bryce Hoppel and Gabriel Tual) and World 1500m champion Isaac Nader.

The Stockholm Diamond League draws the weekend to a close on Sunday, but at the time of writing there are no Irish athletes on the startlist.

European Off-Road Running Championships

The best of Europe’s Trail and Mountain runners head to Slovenia for the continental deciders on Friday (Mountain uphill), Saturday (Trail) and Sunday (Mountain up and down). Full Irish teams have been selected across all senior and U20 events.

Among those looking to make an impact are Zak Hanna, who has been in flying World Cup form already this season. He races the approximately 8.9 kilometre uphill race, which includes 1280 m of vertical ascent, on Friday. He’ll be looking to improve on his 34th place from this event two years ago.

Another with considerable experience at this level is Sarah McCormack, who’ll also compete in the Uphill race on Friday. She was 8th in this race in Annecy in 2024 and 13th in the Up and Down race in 2022.

McCormack was a non-scoring member of the winning Irish Women’s team at the 2012 European Cross Country Championships and led Ireland to team bronze in the 2013 World Mountain Running Championships.

Continental Tour meetings

James Dunne, Charlie O'Donovan, Maddie Mooney and Roisin Flanagan are all due to compete at the Hoka Festival of Miles (Continental Tour Challenger) in St Louis, Missouri on Thursday evening, while Sophie O’Sullivan, Laura Nicholson and Cillian Gleeson are on the startlist for the 1500m Elite Jessheim (Continental Tour Bronze) in Norway on Friday.

O’Sullivan secured the European standard when she made the semi-finals of the World Championships last September, while Nicholason’s 4:07.52 from February is still the national lead for the distance.

Flanagan recently opened her 2026 account with a 15:41.88 national lead over 5000m. Her best for the mile dates back to January 2024 when she ran 4:40.12 indoors at altitude. O’Donovan has had two wins from two over the mile in 2026, most notably taking the Penn Relays title in April.

Last month Mooney ran 4:12.94 for 1500m, very close to her 2024 PB. Dunne continues to build after an injury sustained last summer, not long after he ran his 3:35.17 1500m PB. Gleeson ran 13:54.27 for 5000m in April, inside the standard for the World U20 Championships. The 3:45.50 1500m standard may well be on his mind when he toes the line on Friday.

Eric Favors (shot put) and Niamh Fogarty (Discus) are among the entries for the Sparkassen Werfertag (Continental Tour Bronze) in Gelenau, Germany on Sunday.

Favors has all but secured qualification by quota for the European Championships, but he will now look to throw consistently over 20 metres as he builds towards Birmingham. The 20.80 Auto Q would ensure his spot, and would do wonders for his confidence.

Fogarty will be targeting the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham of 57.80 and restating herself as Ireland’s top female discus thrower in response to Anna Gavigan’s recent good form.

There is a big Irish entry for the Putbos Memorial Leon Buyle Flanders Cup (Cat E meeting) in Oordegem on Saturday.

Arlene Crossan has recently set personal bests over 400m and 400m hurdles, and will look to continue her progress over the latter. Fellow relay teammate Rachel McCann will race over 400m, while Cliodhna Manning is entered for all three sprint events and Katie Bergin is due to race the 100m.

Adam Murphy and Marcus Lawler are both entered for the 100m and 200m, while Ciarán Carthy, Aaron Keane and Cillin Greene are all due to race the 400m.

Saragh Buggy is entered for both the long and triple jump, and could be joined in the former by Ruby Millet.

Diarmuid Fagan, who recently made big strides over 5000m, is due to race his first track 10,000m in Germany on Saturday.

On the Roads

Fionnuala McCormack will make a rare competitive appearance on Saturday as she takes part in the New York Mini 10km, a prestigious women’s only event in Central Park. McCormack finished 19th (32:49) in the 2025 edition, her only race prior to finishing ninth in the World Championship marathon.

Her last race was also in New York, when she ran 2:27:00 – the exact qualification time for this summer’s European Championships – when she finished 10th in the New York Marathon.

Irish action

The startlist for the Irish Milers Club Dublin meeting in Irishtown includes some tasty matchups in both the men’s and women’s 800m and 1500m, with 400m and men’s 5000m races also taking place.

World Relays 4x100m representative Sarah Leahy is due to open her individual outdoor season at the Munster Senior, Master and U20 Championships. Una Brice (senior) and Meabh corkery (U20) are both entered in the pole vault. In-form Sophie Meredith will look to continue her progress in the long jump while Michael Healy is among the discus entries

Mid-week looks just as busy as the preceding days. Israel Olatunde, Ciara Neville, Precious Akpe-Moses and Sophie Becker are among the entries for Stratford Speed meeting on Tuesday.

Nicola Tuthill is due to compete at the Motonet GP Lahti in Finland on Wednesday, while attention at home will be on the UCD Meeting, where Bori Akinola, Jack Raftery, Sean Doggett, Sam Healy, Mikey Kent and Saragh Buggy are among the entries.

The NCAA Div I Nationals will get underway in Eugene where Lauren Roy (200m), Maeve O'Neill (800m) and Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) will be looking for individual honours, while Sean Aigboboh and Lucy-May Sleeman are part of their respective university 4x100m relay squads.

The Diamond League will be making its way to Oslo. It, along with a number of other continental tour meetings are yet to publish startlists. Be sure to check out TrackAthletes.ie for updates.

Irish athletes in Diamond League and Continental Tour Gold action this weekend

Elizabeth Egan | May 14, 2026

The opening Diamond League of the season in Shanghai, a Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo, some Continental Tour Challenger meetings in Europe and a host of NCAA Division I Conference Championships, are just some of the events abroad with Irish interest this weekend.

Closer to home, the National 5km Championships will be decided in the Phoenix Park on Saturday, while the sprinters and field eventers will look for confidence-boosting performances at the May T&F Open in Tullamore on Sunday.

A handful of athletes will also be competing at events in the UK, including the British Milers Club meeting in Trafford, the Loughborough International, and the BFTTA sprint meeting in London.

2026 Diamond League kicks off in China

Though still early in season, the Shanghai/Keqiao Diamond League startlist boasts a number of top international stars, including Mondo Duplantis, Faith Kipyegon, Karsten Warholm and Jess Hull.

On the Men’s 800m startlist is Mark English, who will be opening his outdoor season. Mark had a good indoor campaign, improving both his Irish 600m and 800m indoor records, though not making the World Indoor final will have been a disappointment for English and his fans.

English has already secured the qualification standards for this summer’s European Championships and may well have an eye on Cian McPhillips’s outdoor record (1:42.15) as he builds towards this summer’s biggest event.

The event will be shown live on Virgin Media Two from 12 noon to 2pm on Saturday.

Continental Tour Gold

Staying in East Aisa, the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo features several Irish athletes with Sophie Becker (400m), Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m), Brian Fay and Laura Nicholson (both 3000m) all on the startlist at the time of writing.

Fay started 2026 with 16th place at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee. After finishing 3rd in the 3000m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Melbourne at the end of March, he got in some speedwork over 1500m in Hiroshima two weeks ago, and ran 13:13.30 to win over 5000m at the Golden Games in Nobeoka on 4th May.

Nicholson, too, has been busy, with races in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, over a variety of distances, already this year. She knocked more than two seconds off her 800m PB in her most recent outing, and is the only Irish athlete to have run under 9 minutes for the 3000m, indoors or out, so far in 2026. She’ll be hoping to improve on the 8:59.74 PB she ran in Hobart at the end of February.

Becker opened her outdoor campaign by helping the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team qualify for the 2027 World Championships, before recording 52.36 at the Belfast Classic last Saturday. The 51.20 qualification standard for Birmingham will be within her sights in the coming weeks, though she’s likely to qualify by ranking without it.

O’Sullivan has races just once in 2026, a 1500m at the Melbourne meeting, but with the European standard already secured, she has plenty of time to return to full fitness for Birmingham in August.

Other Continental Tour meetings

Nicola Tuthill (Hammer) is among the senior entries for the two-day Halplus Werfertage throws meeting (Continental Tour Bronze) in Germany. Anna Gavigan is on the U23 Discus startlist, while Theo Hanlon is entered in U20 shot put.

Jack Raftery and Sean Doggett, who both raced as part of the mixed relay team at the World Relays in Botswana earlier this month, are due to compete at Meeting de Atlismo Toni Bonet (Continental Tour Challenger) in Ibiza on Saturday. Doggett had a breakthrough indoor season, running 46.99 and winning the national indoor title. Raftery raced at Belfast last weekend, where he ran 46.18.

Andrew Thompson is scheduled to race at the British Milers Club meeting in Trafford, Manchester (Continental Tour Challenger) on Saturday. Thompson, who ran 1:47.08 in Belfast last Saturday, has a personal best of 1:46.77 from 2025.

Domestic action

Matthew Callinan Keenan (Pole Vault), Sophie Meredith (Long Jump), Michaela Walsh (Shot Put), Conor Cusack and Grace Casey (Javelin) and Michael Healy (Discus) are among the field eventers entered for the National May T&F Open.

Among the men’s 400m hurdlers entries are Ethan Dewhirst and Fintan Dewhirst who have both started the season well. The former smashed his personal best and achieved a World U20 standard in April, while the latter was an impressive winner of the Intervarsity title before travelling to Botswana as part of the Irish mixed relay squad at the World Relays.

The women’s 400m hurdles race also has much strength in depth, with EYOF medallist Ellis McHugh among the entries. Saoirse Fitzgerald, who will step down to the 400m after achieving the World U20 standard over 800m earlier this month.

National senior and master champions will be crowned at the IrishRunner 5km in the Phoenix Park on Saturday. Preliminary entries suggest this could be a very competitive event.

Action in the UK

Daena Kealy (High Jump), Lauren Callaghan (Long Jump), Lucy McGlynn (400m Hurdles) and para-athlete Lana Sutton (ambulant 100m and 200m) are among the entries for the Loughborough International, while sprinters Colin Costelloe and Adam Murphy are entered for the 100m and 200m at the BFTTA Series 3 meeting in London on Sunday. It was in the final meeting of this series last year that Israel Olatunde set the current Irish 100m record of 10.08.

NCAA Division I Conference Championships

All the biggest NCAA Div I Conferences have their championships over the coming days, with dozens of Irish athletes set to compete. While not all athletes entered will take part, we should expect to see the majority of the Irish who have been ripping up the record books competing across the next few days.

Some of the standout performers so far this year have been Maeve O’Neill, who set a new Irish Indoor 800m record earlier in the year before making the semi-final of the World Indoor Championships, the new Irish 200m record holder Sean Aigboboh and Lauren Roy, who went number 2 all-time over both 60m (7.19) and 200m (22.89) during her indoor season.

Roy followed up her fine indoor season, which, like O’Neill, included a trip to the World Indoors in March, with a wind-aided 11.08 (+2.8) 100m. She has yet to secure a consideration standard for this summer’s Commonwealth Games, and will likely target those standards (11.30 for 100m and 23.15 for 200m) in the coming weeks.

Aigboboh, part of the record-breaking Irish 4x100m relay team last summer, could compete both with the relay and as an individual in Birmingham, having secured the qualification standard over 100m, and looking likely to be within quota over 200m.

Elizabeth Ndudi, the indoor and outdoor long-jump record holder, has had a mixed season so far, jumping 6.63, a new indoor mark, in her second competition of the year. Conference and Regional championships will provide an opportunity for her to bring that form outdoors.

Diarmuid O’Connor is another NCAA-based athlete to have broken a national senior record this year, as he twice added points to his own Indoor Heptathlon mark. O’Connor remains in third place on the Irish all-time list for the Decathlon, and will surely be looking to chase down Carlos O’Connell’s 38-year-old national record in upcoming competitions.

Siún Quinn, still an U20, last week added 5 centimetres to her high jump personal best, and will look to build on that over the remainder of the NCAA season ahead of the World U20 Championships in Eugene in July.

Seán Donoghue, now a three-time Penn Relay winner, Leevale pair Lucy-May Sleeman and Nicole Dinan, and distance runners Dean Casey and Anika Thompson are just some of the other athletes to watch out for in coming weeks, as are Roisin Treacy (3000m Steeplechase), Nathan Cremin (800m) and Heather Murphy (5000m, 10,000m), who have already won medals at their respective NCAA and NAIA Conference Championships.

You'll find a breakdown of which athletes to expect to see at each of the championships on the TrackAthletes NCAA Div I Conference page, where you'll also find links to live results and streams (where available).

Busy weekend for university athletes on both sides of the Atlantic

Elizabeth Egan | Apr 16, 2026

This is a big weekend for student-athletes on both sides of the Atlantic. The IUAA Track and Field and Multi-Events Championships draws a close to the Intervarsity schedule for the academic year and raises the curtain on the domestic track and field season.

The US season warms up ahead of championship events, with Irish collegiate and professional athletes competing at a number of big meetings, including some on the Continental Tour calendar.

Some athletes will open their outdoor seasons at home and abroad over the coming days, while a few, including Israel Olatunde, may even register their first result of 2026.

Intervarsities

Working out who will actually compete at IUAA events is not an exact science, but if the entry list is anything to go by, there could be some exciting match-ups in the men’s sprints, the women’s 5000m, and even some of the field events at this weekend's IUAA Track & Field Championships.

The chaos and unpredictability is part of the fun, and this year’s edition marks the 10th anniversary of the ‘From the Depths of Hell’ women’s 4x400m relay, which achieved worldwide recognition for Phil Healy’s maiden 400m run, and Cathal Dennehy and Ronan Duggan’s colourful commentary.

Three of the competitors in that race (Healy, Michelle Finn and Louise Shanahan) are now Olympians, and others, including Jenna Bromell, Ellie Hartnett and Kate Doherty, have won national senior medals. For a race not obviously big on quality (the winning time was outside 4 minutes), it was sure packed with potential.

Relive the drama here!

More recently, an epic tussle for last year’s women’s 1500m title heralded bigger things to come for its two main players. Eimear Maher, the eventual victor, went on to win bronze at the European U23 Championships last July, while Lucy Holmes, the race’s runner-up, won her first national senior title earlier this year.

Many on this year's entry list are likely to have been added in hope rather than anticipation, but among the emerging stars potentially looking to add themselves to the album of memorable Intervarsity moments are Michael Farrelly, Max O’Reilly, Craig Duffy and Colin Doyle in the sprints, Adam Nolan in the 110m hurdles, Fintan Dewhirst in the 400m hurdles and Conor Callinan in the Pole Vault.

The women’s field events could be of a very high standard. Nicola Tuthill is entered in the hammer while Anna Gavigan, who last weekend extended her personal best, is expected to compete in the women’s discus. The national indoor weight for distance winner, Kotryna Pacerinskaite, could compete in the shot put, hammer and weight for distance.

Greek triple-jumper Daphni Doulaptsi-Teeuwen will look to add further silverware in the horizontal jumps, Aoife O’Sullivan may be the clear favourite for the high jump, while Laura Frawley will be looking for further multi-event honours.

Ireland’s top two male javelin throwers are both entered. Conor Cusack was due to compete at the Spring Throws last weekend, but didn’t, and Oisin Joyce has been out with injury for more than a year, but an exciting battle between the UL and Lake District AC teammates could be on the cards if both make it to the startline. The two have won the last five national senior titles between them, but World Athletics lists no meeting between them. Even if it doesn’t happen this weekend, memorable Cusack-Joyce head-to-heads can’t be far off.

Others to look out for include Róise Roberts in the women’s 5000m and Aisling Lane and Oisin Lane in the walks.

Dublin City University have won the last seventeen overall team titles. University of Limerick, who finished second on 15 of those occasions, will be among those looking to end that streak.

The event is being hosted by MTU in Cork and those who can't make it in person can follow the action on the Athletics Ireland YouTube channel.

US Track and Field meetings

Diarmuid O’Connor is competing in the Mt. SAC Relays Combined Events, which started on Wednesday. O’Connor’s overnight score after five events is 3907, 162 points down on the same point in his personal best performance last April. He is lying in 13th place, in an event that holds World Combined Events Tour Silver (Cat B) status.

The Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, CA has become one of the leading distance meetings for college and emerging professional athletes. The extensive startlists include Ronan McMahon-Staggs, Oisín Ó Gailín, Mark Milner, Susie Nestor, Sarah Hosey, Eimear McCarroll and Claire Crowley in the 1500m. Ryan McCarthy, Roisin Treacy and Ailish Hawkins are entered for the 5000m, and Abdel Laadjel, Shay McEvoy, Dean Casey and Claragh Keane are due to race over 10,000m.

There will also be a strong distance representation at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, NC. Conall Rogers and Nathan Cremin are entered for the 800m, Emer McGlynn for the 1500m and Noah Harris, Grace Richardson and Heather Murphy over 5000m.

National record holder Israel Olatunde could open his 2026 account at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational (Continental Tour Challenger) in Gainesville, FL where he is among the entries in the 100m. He hasn’t raced since running 10.08 in London at the end of August 2025. Conor Kelly (200m, 400m), Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) and Daire Mahon (High Jump) are also among the entries.

Sean Aigboboh has had an incredible start to 2026, running 20.54 over 200m last weekend, and will race again over that distance at the Tom Tellez Invitational in Houston, TX. Fellow in-form sprinter Lauren Roy is entered for the 100m and 200m at the Joe Gillespie Invitational in Stephenville, TX.

Charlie O’Donovan (Mile) and David Davitt (400m) are on the startlist for the Paul Donahue Invite in Chester, PA, while Victoria Amiadamen (400m Hurdles) and Aoife Hernon (400m) are among the entries for the Mt. SAC Relays (Continental Tour Bronze).

A sprinkling of athletes will be competing at other meetings, most of which are not on the World Athletics calendar. You can find links to results for these meetings, and details of who is competing, on the TrackAthletes calendar.

Boston Marathon

Barry Keane is among the elite entries for Monday’s Boston Marathon. The Waterford AC athlete has completed two marathons to date, with his best performance of 2:11:31 coming at The Marathon Project in Arizona in December. Keane's half marathon PB of 1:01:22 hints at faster times to come at the longer distance.

European Throwing Cup and NCAA Championships highlight this weekend's action

Elizabeth Egan | Mar 11, 2026

While the World Indoor Championships are still a week away, there’s plenty at stake for Irish athletes over the coming days, with the European Throwing Cup taking place in Cyprus and the NCAA Indoor Championships in the USA.

While last year's medal bonanza will be difficult to repeat in Nicosia, there is still plenty for the Irish throwers to play for, and while NCAA medals are also difficult to come by, three Irish athletes carry record-breaking form into the weekend's decider.

Meanwhile, six recently crowned National Senior Indoor Champions will be among those looking to add National U20 and U23 titles to their collections.

European Throwing Cup

The 2025 trip to Nicosia was a memorable one for Irish throwers, with three athletes making the podium. Nicola Tuthill earned her third consecutive medal in the U23 Hammer, upgrading from silver in 2023 and 2024 to win gold. Anna Gavigan threw a then PB of 53.91m to win silver in the U23 Discus, while 2024 World U20 medallist Oisin Joyce won bronze in the U23 Javelin.

Gavigan will compete again in the U23 Discus, and will look to at least match her performance from last year.

Tuthill went on to win silver at both the European U23 Championships and the World University Games before making the World Championship in Tokyo last year. She will seek to be competitive among Europe’s best senior hammer throwers here, in preparation for the European Championships in Birmingham this summer.

Niamh Fogarty broke the forty-year-old national discus record when she threw 58.40, in Oklahoma last April, and will look to improve on her 15th place from last year. Eric Favors, like Fogarty, is a regular on the Irish team for this event, and will be hoping for a big throw to set his outdoor campaign alight.

Conor Cusack made big strides in the Javelin last summer, ending the season with a PB of 75.42m. He will hope to carry that momentum into 2026, when he takes part in the senior Javelin competition for the first time.

Tuthill has already secured the qualification standard for the European Championships in Birmingham later this summer. Favors has surpassed the Athletics Ireland B standard, and is sitting well within the quota spots on ranking; indeed, his best is just 5cm short of the automatic qualification standard.

The respective Athletics Ireland B standards and the collection of ranking points will be at the forefront of Fogarty and Cussack’s minds in the coming months. Fogarty’s national record is better than the Athletics Ireland B standard of 57.80m, the minimum she would need to make her first major championships.

Cussack would need to improve to at least 79.00m to have any chance of making the cut-off for Birmingham, but given his improvement in the past 12 months, that is looking ever more possible.

NCAA battles

The startlists for the NCAA Division I Championships in Arkansas (Fayetteville) on Friday and Saturday will include five Irish athletes, including two who have also been selected for the World Indoor Championships next weekend.

Lauren Roy, who has been in scintillating form this season, will compete in the 60m and 200m. Roy has improved to 7.19 over 60m – the distance she will contest in Torun – this season and her 22.89 over 200m places her 2nd on the Irish all-time list, indoors and overall, behind Rhasidat Adeleke.

Maeve O’Neill has been another surprise package in early 2026, breaking the Irish Indoor 800m record last month and earning herself a spot at the World Indoors. She has improved her outright PB by 2.33 seconds this year and is ranked sixth on times this season heading into the weekend decider.

Elizabeth Ndudi is another to have set an Irish record this indoor season, when she added 1cm to Kelly Proper's 2010 mark. Ndudi is ranked fourth on 2026 performances, but with little to choose between the 16 contestants, this one could go down to the wire.

Abdel Laadjel had a fabulous run to finish top 10 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, and he will be in the mix when the 5000m title is contested on Friday.

Seán Donoghue, a regular on successful Villanova middle-distance relay teams, is among the names listed for their Distance Medley Relay team this weekend.

The NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III championships will also be contested this weekend. Louis O’Loughlin (Mile), Ava O’Connor (Mile, 3000m) and Claragh Keane (5000m) will compete at the Division II event in Virginia Beach, VA, while Lucas Fadden (60m, 200m) is among the qualifiers for the Division III event in Birmingham, AL.

The NAIA Championships – the other division of collegiate competition in the US - took place last weekend. Nathan Cremin won gold in the 1000m (2:22.26) while Heather Murphy won silver in the 5000m (16:24.40).

U20 and U23 athletes compete for national titles

National senior champions Sean Doggett, Michael Kent, Adam Nolan, Emmanuel Osas, Meabh Corkery and Kotryna Pacerinskaite will be among those competing for age-group medals in Athlone on Saturday.

Doggett, who is the fastest Irish man over 400m in 2026 will race over 200m (U23), while Kent, the national Pole Vault champion, will compete in the U20 Long Jump. Osas will again contest the High Jump and Nolan the 60m Hurdles, both at U23 level, while Coakery will look to continue her steady improvement in the U20 Pole Vault. Pacerinskaite, the national Weight for Distance champion, is entered for both that and the Shot Put this weekend.

The U20 women’s middle-distance races look stacked with talent, and are likely to be closely-contested affairs, but there is a strong entry right across the programme, and an exciting day of action is guaranteed. See the Athletics Ireland website for a full preview.

Lynch on the roads of New York

Former Irish marathon record holder Peter Lynch will continue his preparations for next month’s London Marathon when he takes to the NYC Half startline on Sunday. This will be Lynch’s first serious test since finishing 24th at the World Championships in September.

Even with a potential six spots available, it’s likely that the competition for the Irish places in the men’s marathon in Birmingham will be hotly contested.

Fearghal Curtin and Paul O’Donnell have already secured the Automatic Qualification standard, and Ryan Creech, who just missed that standard in Seville last month, is comfortably within the quota spaces. Lynch, National Champion David McGlynn, Barry Keane and Hiko Tonosa, also have the Athletics Ireland B standard, the minimum needed for selection.

Irish athletics looking to take momentum into 2026 championships

Elizabeth Egan | Jan 07, 2026

After a successful European Championships and two fourths at the Olympics in 2024, and a 2025 season which brought European Indoor, World Indoor, World Championship, European Cross Country, European 10,000m cup, European U20, European U23 and World University medals for Irish athletes, it's difficult not to get carried away.

Irish Athletics has clearly arrived, and 2026 will again provide plenty of opportunities for current stars to add more silverware, for new stars to make a breakthrough, and for the long-time injured to remind us of their existence.

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic derailed the 2020 season, there won't be a global outdoor championship. But worry not; the new World Athletics Ultimate Championships, which will round out the season, aims to ensure that the World's top athletes will still compete against each other in 2026.

But even more exciting from an Irish perspective is the fact that both the European and the Commonwealth Games will take place just across the Irish Sea. There will be a third World Indoor Championships in three years, World Relays in Africa for the first time, World U20 Championships in Eugene, and European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade at the end of the year, with plenty more in between.

Here’s a summary of the significant international athletics events due to take place across the year, the majority of which will feature Irish athletes.

World Cross Country Championships, Talahassee, USA, 10 Jan

The World Cross Country Championships head back to the US for the first time since 1992, the year that Catriona McKiernan won the first of her four consecutive silver medals in the Senior Women’s Race. Talahassee will play host to the first-ever January edition of the now-biannual event.

Four Irish athletes have been selected to compete in Talahassee, with a number of the top performers from the European Cross Country Championships heading indoors, or taking on the Valencia 10km in an attempt to qualify for the European Championships in August.

Fiona Everard, Niamh Allen and Brian Fay, who have all finished 10th at recent editions of Euro Cross will participate in the senior races while Noah Harris will be the sole Irish U20 representitive.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy

European Throwing Cup, Nicosia, CYP, 14-15 Mar

The indoor season won’t even have concluded by the time the top throwers open their 2025 campaigns at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia, the site of unprecedented Irish throwing success in 2025.

After two consecutive silver medals in the U23 Hammer, Nicola Tuthill took gold at the 2025 edition. A move up to senior level shouldn't daunt the athlete who reached the World Championship final in Tokyo.

Anna Gavigan (silver, U23 discus) and Oisín Joyce (bronze, U23 javelin) also won medals at the 2024 edition, and both are again eligible for the U23 category in 2025. Others who may make the trip are Conor Cusack (Javelin) who had a breakthrough 2025, Niamh Fogarty who broke the long-standing national discus record and Eric Favors who made another global championships in the shot put.

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

World Indoor Championships, Kujawy Pomorze-Toruń, POL, 20-22 Mar

The 21st World Athletics Indoor Championships will be held in Toruń, in the Polish Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship from 20 to 22 March.

The 2025 edition saw Ireland win its first medal in 19 years as Kate O'Connor took silver in the women's pentathlon. With no global outdoor championship in 2026 - the first time since 2020 that there won't be a World or Olympic outdoor Championships - this may well be a competitive event, and medals may be even more difficult to come by.

Qualification will be based on entry standards, with any remaining places to fill quota based on the Top Performances list during the qualification window (1st November 2025 to 8th March 2026).

Each country can have two athletes per event, plus a Wild Card where applicable. Wild Cards will be allocated to 2026 World Indoor Tour winners. There is no entry standard for relays; any nation can enter a team.

Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes

World Race Walking Team Championships, Brazilia, BRA, 14 Apr

In April 2026, the World Race Walking Team Championships will take place in South America for the very first time. The Brazilian capital will also host the first championship event to feature walks at the half marthon and marathon distances.

Oisin Lane, who finished 28th in the 35km Walk at the World Championships in Tokyo, and David Kenny, who finished 11th over 20km at the European Race Walking Cup last spring, are likely to lead any Irish team that is selected.

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

World Relays, Gaborone, BOT, 2-3 May

The World Relays head to Africa for the first time in 2026. With no global championships to qualify for in 2026, it's unclear what role the World Relays will play in the overall calendar, and whether or not Athletics Ireland will send a team.

There will also be smaller fields than in last year's edition, with just 24 federations in each event. The top 8 teams from the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo have qualified. The host nation is also guaranteed a spot in each event. Remaining places will be allocated based on the top list during the qualification period (1st Januray 2025 to 5rh April 2026).

At the end of the 2025 track season, Ireland sit in qualificaiton spots for the Women's 4x400m, Women's 4x100m and Mixed 4x400m relays.

Event info
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Road to Garborone

European 10,000m Cup, La Spezia, ITA, 23 May

La Spezia in Italy will host the European 10,000m Cup. 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.

Efrem Gidey won Ireland's first ever European 10,000m cup medal when he took the men's title in Pacé last year.

Event website
Athletics Ireland Selection Policy

European Off-Road Running Championships, Ljubljana-Kamnik, SLO, 5-7 Jun

The 3rd edition of the European Off-Road Championships will traverse the stunning landscape of the Kamnik–Savinja Alpine region in Slovenia.

The elites will compete over Uphill and Classic (up and down) Mountain races and a 52km trail race. Like with the inaugural European Running Championships, the event will be open to mass participants.

Event website

Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, GBR, 27 Jul - 1 Aug

Having picked up a silver medal at the last edition in Birmingham four years ago, Kate O'Connor, should she choose to compete, would head to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with clear medal expectations. Olympic medallist and two-time World Champion Katrina Johnson-Thompson would be her most likely rival for the Hepathlon title.

Other Northern Irish athletes who have already hit consideration standards are Nick Griggs (mile and 5000m), Callum Morgan (5000m) and Anna McCauley (Hepathlon). Others will look to secure their spot before the 14 June deadline.

Event website
Athletes who have achieved consideration standards

World U20 Championships, Eugene, USA, 5-9 Aug

The World U20 Championships will head to the Americas for the 3rd consecutive edition, having been held in Colombia in 2024 and Peru in 2021. The USA (also Eugene) last hosted this event in 2014.

Irish athletes have won just 5 medals at previous editions of the World Junior/U20 Championships: High Jump silver medals for Antoine Burke (1994) and Sommer Lecky (2018), 1500m silver for Ciara Mageean in 2010; Javelin bronze for Oisín Joyce at the last edition, and 4x100m silver for Molly Scott, Ciara Neville, Gina Akpe-Moses, Patience Jumbo-Gula, Rhasidat Adeleke in 2018.

European U20 Champion Conor Kelly (400m), who competed in Lima, is still young enough for the 2026 edition. Others that could potentially make the cut are European U20 finalists Cian Crampton (Discus), Theo Hanlon (Shot Put) and Dubem Amah (200m).

Event website

European Championships, Birmingham, GBR, 10-16 Aug

The European Athletics Championships will be held in Birmingham from 10 to 16 August 2026, marking the first time that the Championships will be held in the UK. Ireland had their most successful European Championships two years ago in Rome, with medals for Ciara Mageean (gold, 1500m), Rhasidat Adeleke (silver, 400m), the mixed 4x400m relay (gold) and the women's 4x400m (silver).

Kate O'Connor (Hepathlon), Cian McPhillips (800m) and Sarah Healy (1500m) are likely to also be among those in contention. Others to achieve the automation qualification standards before the end of the 2025 season are Israel Olatunde (100m), Sharlene Mawdsley (400m), Mark English (800m), Sophie O'Sullivan (1500m), Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs (both 5000m), Efrem Gidey (10,000m), Sarah Lavin (100m Hurdles), Nicola Tuthill (Hammer Throw), David Kenny (Half Marathon Walk) and Oisin Lane (Marathon Walk). Five of the six relay teams are also sitting in quota spots at the end of 2025, suggesting that this could be one of the biggest Irish teams ever at an international championship.

It's also likely to attract the biggest ever flock of Irish supporters.

Event website
Athletics Ireland Selection Policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes

World Athletics Ultimate Championships, Budapest, HUN, 11-13 Sep

The Ultimate Championships is a brand new competition which will run in the years where there is no World Championship and will close out the season. The first edition will take place in Budapest in September 2026.

Proudly representing their countries and competing for the largest prize pot in track and field, only the world's very best athletes win the right to compete.

Automatic qualifiers include 2024 Olympic Champions, 2025 World Athletics Champions and 2026 Diamond League winners. The best performers of 2026 based on the World Ranking qualification system will complete the remainder of the spots (16 in individual events; 8 in relays).

There is no limit on how many athletes from a single country can qualify. While we won't know Irish qualifiers until much closer to the date (none have qualified automatically), only Cian McPhillips (800m) and Sarah Healy (3000m) would have made the initial cut in 2025.

Event website

World Road Running Championships, Copenhagen, DEN, 19-20 Sep

No Irish athlete has ever won a medal at either the World Road Running Championships or its precursor, the World Half Marthon Championships. While it's unrealistic to expect that to change in 2026, the fact that the Irish half marathon record was broken here in both 2024 (Efrem Gidey) and 2025 (Fearghal Curtin), would appear a good omen for Irish road runners.

Championship medals will also be contested over the mile and 5km, in a city renowned for fast times.

Event website

European Cross Country Championships, Belgrade, SRB, 13 Dec

The European Cross Country Championships will return to Friendship Park in Belgrade on 13th December 2026, the site of the 2013 event and the 2024 World Cross Country Championships. Irish athletes will be hoping for more medals, having won silverware at each of the past six editions. Nick Griggs is young enough to defend his U23 title, as will three of his title-winning teammates. Emma Hickey has three more years in the U20 category where she won bronze in 2025. And the senior men will likely be looking to upgrade their team silver from last year.

Event website

Five events every Irish athletics fan should try to get to in 2026

Elizabeth Egan | Jan 05, 2026

Live athletics events in Ireland are more popular than ever. Last year, the National Senior Indoor Championships sold out in advance of the event; beautiful summer’s evenings saw a packed stand at the Cork City Sports and record numbers at the Morton Games in early July, and the National Senior Championships boasted its biggest attendance in decades.

With Irish athletes typically generous with their time, athletics fans, young and old, have plenty of opportunities to watch and meet their favourites across the season. Here are some of the top events to get to, and what fans can expect from each.

Irish Senior Indoor Championships, NIA, Dublin, 28 February-1 March

The National Indoor Arena at the Sport Ireland Campus in Abbottstown will again host two action-packed days of indoor competition, as athletes vie for national titles, qualification standards and ranking points.

The National indoor championships are rarely without at least one standout performance or moment of drama. In 2025, Seán Tobin out dipped James Gormley by the finest of margins to take the 3000m title, while in 2024, the closing stages of the men’s 1500m final, with Cathal Doyle and Nick Griggs falling over the line, had the crowd on the edge of their seats. In 2023, spectators witnessed Israel Olatunde smashing the national 60m record.

Not all athletes will race indoors, and some inevitably miss the national encounter in favour of managing niggles and sniffles ahead of the World Indoors.

Many, however, will be looking to achieve the entry standard or climb within quota for the upcoming World Indoor Championships.

With limited spectator capacity, the NIA is likely to sell out well in advance of the championships; book your ticket early (via Athletics Ireland website) to avoid disappointment. While most of the track finals will take place on Day 2, the Saturday programme won’t be without its drama, with half the field event finals taking place, along with a couple of track finals (timetable to be confirmed, but the 200m and 60m hurdles finals normally take place on Day 1).

Cork City Sports, MTU Track, Cork, 8 July

The Cork City Sports will again be the first of the big trio of senior domestic events in July. The intimate venue makes for a lovely evening out, especially when the sun shines. While the weather can’t be guaranteed, the athletics action rarely disappoints, with Ireland’s top athletes, especially those from Cork, battling it out against some top athletes from Britain, the USA and further afield.

Nicola Tuthill (Hammer) was the only Irish winner at the 2025 edition, but Cian McPhillips showed a glimpse of what was to come later in the summer when he finished second in the 800m.

The 2026 programme, like recent years, will include 100m, 200m, 800m and 3000m races for both men and women, as well a women’s 100m hurdles and the men’s mile, which traditionally concludes the programme. On the field, the women will compete in the Hammer Throw and the High Jump, while there will be Long Jump and Shot Put competitions for the men. Junior and national events will bolster what is typically a strong international meeting.

Fans who prefer to be seated in the stand should book their ticket early, as these have sold out in advance in recent years.

Morton Games, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 10 July

Just two days after the Cork City Sports, the World Continental tour will head to Santry for the Morton Games.

The Morton Mile, which concludes the programme, is one of the highlights, not just of the meeting, but of the annual domestic calendar. After a drought of 18 years, there have been Irish winners in three of the last four editions. Andrew Coscoran ’s dive just got the better of Cathal Doyle in 2022. Doyle finally got his name on the trophy with a dominant display in 2024, while Coscoran retained it in 2025. Irish athletes filled the top five spots last year, and eight ran under 3:57.

Cian McPhillips, however, was the star of the show last year, when he took the win in the 800m and dipped under the World Championships qualification standard. The performance was also a meeting record and a stadium record and earned him the Outstanding Performance on Irish Soil award at the Athletics Ireland awards in November.

Sharlene Mawdsey broke the meeting record when winning the women’s 400m, Israel Olatunde took the win in the men’s 100m, and Conor Kelly bettered the national U20 record when finishing fourth in the men’s 400m.

The 2026 edition will have international races over 100m, 400m, 800m, mile and 5000m and a Shot Put competition for men. The women will compete in 400m, 800m, 1500m, 100m hurdles, High Jump and Discus.

National Senior Championships, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 25-26 July

Heading into its 154th edition, the Irish Senior Championships is the longest continuous-running national championship in the World and should be the first fixture placed in any serious Irish athletics fan’s diary.

It’s a great opportunity for new fans of the sport to meet established and up-and-coming stars, and the best opportunity in the year for those who’ve been around the sport for a while to catch up with old competitors and friends.

The 2025 Championships was the best-attended National Senior in years, with children from across the country, along with their responsible adults, flocking to Morton Stadium to witness Ireland’s rising stars in action, and grab an autograph or two from current and past stars of the sport.

Among the highlights of the 2025 edition were Nicola Tuthill’s U23 record in the Hammer, truly competitive men’s 1500m and 5000m races, current and future national record holders going head-to-head in the men’s 800m, and a women’s 800m title fight for the ages.

Reece Ademola became just the second Irish man to jump eight metres in the long jump, and while it had marginally more than the allowed wind assistance for record purposes, it got the Irish public excited for what this talented young Corkonian can achieve. Sarah Lavin and Sharlene Mawdsley went up against each other in the women’s 200m, while Bori Akinola took his first senior outdoor title over 100m.

National Senior Cross Country Championships, venue tbc, 22 November

Cross country isn’t for everyone, but those who endured the rain in Derry last year were rewarded with one of the most extraordinary domestic battles in living history as the senior men’s race crowned its tenth different winner in as many editions.

Brian Fay ran out the eventual winner, but soon-to-be-European-Under-23-Champion Nick Griggs and 2023 winner Cormac Dalton made him work for it right to the line. Jack O’Leary, who would three weeks later lead the senior men to team silver at the European Cross Country Championships, came through for fourth place, with Darragh McElhinney and Efrem Gidey, both one-time leaders of the race, also earning their Euro Cross berths.

In addition to the Senior races, which incorporate the U23 Championships, and the U20 races, the event also incorporates the All-Ireland Even Age Juvenile Championships. With individual, inter-club and inter-county titles, as well as Euro Cross Country places, on the line, this is the cross country event to watch to get to.

The above five events make exciting viewing for even the most novice of athletics fans. If you’ve witnessed these and wish to get a bit deeper into the domestic athletics scene, then check out the Belfast Classic at Mary Peter’s Track, Belfast, on 9 May. Previous editions of this meeting have seen national records, Olympic and World Championships qualifying times, breakout performances and hundreds of personal bests.

The Irish Schools Championships in Tullamore (29-30 May) is the greatest annual showcase of rising stars with non-stop action, and straight finals throughout the Friday evening and Saturday programme.

The Autumn Open Cross Country in Abbotstown (18 October), gives a good gauge of who might be battling for European Cross Country glory later in the autumn, while the programme opens with the National Mixed Cross Country Relay Championships.

The streets of Dublin come alive on the final Sunday of October, as the city’s population pours out onto the streets in support of those taking on the Dublin Marathon for a variety of reasons, with some aiming to be crowned national marathon champions.

And with the European Championships (Birmingham) and Commonwealth Games (Glasgow) taking place just across the water in August, along with the Diamond League in London on 18 July, there’s plenty of opportunity for Irish athletics fans to watch live athletics in the year ahead.

Magic multi and field event moments of 2025

Elizabeth Egan | Dec 31, 2025

What a year 2025 has been for the field and multi-event athletes, with four international championship medals for Kate O’Connor, a world hammer final for Nicola Tuthill, new national records, breakthrough moments, and all-round momentum across many of the events.

Here’s a quick summary of the highlights from Irish field and multi events over the past year, along with what we might expect to see from these athletes in the season ahead.

Season of Dreams for O’Connor

Kate O’Connor started just six competitions in 2025. She set a new national indoor pentathlon in the first and won a World Championships silver medal and broke the National Heptathlon record in the last. In the intervening months she also picked up European Indoor bronze, World Indoor silver, the World University Games title, and broke the pentathlon and heptathlon records each on one other occasion.

Over the years, O’Connor has added 899 points to the national heptathlon record, and set new personal bests in every heptathlon and pentathlon discipline in 2025.

She ended 2025 as the second best in the world both by ranking (World Rankings) and performance (Top list). With World Indoor Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships all on the calendar, 2026 again provides multiple medal opportunities.

Three international medals, national U23 records, and a world final for Tuthill

Long before Tokyo places were confirmed, Nicola Tuthill had already had what can only be described as a successful season. After consecutive silver medals in 2023 and 2024, she finally won gold at the European Throwing Cup in Cyprus in March.

She then picked up silver at the European U23 Championships in Norway and the World University Games in Germany. She added 1.39 metres to her own national U23 record on 11th June and a further 4 cm at the National Senior Championships – where she took her fourth title – on 3 August.

But the icing on the cake came in Tokyo in September when, at 21-years-old, she made the World final.

Are we Javelin country now?

Oisin Joyce finished 2024 with a bronze medal in the Javelin at the World U20 Championships and started 2025 with a bronze medal in the U23 Javelin at the European Throwing Cup in March, throwing just 3cm short of the PB he set in Peru.

Despite injury halting his season before it really got going, Ireland wasn’t without an emerging javelin talent. Twenty-three-year-old Conor Cusack improved his best to 75.42m and elevated himself to third on the Irish all-time list.

While Terry McHugh’s Irish record is still some way off, Cusack and Joyce have the potential to ensure that the glory days of Irish javelin throwing are not all in the past.

Fogarty’s new discus mark

Ramona in Oklahoma is known as the place to go if you want to lob a discus a very long way. Niamh Fogarty made her first trip to the renowned venue early in 2025. After a few 55-56 metre results there, she finally got the hang of the wind assistance provided. On 27 April she launched the 2km implement out to 58.40m, adding 80cm to Patricia Walsh’s national record from 1984.

Fogarty won her seventh national discus title and her first in the shot put in August, after earning valuable points for Ireland in both events at the European Team Championships in June.

Ademola’s eight metre leap

Reece Ademola has long been considered one of Ireland’s top field event talents, and 7.97m in September 2023 hinted at what the future might hold. Injury intervened in 2024, however, and Ademola spent months recovering from surgery before making a return to competition in July this year.

Then in Santry in August, he jumped 8.00m (+2.6m/s) to take the Irish Senior title. Both that, and the wind-legal 7.93m (+1.6m/s) he produced that day, suggest that he is back to his best, and will have headed into the winter full of confidence. Irish record holder Ciaran McDonagh is the only other Irish athlete to have ever jumped eight metres in any conditions.

More multi-event madness

Kate wasn’t the only O’Connor breaking national multievent records in 2025. Twenty-three-year-old Diarmuid O’Connor – who finished fourth in the Decathlon at the European U20 Championships in 2021 – finally began to give some indication of what he’s capable of as a senior in 2024.

After a promising performance in December last year, he collected 5594 points at the Big East Conference Championships in February, adding 34 points to Joe Naughton’s National Heptathlon record. That record had been back in 2002, two months before O’Connor was born.

Consistent Favors

Eric Favors has been a staple name on the Irish teamsheet at major championships since 2022, having made it to two World Championships, two European Championships and an Olympic Games since then.

Despite spending most of the summer sitting in a quota spot for Tokyo, he left it very late, however, to achieve the required Athletics Ireland B standard (20.40) this time around. That he did on 8 August with a throw of 20.48. With his World Championship spot secured, Favors improved his season’s best to 20.75 on 21 August, the second furthest throw ever by an Irish man.

Gavigan gains

Anna Gavigan won silver in the U23 Discus at the European Throwing Cup in Cyprus. She finished eighth at the European U23 Championships in Bergen and improved her personal best to 54.20m, a distance that only three Irish women have ever exceeded, when taking the national U23 title in Tullamore.

With four metres separating them at their best, Fogarty is still the clear number one in Ireland, but she’ll need to bring her A game every time the two meet if she wishes to stay on top. Could a rivalry between these two take Irish women’s discus throwing to a world class level?

Young ones to watch

While none of them are throwing senior implements just yet, it’s exciting to see Cian Crampton, Thomas Williams and Theo Hanlon emerging in the throws. Crampton launched the 1.75kg discus to 58.32 in Loughborough in June, to break the Irish U20 record for the second time. He finished 6th at the European U20 Championships.

A personal best of 18.00 for the 6kg shot put in the qualifiers earned Hanlon a place in the European U20 final. Williams, the 2024 European U18 Hammer Champion, finished fourth at the European Youth Olympic Festival.

Elsewhere

Ruby Millet looks set to make a return in the long jump in 2025, where 2023 European U20 champion Elizabeth Ndudi already possesses world-class potential. Aoife O’Sullivan had a breakthrough year in the high jump.

Saragh Buggy received her first national championship defeat in a decade this year at the hands of Greek-national and Irish-resident Daphni Doulaptsi-Teeuwen, who exceeded 13 metres for the first time this summer. Might this competition give the St. Abban’s athlete fresh motivation in the year ahead?

Not all Irish field events contain international standard athletes at the moment, but it feels that more do than ever before. And even those which don’t, continue to provide intriguing and exciting battles on a national stage.

A rising tide lifts all boats, and with Irish athletics in rude health at the moment, the field eventers are determined not to be left behind.

Ten of the top races with Irish athletes in 2025

Elizabeth Egan | Dec 29, 2025

With Irish athletes in flying form over every distance, there were numerous magical moments throughout the 2025 track season.

World Championship silver for Kate O'Connor, record-breaking runs from Cian McPhillips in Tokyo, and Sarah Healy’s European Indoor title are obvious highlights, but we’ve delved a little deeper to bring you ten races well worth a re-watch.

From cracking indoor battles to record-breaking relay runs, here are some of our favourite noteworthy track performances by Irish athletes, at home and overseas, during the past year.

1. Everyone wanted the national 5000m title

They were all there, with their feet, and their necks, on the start line. Ok, so Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs were in the 1500m instead, arguably a tougher race for athletes who would one week later run 13:02 and 13:05 respectively, but there was still depth we’re not accustomed to seeing at this level. Nobody was dodging a challenge this particular weekend.

Efrem Gidey had become Ireland’s first European 10,000m Cup medallist (and champion) in May. Brian Fay is the Irish record holder at the distance. Andrew Coscoran had spent the indoor season breaking national records.

Cormac Dalton, in finishing eighth in Brussels in 2023, was Ireland’s highest finishing senior man at European Cross Country Championships since Joe Sweeney’s 4th place in 2011. Jack O’Leary had showed a return to form when running 13:22 at the Morton Games a few weeks previously. John Travers, Michael Murphy, Mark Hanrahan and Niall Murphy might well have been battling for a medal any other year.

And here they all were, ready to battle it out for a title.

There were still seven athletes in contention with four laps to go, before it was whittled down to five 3800m in. Then, with 350m remaining, it became a battle between the two fastest athletes in the field (both over 5000m and in their typical last-lap speed). But who would it be? Fay, looking for a third consecutive title, or Coscoran seeking a tough double?

Watch the closing stages here!

2. Morton magic from McPhillips

After a mediocre start to a redemption year, Cian McPhillips announced his return to the Irish consciousness when he dropped 1:45.33 at an indoor meeting in Boston on 14th February. A fall at European Indoors, and another injury, halted the progress, and despite having the Athletics Ireland B standard, the route to Tokyo looked a steep one for the Longford man.

McPhillips was back by European Team Champs, where he finished third, and he left it late when getting up for second place at the Cork City Sports. But it was at the Morton Games just two days later that he announced himself in emphatic style: win, personal best, meeting record, stadium record, and, most crucially, the automatic qualification standard for Tokyo.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Watch the race here!

3. Blanket finish to National Senior 800m final

While the men were going head-to-head over 1500m and the 5000m, it was over 800m that the best of Irish female middle distance running were tearing strips off each other at this year's national seniors. And that was just the heats.

Two athletes – Jenna Bromell and Sarah Healy – had already run 2:00 earlier in the summer, Alex O’Neill was making steady progress and had run 2:01.70 to finish third at the Morton Games, and Maeve O’Neill had been sublimely consistent all summer, running a PB 2:02.66 and just missing out on the final at the European U23 Championships.

It was those four at the front of a tightly packed and talent-filled field through 200m and 400m. As the pace quickened, Maddison Mooney (the bronze medallist over 1500m in 2024) and Hannah Seagrave (fourth at the British Championships over this distance in 2024), put themselves in contention; there were still six in it with 100m to run.

The title, and the medals, were only decided in the final stride.

What a race.

Watch the race here!

4. Another National Indoor battle too close to call

Every now and again we’re treated to two well-matched athletes equally determined to clinch a national title, neither willing to give an inch. And the result is enthralling to watch.

Indoors this year, over 15 laps, it was the turn of Seán Tobin - not a stranger to the tight domestic head-to-head - and James Gormley, who was bound for World Indoors.

Just 0.01 in it in the end.

Watch the full race here!

5. Olatunde at the season’s death

Bori Akinola had been the Irish sprinter in form all season. He took the indoor 60m title in February ahead of national record holder Israel Olatunde and won a first outdoor title over 100m after his more accomplished counterpart missed the final through injury. He even ran the fastest all-conditions 100m by an Irish man when he clocked a windy 10.10 (+2.9) in London in June.

But even after the domestic season had wound down, and with little but Tokyo left on the calendar, there was still time for a final twist in the Irish sprinting storyline. Recovered from the abdominal muscle tear which had halted his season, Olatunde appeared on the startlist for the final Be Fast Today Track Academy (BFTTA) Outdoor Series at Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London on 30th August.

This doesn’t sound like one of the more glamorous meetings on the circuit – and it isn’t – but sprint meetings in London attract many top British athletes and usually return fast times.

Olatunde clocked 10.27 (+1.3) in the first round. Nothing to write home about, but a solid performance none the less.

Then, with a perfect 2.0 m/s following wind, the magic happened.

Irish sprinting had just taken another leap towards world class.

Olatunde was now a 10.08 sprinter.

Watch Olatunde run 10.08 here!

6. Raftery’s breakthrough run

You could see what it meant to him. Forty-four-point-nine-eight. His first time under 45 seconds. Not the win that the team might have appreciated, but the fourth place finish by Jack Raftery in the 400m at the European Team Championships was probably the most celebrated performance of the weekend.

Raftery battled for every place beside the 2024 World Indoor and European Champion Alexander Doom (BEL), Balkan Champion Rok Ferlan (SLO) and 2023 World University Games bronze medallist Mihai Sorin Dringo (ROU), as he became only the second Irish athlete to run under 45 seconds for the distance.

Next stop? David Gillick’s Irish record, perhaps?

Watch Raftery break 45 seconds 3:57:14 into this recording!

7. You wait 25 years for a bus…

Marcus Lawler was just five years old when an Irish team – through John McAdorey, Gary Ryan, Tom Comyns and Paul Brizzel - last broke the national 4x100m record. None of his relay teammates were even born.

On 21 June in Geneva, Lawler, together with Michael Farrelly, Bori Akinola and Israel Olatunde, however, broke an almost 25-year deadlock when they clocked 38.92, and just six days later, with Sean Aigboboh standing in for Bori Akinola sustained a niggle in the warm-up, they went even faster, winning their heat at the European Team Championships.

Watch the men's 4x100m relay team run 38.88 at 5:14:20 into this recording!

8. Thompson’s 10,000m triumph

European U23 titles don’t come around very often for Irish athletes. In fact, in the 14 editions of the event prior to 2025, there has been just one: Sophie O’Sullivan (1500m, 2023). But the Irish athletics tide is rising, and on 18th July, Anika Thompson added a second when she took victory over 25 laps in Bergen, Norway.

Two Germans – Kira Weis and Carolina Shäfer made a break on the first lap, and Thompson quickly covered the gap and joined them 400m in. These three gradually pulled away, with Thompson tucked in conserving as much energy as possible.

Before halfway it was down to just two, with Weis setting a metronomic pace, and Thompson keeping cool and keeping her cool just behind her. With two laps to go Thompson took the lead for the first time, and tried to break Weis.

Both were trying to muster a sprint, and with 250m to go, there was still very little between them. The harder Thompson tried to pull away, the harder Weis tried to stick with her.

Finally, with just half a lap remaining, the German cracked, and Thompson pulled away for a dogged victory in 32:31.47, just over 23 seconds faster than she’d ever run before.

Watch the entire race from 4:22:10 or the final 1200m from 4:53:12

9. Maher's Masterclass

Thompson and Nicola Tuthill – who won silver in the hammer while Thompson was racing her 10,000m – set the ball rolling for the Irish team. But there was still more to come, as athlete after athlete stepped up and performed, none more so than Eimear Maher.

The DSD athlete came into 2025 with a PB of 4:22.01 over 1500m, and had already enjoyed a breakthrough season with a win at the Irish U23 Championships, and a PB 4:08.67 at the Morton Games. But the composure with which she ran the final in Bergen demonstrated that she doesn’t just have speed, but a great racing brain too.

Watch the entire race here

10. Efrem’s European Cup win

Ireland had never before won a medal at the European 10,000m Cup, but with the fastest time in the field, Efrem Gidey stood on the start line with a shot. He’d run 27:26.95 in California in March, a performance which earned him enough world ranking points to eventually make the quota for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, and a time which saw him fastest European on the track in 2025.

Gidey had just missed out on a medal in the half marathon at the European Road Running championships earlier in the spring. He had the speed, he now just needed to get the tactics right.

And that he did in style, making a decisive move with 650m to go, and never looking like he was going to be beaten from that point.

Watch the entire race here

Watch last 700m here

Five bonus watches

Niamh Allen versus Anika Thompson, 5000m at National Senior Championships: Watch here

Sarah Healy’s European Indoor 3000m win: Watch here

Conor Kelly becoming the European U20 400m champion: Watch here

Another classic Morton Mile: Watch here

Sophie O'Sullivan winning the NCAA 1500m title: Watch here

The focus here has been on track events; we’ll cover momentous field event moments in a separate upcoming article.

Registration will be needed to watch the Eurovision Sport recordings above.

2025: A record-breaking year for Irish athletics

Elizabeth Egan | Dec 23, 2025

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.

World Championships just days away

Elizabeth Egan | Sep 09, 2025

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.

National Senior Championships: what might grab your attention this weekend

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 31, 2025

Whether this will be a National Championships of the ages, only time will tell. But it’s certainly shaping up that way.

There are absences. That’s for sure. And a giant Thomas Barr-sized hole in the men’s 400m hurdles field. The timing, too, has made it difficult for U20 athletes, focusing on European U20s, and the US-based college athletes, who’ve been racing all season, to compete.

Despite some last-minute withdrawals, most of the recent championship medallists are expected to be there. The entry list also boasts nine current national senior outdoor record holders, and others who have their eyes firmly set on that particular prize. Indeed, a national record this weekend would not be completely beyond expectations.

And beyond the stars, there’s plenty else to interest casual and diehard athletics fans, including guaranteed first-time champions and others looking to extend their run of titles. Here is just some of what might grab your attention across two fierce days of competition.

The clash in the dash

Last year, the men’s 100m saw one of the closest finishes of the weekend. That Bori Akinola finished just 0.02 behind national record holder Israel Olatunde was then somewhat of a surprise. Even more so considering that Olatunde further reduced his record to 10.12 a few weeks later.

This year, not only would a close finish be much less of a surprise, but it is absolutely expected. The two met over 60 metres at the National Indoor Championships in February, and while Akinola was the clear winner on that occasion, Olatunde has found some form of late.

They haven’t raced each other since then, but their performances couldn’t be more closely matched. In Geneva, on the same day they joined forces to break the long-standing national 4x100m relay record, they raced in separate heats of the 100m. Both ran their wind-legal season’s bests that day: Olatunde 10.23 (+0.9) and Akinola 10.25 (-0.4).

Akinola ran the fastest 100m ever by an Irish man in Stratford in June, a wind-assisted 10.10 (+2.9), on the same track as Olatunde ran the Irish record (10.12) last season. More recently, Olatunde took the win at the Morton Games in 10.20w (+2.3), and Akinola ran 10.17w (+2.5) in Stratford a few days later.

There’s very little to separate them on paper, and with a national title on the line – it would be Akinola’s first outdoors; Olatunde is going for five in a row – there may be even less to separate them when they cross the line on Sunday.

The battle for bronze may be even fiercer. Don’t miss one of the greatest sights in Irish athletics at 6:10pm on Sunday evening as 10 of Ireland’s fastest men, and everything they represent, hurtle down the Santry home straight, potentially with the wind in their backs.

Blink and you’ll miss it. Experience it and you’ll be coming back for more!

Pride and Tokyo places at stake in the women’s middle-distance events

With a number of possible subplots, the women’s 800m and 1500m could be particularly exciting.

Having the season of her life, Sarah Healy might look like the nailed-on favourite for the 800m, but the event also includes another athlete who has run 2:00 this season.

Jenna Bromell is actually the fastest Irish woman over the distance this season, having run 2:00.53 in Belfast in early May, a time inside the Athletics Ireland B standard for Tokyo. While she is unlikely to rack up enough ranking points to be invited, a fast time here would boost her chances of making the European Championships in Birmingham next year.

Alex O’Neill, who recently ran 2:01.70 and Maeve O’Neill, who has been incredibly consistent this season, add further spice to a potentially exciting showdown.

Jodie McCann or Laura Nicholson still have a chance of joining Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan in the 1500m in Tokyo. Indeed, in the unlikely but certainly possible event of Healy winning the Diamond League final, both could make it.

McCann is currently within quota, but doesn’t have the Athletics Ireland B standard (4:08.00). Nicholson has the B standard but isn’t currently within quota. European U23 bronze medallist Eimear Maher is also not far off either the B standard or the quota spaces.

McCann ran herself into an Olympic spot thanks to her front-running tactics in the 5000m last year, though she would hope to not have to do it all herself over the shorter distance. McCann, Nicholson and Maher potentially all benefit from a fast race on Sunday. Will any of them be willing to set the pace?

Another potential mouthwatering clash in the men’s 1500m

The men's 1500m is almost always guaranteed to be a close-fought race. This year should be no different.

National record holder Andrew Coscoran is entered for both the 1500m and the 5000m, and has indicated on Instagram on Thursday that he will be doing the shorter event. Even if he chooses to do the 5000m (where, unlike in the 1500m, he is still looking to secure his spot in Tokyo), it still promises to be a cracker of a race.

There’s never much to choose between himself and Cathal Doyle, both of whom have the Auto Q for Tokyo, but Nick Griggs would very much love to spring a surprise, if not a complete shock, and win his first National Senior title.

Darragh McElhinney, James Gormley, Shane Bracken, Seán Donoghue, Lughaidh Mallon, Callum Morgan and Ronan McMahon-Staggs have all run sub 3:40 this season, and each has the potential to make the podium on their day, especially if any of the big three don’t show.

Expect trepidation, elbows, and a final lap dust-up.

Throws talent on display

Ireland winning three medals at the European Throws Cup earlier this year may have come as a shock to many, but the truth is that Ireland is in a healthy position in the throwing events right now.

Eric Favors, a regular at major championships, will be looking for the Athletics Ireland B standard to secure his spot in Tokyo. Expect a big cheer if he surpasses 20.40 on Saturday.

Nicola Tuthill already has three championship medals under her belt this season – European Throws Cup U23 gold, European U23 silver, World University Games silver – and has almost certainly secured her spot in Tokyo. Already an Olympian, the only thing seemingly missing is the national record.

2021 and 2022 National javelin champion Conor Cusack threw 75.18 metres a few weeks ago, putting him 3rd on the Irish all-time list, and anything close to that on Saturday will make for spectacular viewing.

Niamh Fogarty broke the long-standing women’s discus record earlier this year, and while she will be favourite to win what would be an eighth national discus title, a mediocre day might open the door for European Throws Cup medallist Anna Gavigan.

All-in-all, implements of the throwing variety could be flying a long way over the two days.

Streaking away

Over the past decade, Saragh Buggy has been peerless. She has 23 national senior wins, including nine consecutive outdoor triple jump titles. On Saturday, she’ll be looking to make that 10 in a row, but will have to overcome Greek national Daphni Doulaptsi-Teeuwen, who has beaten her, albeit by very small margins, three times this season.

Others on a run include Kate Veale (5000m walk), who has five consecutive titles and 10 in total; Seán Mockler (hammer) looking for his fifth consecutive hammer title; Sarah Lavin going for five in a row (and 10 altogether) in the 100m hurdles; Sommer Lecky looking for her fourth consecutive high jump title, Michael Healy looking for four in a row in the Weight for Distance, and the aforementioned Israel Olatunde, going for a fifth 100m title, and Doyle, going for his fourth consecutive 1500m title.

If Mark English chooses to run the 800m, he’ll be looking for his 10th title. Brian Fay (5000m), Reece Ademola (Long Jump), Favors (Shot Put), Fogarty (Discus), and Tuthill (Hammer) could all extend their current streaks to three.

Changing of the guard

Thomas Barr won 12 of the last 14 Men’s 400m hurdles titles, including every edition since 2012. Following his retirement, a first-time winner in that event is guaranteed.

Michelle Finn has won 10 of the 18 women’s steeplechase titles ever contested, including the past seven. In her absence, somebody new will take the honours.

Both Barr’s and Finn’s shoes are big ones to fill, but expect those who benefit from their absence to cherish their moment on the top step of the podium.

No matter the year, the event, or the athlete’s prior accomplishments, Irish Senior titles always mean a lot. If you don’t believe us, get yourself there over the weekend and experience for yourselves just what winning a title means to the best of Irish athletics talent.

(article updated following the announcement of some high-profile withdrawals)

Where we’re at on the Road to Tokyo and what National Championships might mean for those travelling it

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 31, 2025

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.

European U23 Championships starts another busy period for Irish athletes

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 16, 2025

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

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

European U23 Championships

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

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

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

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

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

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

London Diamond League

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

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

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

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

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

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

Domestic action

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continental Tour meetings

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Continental Tour comes to Ireland in July

Elizabeth Egan | Jul 02, 2025

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

European Team Championships the main event this weekend

Elizabeth Egan | Jun 27, 2025

The European Team Championships is the main event this weekend, but while some of the top athletes are taking advantage of a break in the Diamond League calendar to get some training done, there are still other events with Irish interest this weekend.

Nick Griggs will continue his comeback from injury/illness with his first 5000m of the season, a strong U20 team will compete in Germany, and others will be looking for personal bests abroad and at the Irish Milers Club meeting in Dublin.

European Team Championships (Saturday and Sunday)

Ireland streaked to victory (and promotion) when they competed in Division 3 of the European Team Championships two years ago, but they will find much tougher opposition, particularly in the field events, back in Division 2.

Despite some of the big names not being available for selection, athletes in many of the track events, particularly from 400m upwards, will be expected to collect big points. Sharlene Mawdsley (400m), Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) and the mixed 4x400m relay team will be targeting top spot.

This being Europe, the field events will be trickier. Take the women’s hammer throw, for example. Nicola Tuthill is currently ranked 20th on the Road to Tokyo. Only 27 women in the world have thrown further than her this year. Three of those (the Romanian, Danish and Norwegian competitors) will line up against Nicola on Sunday.

Eric Favors, too, is ranked 4th based on season’s best in the 16-man shot put field, while David Cussen, ranked equal 5th in the high jump, is another possibility for decent field event points.

The key to respectability will be ensuring that nobody ends up with a no mark, and that all perform at or near their best. The different rules used for vertical jumps, with athletes only allowed four fouls in total across all attempts, will affect the results. Whether they work in Ireland’s favour or not is yet to be seen.

The event will be streamed on European Athletics. Action starts at 1.30pm (Irish time) on both days, with the mixed relay concluding the programme on Sunday evening.

Continental Tour Bronze and Challenger meetings (Friday and Saturday)

A small number of Irish athletes will be competing in the handful of Continental Tour meetings happening this weekend.

Among them are Nick Griggs who will have his first run out over 5000m since returning from prolonged illness/injury at the Meeting National de Carquefou (CT Challenger) in France on Saturday. His training partner Callum Morgan will also be racing the 5000m there, while Mark Milner will be running the 1500m.

On Friday, Lauren Callaghan is on the start list for the long jump at the International Sparkassenmeeting (CT Challenger) in Germany. Fresh from her recent PB, Victoria Amiadamen will compete over the 400m hurdles at the Midsommer meeting in Berlin on Saturday.

Domestic action

Some strong fields have been assembled for the Irish Milers Club Crucaders AC meeting on Saturday, where there will be 400m, 800m and 1500m races for both men and women, as well as 3000m for the women, and 5000m for the men.

The women's 1500m is looking particularly strong with Amy O'Donoghue, Niamh Kearney, Roisin Treacy, Ellie Hartnett and Cheryl Nolan among the entries. Paralympian Greta Streimikyte will race the B race.

The Biofreeze Irish Runner National 5 Mile Road Race will take place in Phoenix Park on Sunday morning (9am start).

Elsewhere

A very strong U20 team will compete at the Bauhaus Juniorengala in Mannheim, Germany, on Saturday and Sunday. Mountain Runner Zak Hanna will be taking on le Cross du Mont-Blanc (23km) on Saturday.

Buckle up; it's going to be another busy one

Elizabeth Egan | Jun 06, 2025

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

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

Rome Diamond League: 1500m starts for Healy and Doyle

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

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

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

Continental Tour Gold comes to Hengelo

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

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

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

World Racewalking Tour Gold

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

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

Continental Tour bronze and challenger meetings and other events abroad

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

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

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

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

Leinster Senior, U20 and Masters Championships

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

Also...

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

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

European Team Championships the highlight of the June athletics calendar

Elizabeth Egan | Jun 02, 2025

The month has already started, but we still have four action-packed weekends to look forward to, in addition to a growing number of mid-week meets. The month will conclude with the European Team Championships, where what should be a strong Irish team will be looking to see just how close they can get to the top tier of Europe’s inter-nation competition.

There’s plenty of Diamond League competition and Continental Tour gold, silver and bronze meetings to look forward to before then, as well as lower-key meetings where some of Ireland’s emerging talent will be looking to register personal bests.

European Team Championships

After being relegated for not competing (due to Covid restrictions) in 2021, the Irish team secured their place back in Tier 2 in fabulous style in 2023. Among the athletes to secure wins last time out were Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Lavin. Nicola Tuthill (2nd Hammer Throw) and Cathal Doyle (2nd 1500m) have improved considerably since then.

While the competition, particularly in the field events, will be much stiffer in the higher tier, Ireland will hope to field an even better team than they did for Chorzów.

The two-day event, which will be held in the Slovenian city of Maribor on 28 and 29 June, will be aired on Eurovision Sport.

The Diamond League comes to Europe

There are four European legs of the Diamond League in June: Rome on 6th, Oslo on 12th, Stockholm on 15th and Paris on 20th.

Sarah Healy will be competing in the 1500m in Rome and Paris and Rhasidat Adeleke has just been announced for the 400m in Oslo. We can probably expect to see other Irish athletes in action across the four fixtures.

Other key Continental Tour meetings

Some of Europe’s biggest continental tour meetings will be held in June, including Continental Tour Gold meetings in Hengelo on 9th June; Turku on 17th June and Ostrava on 24th June.

The month kicks off with Continental Tour Silver meetings in Rovereto (silver meeting) on 2nd June, where Mark English will be competing in the 800m and Brian Fay in the 5000m; and Bergen on 3rd June, where Jodie McCann is down to run the 5000m and John Kelly is on the shot putt start list.

Indeed, there are continental tour meetings somewhere in Europe almost every day in June. One of the biggest – the bronze meeting in Geneva on 21 June, should include a healthy group of Irish athletes.

NCAA Div I Nationals

Five Irish athletes will compete in individual events at the NCAA Division I nationals in Eugene from 11th to 14th: Maeve O'Neill (800m), Sophie O'Sullivan (1500m), Shane Brosnan (10,000m), Seán Mockler (Hammer Throw) and Diarmuid O'Connor (Decathlon). Lucy Sleeman and Lauren Roy helped qualify their respective 4x100m teams for nationals and should again feature. O'Sullivan made the final last year, but will have a medal on her agenda when she lines up this year.

Closer to home

Among the domestic meetings worth getting yourself to this month are the Belfast BMC and Lagan Valley Open on 14 June; the UCD Meeting on 18 June, and the Irish Milers Club meeting on 28 June.

Key dates in June

6 Jun: Diamond League Rome, live on Virgin Media
9 Jun: Continental Tour Gold, Hengelo, live on World Athletics
11-14 Jun: NCAA Div I Finals, Eugene
12 Jun: Diamond League Oslo, live on Virgin Media
14 Jun: Belfast BMC with Lagan Valley Open Meeting, Belfast
15 Jun: Diamond League Stockholm, live on Virgin Media
17 Jun: Continental Tour Gold, Turku, live on World Athletics
18 Jun: UCD Athletics Meeting, Dublin
20 Jun: Diamond League Paris, live on Virgin Media
24 Jun: Continental Tour Gold, Ostrava, live on World Athletics
28 Jun: Irish Milers Club Crusaders AC Meeting, Dublin
28-29: European Team Championships, second division, live on Eurovision Sport

The weekend of the athletics fan's dreams

Elizabeth Egan | May 23, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another year of Championships

Elizabeth Egan | Feb 07, 2025

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.

Dates for the Diary: 10 Irish events to get yourself to in 2025

Elizabeth Egan | Jan 06, 2025

Irish athletics fans are spoilt for opportunities to meet current and future stars of the sport across the country, and throughout the year.

Here we highlight 10 of the top events for spectators, including a mix of indoor, outdoor, cross country and road events.

Irish Senior Indoor Championships, NIA, Dublin, 22-23 February

The National indoor championships are rarely without at least one standout performance or moment of drama. In 2024, the closing stages of the men’s 1500m final, with both Cathal Doyle and Nick Griggs falling over the line, was a battle worthy of any stage.

The 2023 Championships, the year of the last European Indoors, was a particularly exciting one. Israel Olatunde smashed the national 60 metre record. Elizabeth Ndudi won the Long Jump on countback from Ruby Millett. Jack Raftery, in a last-dash effort to make European Indoors, set a new Championship Best Performance in the 400m. Mark Smyth (200m) and Saragh Buggy (Triple Jump) were both just outside the respective national records.

While some athletes, including Rhasidat Adeleki, have said that they’re foregoing the European and World Indoors this season and are therefore likely to skip nationals, there will be no shortage of athletes looking to step into the limelight.

The intensity of the indoor setting, together with the proximity of the action, gives indoor competition a particularly electric atmosphere. The short season means that many will still be chasing qualifying standards, B standards, and ranking points, and with two major championships in the calendar, and places on a couple of relay squads on the line, there’s sure to be more NIA drama in 2025.

Athletics Ireland normally do a two-day ticket at a reduced price, and those under 16 go free, but spectator seating is limited, so you are advised to secure your ticket early. Most of the track finals will be on the second day, but with half the field events and the sprint hurdles finals on the Saturday, there’s sure to be drama right across the weekend.

Belfast Irish Milers Meet, Mary Peter’s Track, Belfast, 10 May

Ten years since the first edition, the season-opening Belfast Irish Milers Meet has seen national records, Olympic and World Championships qualifying times, breakout performances and hundreds of personal bests.

The women’s 800m never disappoints. Louise Shanahan and Ciara Mageean both broke two minutes in 2022, the former in a then Irish record of 1:59.42. Shanahan won again in 2022 in 1:59.53, to date her only other time under two minutes. Great Britain’s Phoebe Gill catapulted herself into the public consciousness when she front-ran 1:57.86 last year. The seventeen-year-old was one of several athletes in action to later compete at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Sophie Becker set the tone for the year ahead when she ran 51.13 seconds for the 400m last May, which, at the time of writing, is still good enough for fifth place on the Irish Alltime list. Cillín Green, Jack Raftery, Callum Baird and Sean Doggett were all well under 47 seconds in last year’s men’s 400m.

The meet is free to attend and in addition to invitational races over 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m, has graded middle distance races for national-level athletes. When the weather plays ball, Mary Peters track is one of the most beautiful venues for spectators. Pack the picnic, and prepare yourself for surprises, drama, and maybe even a record or too.

Irish Schools Championships, Tullamore, 30-31 May

While the focus of TrackAthletes is on senior athletes, it would be remiss of us not to mention the greatest annual gathering of rising stars. The top juveniles rarely miss this one, and with limited age-groups, it’s an opportunity to see head-to-heads that don’t happen at other juvenile events.

The Irish Schools Championships is always slickly run, and while a small number of the events now take place on the Friday evening, the Saturday is non-stop action, with straight finals throughout.

Cork City Sports, MTU Track, Cork, 9 July

With National Seniors a bit later this year, the Cork City Sports is the first of the big trio of senior domestic events. The intimate venue makes for a lovely evening out, and the athletics action rarely disappoints, with Ireland’s top athletes, especially those from Cork, battling it out against some top athletes from Britain, the USA and further afield.

Last year saw wins for Sarah Lavin (100m Hurdles) and Reece Ademola (Long Jump), with Cathal Doyle second in a very competitive mile, Nick Griggs third behind a pair of Americans in the 3000m, and Nicola Tuthill third in the Hammer Throw, just missing the 70m mark.

The 2025 programme, like last year, will include 100m, 200m, 800m and 3000m races for both men and women, as well a women’s 100m hurdles and the men’s mile, which traditionally concludes the programme. On the field, the women will compete in the Hammer Throw and the High Jump, while there will be Long Jump and Shot Put competitions for the men. Junior and national events will bolster what is typically a strong international meeting.

Morton Games, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 11 July

Just two days after the Cork City Sports, the World Continental tour will head to Morton Stadium in Santry, for the Morton Games.

The Morton Mile, which concludes the programme, is one of the highlights, not just of the meeting, but of the annual domestic calendar. After a drought of 18 years, there have been Irish winners in two of the last three editions. Andrew Coscoran ’s dive just got the better of Cathal Doyle in 2022, the pair leading five Irish athletes under four minutes on that occasion. Doyle finally got his name on the trophy with a dominant display in 2024.

In addition to the Mile, the 2025 edition will have international races over 100m, 400m, 800m and 5000m and a Shot Put competition for the men. The women will compete in 400m, 800m, 1500m, 100m hurdles, High Jump and Discus.

National Senior Championships, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 2-3 August

This is the first fixture placed in any serious Irish athletics fan’s diary. Not only is it a great weekend of athletics, but it’s the best opportunity in the year to catch up with old competitors and friends from the world of athletics.

The 2024 Championships was one of the best attended in recent years, with children from across the country, along with their responsible adults, flocking to Morton Stadium to witness Ireland’s rising stars in action, and grab an autograph or two form current and past stars of the sport.

The highlight of the 2024 edition was, no doubt, Rashidat Adeleke breaking the Irish 100m record. Other stars from the European Championships in Rome, including Nicola Tuthill, Sophie Becker, and Phil Healy also competed. While Thomas Barr’s attempt to qualify for the 400m hurdles in Paris ultimately ended in heartbreak, Cathal Doyle (1500m) and Oisin Joyce (Javelin) demonstrated why they were athletes to look out for later in the summer. Jodie McCann did enough in her front-running 5000m victory to secure a place for Paris, while Jack Raftery’s surprise victory in the 400m sealed his place on the mixed relay.

In addition to the numerous stars on display, the national championships always has some spectacular head-to-heads, particularly in the middle distance events. Who can forget the epic 1500m battle in 2020 between Paul Robinson and Sean Tobin, or the one between Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan in 2023, just weeks after they finished second and first at the European U23 Championships.

The international element means that the Cork City Sports and Morton Games are a slightly higher standard across the board, but if you want to see what a national title means to Irish athletes, then get yourself to Morton Stadium for the best weekend of athletics on the island!

Autumn Open Cross Country, Abbotstown, Dublin, 19 October

This World Cross Country Tour meeting comes very early in the season, but that makes it all the more exciting. The dry ground and shorter distances hand a slight advantage to the track athletes, and it’s always interesting to see how athletes are fairing after the end of season break.

The inclusion of U20 athletes, who race a lap fewer than the seniors, the trials for the Masters Cross Country International, and a sprinkling of international runners, add extra spice to the event.

The main Men’s and Women’s races are preceded by the National Mixed Cross Country Relay Championships, which serves as the trial race for the European Clubs Cross Country Championships, and the national juvenile relays.

Mid-October sees the purpose-built Abbottstown course at its autumnal best, and the action-packed programme makes this a great afternoon out for all the family.

Dublin Marathon, Dublin, 26 October

The streets of Dublin come alive on the final Sunday of October, as the city’s population pours out onto the streets in support of those taking on the 26.2 miles for a variety of reasons.

While not known for fast times, those who made the effort last year will have witnessed Hiko Tonaso Haso break the Irish record, and AnnMarie McGlynn complete the first stage of a historic autumn double as she took the Irish Women’s title and added the Irish Cross Country title to her resume just three weeks later.

The atmosphere in the city centre, as hundreds of spectators line the final mile of the course, is definitely worth experiencing, but there are lots of other great points along the course to get a glimpse of international stars, loved ones, and friends, and maybe to run into a fellow spectator or two that you know.

Who knows, you may even be inspired to take on the distance yourself next year!

National Senior Cross Country Championships, Derry, 23 November

Castle Irving in Fermanagh provided a beautiful backdrop for last year’s well-attended and well-organised Championships, which provided its fair share of surprises.

The event incorporates not just the National U20, U23 and Senior Individual Championships, but also the National inter-club and inter-county team competition and the European Cross Country trials. The All-Ireland Even Age Juvenile Championships also form part of the programme.

An action-packed day is guaranteed, filled with ecstasy and heartbreak, and that’s just those at the back of the field. Kileen Kilreehill’s win in the Senior men’s race in 2024 showed just what winning a national title means to an athlete, while AnnMarie’s utter shock at taking the women’s title reminded onlookers how wonderfully unpredictable this sport is.

There have been nine different winners of the Senior men’s title in the past nine editions, while seven different athletes have won the Senior women’s title since 2017. As the event heads to Derry, be sure you go too, and see who adds their name to the role of honour. Just don’t forget to pack your wellies.

National Senior 35km Walks Championship, Raheny, 14 December

In addition to being a national championship event, this meeting has World Racewalking Tour Bronze status, and in 2024 many top international walkers flocked to Dublin to record a time over what is currently the longest walk on the international programme.

As a national championships event, it also carries valuable performance points for Irish athletes looking to secure qualification for international competitions in 2026.

St Anne’s Park is a beautiful place for a Sunday morning stroll, so why not pop along and see how Ireland’s fastest walkers take it on.

Other events worth a watch include the various IUAA Intervarsity championships (indoors in February, Track and Field in April, and Cross Country and Road Relays championships in the autumn), the All-Ireland School’s Cross Country Championships (early March), the National U20 and U23 Track and Field Championships (early July), and the National Track and Field League Final in July.

For a full list of senior competitions in Ireland, search the Fixtures Calendar using the ‘country’ filter.

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Lynch on the roads of New York

World Cross Country Championships, Talahassee, USA, 10 Jan

European Throwing Cup, Nicosia, CYP, 14-15 Mar

World Indoor Championships, Kujawy Pomorze-Toruń, POL, 20-22 Mar

World Race Walking Team Championships, Brazilia, BRA, 14 Apr

World Relays, Gaborone, BOT, 2-3 May

European 10,000m Cup, La Spezia, ITA, 23 May

European Off-Road Running Championships, Ljubljana-Kamnik, SLO, 5-7 Jun

Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, GBR, 27 Jul - 1 Aug

World U20 Championships, Eugene, USA, 5-9 Aug

European Championships, Birmingham, GBR, 10-16 Aug

World Athletics Ultimate Championships, Budapest, HUN, 11-13 Sep

World Road Running Championships, Copenhagen, DEN, 19-20 Sep

European Cross Country Championships, Belgrade, SRB, 13 Dec

Irish Senior Indoor Championships, NIA, Dublin, 28 February-1 March

Cork City Sports, MTU Track, Cork, 8 July

Morton Games, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 10 July

National Senior Championships, Morton Stadium, Dublin, 25-26 July

National Senior Cross Country Championships, venue tbc, 22 November

Season of Dreams for O’Connor

Three international medals, national U23 records, and a world final for Tuthill

Are we Javelin country now?

Fogarty’s new discus mark

Ademola’s eight metre leap

More multi-event madness

Consistent Favors

Gavigan gains

Young ones to watch

Elsewhere

1. Everyone wanted the national 5000m title

2. Morton magic from McPhillips

3. Blanket finish to National Senior 800m final

4. Another National Indoor battle too close to call

5. Olatunde at the season’s death

6. Raftery’s breakthrough run

7. You wait 25 years for a bus…

8. Thompson’s 10,000m triumph

9. Maher's Masterclass

10. Efrem’s European Cup win

Five bonus watches

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

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

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