Noah Harris

It is easy to be blinded by the numbers as the indoor season blasted out of the blocks, so to speak, records tumbled and qualifications standards were set left, right and centre.

But January 2026 must surely be remembered foremost for the breakthrough performances by Irish athletes at the World Cross Country Championships, with all three senior athletes finishing in the top 25 in Tallahassee.

World Cross Country Championships

Brian Fay in 16th, Niamh Allen in 21st, Fiona Everard 23rd; it’s been a long time since three Irish athletes finished in the top 25 in senior races at the World Cross Country Championships. Twenty-four years, in fact, and, on that occasion, four athletes finished in the top 25 in the now-discontinued short-course races.

Brian Fay’s 16th place was the best result by an Irish athlete at this level since Fionnuala McCormack finished 14th in the women’s race in 2013, and the best result for an Irish man since Alistar Cragg finished 16th in the short course race in 2004.

Noah Harris went with the early pace in the U20 men’s race, and was just half a lap short of also returning a great result. He was inside the top 20 going onto the final lap, but faded over the final stages to finish 38th.

National records

Mark English broke his own Irish records over both 600m (1:15.80) and 800m (1:44.65) in the space of five days. The former was essentially a solo run at the NIA, the later on the way to an impressive WIT silver win in Luxembourg.

Efrem Gidey was another to break his own Irish record, as he ran 27:38 in Valencia, the site of his previous best 12 months ago. He was pushed all the way by Jack O’Leary, who also dipped under the previous mark.

Diarmuid O’Connor added two points to his own national heptathlon performance with 5596 in Philadelphia.

Elizabeth Ndudi added 1cm to Kelly Propper’s national long jump record with 6.63, just short of her own outdoor record of 6.68m.

Sarah Leahy also bettered the best time recorded for 50m, with 6.41in Switzerland.

Among the numerous age-group records set in January were new U23 marks for Nick Griggs at both 3000m (7:32.79) and 5000m (13:19.90); an U23 800m record for Emma Moore (2:01.21) and a new U23 mark for Liam Lyons over 1000m (2:21.16). Ndudi’s aforementioned long jump mark was also a national U23 record.

More stats

World Indoor qualification standards

With qualification only opening in November, no Irish athletes had officially secured the standard for the World Indoors coming into 2026, though ranked second in the heptathlon, Kate O’Connor is already guaranteed qualification.

By the month’s end Bori Akinola (60m), English (800m), Griggs (3000m), Andrew Coscoran (3000m) and Sarah Lavin (60m Hurdles) had hit the World Athletics qualification standards.

Ciara Neville and Lauren Roy (60m), Moore and Maeve O’Neill (800m), and Ndudi (Long Jump) also bettered the Athletics Ireland B standard and, at the time of writing, are all currently within quota spots for the championships.

Irish athletes on Road to Toruń

European qualification standards

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a quieter month for European Championship qualification, though O’Leary secured the standard for the 10,000m, courtesy of his run in Valencia.

Ndudi (Long Jump) and Roy (200m) also secured Athletics Ireland B standards, which would make them eligible to be selected should they finish within quota spots based on world rankings for their respective events. Some of the sprinters, including Bori Akinola and Ciara Neville, are quietly adding to their ranking scores thanks to their fine recent form over 60 metres.

Irish athletes on Road to Birmingham

World tour events

Cian McPhillips was a clear winner of the 600m at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston, the only WIT Gold meeting in January. Andrew Coscoran finished second in the 3000m at the same meeting and just missed the Irish record he set when winning this race in 2025. Griggs was fourth, Brian Fay 10th and James Dunne set the pace, in a race won by Australian emerging star Cameron Myers.

In addition to the WIT Silver meeting win for English in Luxembourg, Moore finished second, also at 800m in Luxembourg, while Sarah Lavin finished second in the 60m hurdles at the silver meeting in Paris. Bronze wins went to Akinola (60m) in Lyon and Lauren Callaghan (long jump) in Nantes. Akinola and Callaghan went on to set personal bests and take Challenger wins in Glasgow, where Niamh Carr added the mile win to the 2000m win she picked up the previous week at a Challenger meeting in Portugal.

Laura Nicholson won the mile at the Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Whanganui, New Zealand. Elsewhere, Darragh McElhinney got his season off to a good start with an impressive win over 3000m in Boston (Cat F meeting), though it looks like he’d need to go second on the Irish all-time list to secure a spot at the World Indoors, unless Coscoran opts to only contest the 1500m.

National titles

Laura Frawley (Nenagh Olympic) retained the national pentathlon title, while Mohammed Ibrahim Halil (Raheny) took the heptathlon title. The mixed 4x400m relay title went to Ratoath AC.

And if you thought January was busy, wait until you see what February has in store!

The 46th edition of the World Cross Country Championships will take place at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida tomorrow (Saturday), 10th January. While there is the chance of a three-time winner in the senior men's race, the senior women's event is guaranteed a new champion. 

The following are just some of the athletes to watch out for across the three senior races.

Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda, Senior Men)

Two-time champion Jacob Kiplimo will likely start as favourite for Saturday’s title. The Ugandan has had considerable success at this event, winning the U20 title on home turf in 2017, finishing second to compatriot Joshua Cheptegei in Århus in 2019, as Uganda took their first Senior men’s team title, before taking the senior title in Bathurst (2023) and Belgrade (2024).

Kiplimo has raced considerably on the roads since his win two years ago, making his marathon debut in London last year, and winning the Chicago marathon in October in 2:02:23. He also ran a staggering 56:42 for the half marathon in Barcelona late last year, though that time has notably not been ratified as a world record.

If he were to win on Saturday, Kiplimo would join John Ngugi, Paul Tergat and Kenenisa Bekele as the only male athletes to win three or more titles.

Berihu Aregawi (Ethiopia, Senior Men)

Berihu Aregawi finished second to Kiplimo at this event in both 2023 and 2024 and was also runner-up to Cheptegai in the 10,000m at the Olympic Games in Paris. He, as much as anyone, would love to break Uganda’s current stranglehold on this title.

Aregawi is a two-time Diamond League champion, but having also finished second to Jakob Ingebrigtstein at the 2025 World Indoor Championships, he’s at risk of becoming known as Mr Silver when it comes to global titles. Imane Merga, the 2011 champion, was the last Ethiopian to take the individual title.

Daniel Simiu Ebenyo (Kenya, Senior Men)

As their trials winner, Daniel Ebenyo will lead the Kenyan team into Saturday’s Championships. The 2025 Chicago marathon winner was runner-up over 10,000m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, and finished sixth in this event in Bathurst that year.

Like Aregawi, Ebenyo is a regular on the second step of the rostrum, having also picked up silver medals at the 2023 World Road Running Championships (half-marathon), the 2022 Commonwealth Games (10,000m) and the 2022 African Championships (5000m).

Geoffrey Kamworor, the 2015 and 2017 champion, was the last Kenyan to win this race.

Thierry Ndikumwenayo (Spain, Senior Men)

Thierry Ndikumwenayo took the European Cross Country title in Lagoa in December, and will lead a strong Spanish team into Saturday’s race. He was top European representative at the last edition in Belgrade. He’ll be looking to improve on his ninth place finish from then, the same result as he achieved in Århus, then representing Brundi, in 2019.

Jimmy Gressier (France, Senior Men)

Nidkumwenayo outsprinted World 10,000m Champion Jimmy Gressier to take the European crown, but the Frenchman will at the very least be looking to be top European in Tallahassee. Despite having multiple European Cross Country titles, Gressier’s only previous World Cross appearance was in the U20 race in Guiyang in 2015 where he finished 80th.

Brian Fay (Ireland, Senior Men)

Ireland will be represented by national 5000m record holder and national cross country champion Brian Fay. Fay recently became the first Irish man to finish in the top 10 at the European Cross Country Championships, a race he’s participated in on four occasions, on more than one occasion.

Fay has also represented Ireland at European Indoors, European Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Games. This will be his first World Cross Country Championships.

Agnes Jebet Ngetich (Kenya, Senior Women)

Kenya have won the last nine senior women’s titles. In the absence of two-time champion Beatrice Chebet, World 10km record-holder Agnes Ngetich will lead those looking to continue the streak that dates back to 2009. Ngetich won bronze in this race in 2023 and just missed out when finishing fourth last time out (she was originally fifth, but Emmaculate Anyango who finished one place ahead of her has subsequently had her result annulled due to doping).

Among the Kenyan athletes joining Ngetich will be the Kenyan trails winner Maurine Chebor. Chebor will be competing at her first global championships.

Sarah Chelangat (Uganda, Senior Women)

Ugandan Sarah Chelangat is next best of the returners from Belgrade where she finished fifth. The most recent result on the World Athletics website for Chelangat, however, is a DNF in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo, so her current form is somewhat unknown.

Uganda have never won the senior women's title.

Asayech Ayichew (Ethiopia, Senior Women)

The Ethiopian challenge will be led by Asayech Ayichew, who won silver in the U20 race in Belgrade, won the Ethiopian trial event in November and recorded 29:43 at the Valencia 10km this time last year.

Tirunesh Dibabe, back in 2008, was the last Ethiopian to win this title.

Megan Keith (Great Britain, Senior Women)

In the absence of Olympic and World Championship 10,000m medallist Nadia Battocletti, Great Britain’s Megan Keith will be the leading European contender. Keith finished second to Battocletti at the European Championships in December, and will be confident of improving on her 52nd place in Bathurst in 2023.

Weini Kelati (USA, Senior Women)

Eritrean-born Weini Kelati was the leading American in 14th place last time out and was the runaway winner of the US trails in November. She’ll be hoping to give the home crowd something to cheer about.

Fiona Everard (Ireland, Senior Women)

Irish cross-country champion Fiona Everard will be making her second appearance at this event. She recently finished 10th at the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal, was 60th at the last edition in Belgrade two years ago (she crossed the line in 63rd but three athletes ahead of her have subsequently been disqualified for doping). Everard is one of the few Irish senior athletes, male or female, to win the Autumn Open Cross Country and National Cross Country title while also leading home the Irish team at Euro Cross in the same season.

Niamh Allen (Ireland, Senior Women)

Niamh Allen will also be among the starters. Like Fay and Everard, Allen has also finished 10th at a European Cross Country Championships (Antalya, 2023) at recent editions of the European Cross Country Championship. She finished second to Everard at the Irish Championships in November and was 23rd at the European Cross Country Championships in December. The Leevale athlete will be making her debut at this level.

Jessica Hull (Australia, Mixed Relay)

Olympic 1500m silver medallist Jessica Hull (Australia) will be among the athletes contesting the mixed cross country relay. Being the world record holder over 2000m – the approximate length of each relay leg - Hull should feel at home with the distance. She was a member of the Australian team that won bronze in this event on home turf in 2023, so the surface, too, shouldn’t faze her.

The senior races at Tallahassee will be preceded by men's and women's U20 races. Noah Harris will be Ireland's sole representative across the age category. The programme starts at 2:45pm Irish time, and the event will be shown on Virgin Media Two and Eurovision Sport. We have links to these and the live results on our World Cross Country Championship page.

TrackAthletes will celebrate its first birthday in January but, more importantly, the speed and power athletes will hit the boards and some of the endurance athletes will take on the World Cross Country Championships and go in search of European Championship qualification standards at the Valencia 10km.

While by no means the busiest month of the year, January provides a reminder of how short and sharp the indoor season is, and gives a good indication of who to look out for in the months ahead. Here is just some of the action to get fans excited in January.

World Cross Country Championships

The World Cross Country Championships are taking place in the month of January for the first time in the 53-year history of the event. Endurance athletes will descend on Tallahassee, Florida, for the January 10th decider, and among them will be Ireland’s Brian Fay (Senior Men), Fiona Everard, Niamh Allen (both Senior Women) and Noah Harris (U20 Men).

Everard, who recently finished tenth in the senior women’s race at the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, was 62nd at the 2024 edition of the global event in Belgrade. Fay, Allen and Harris will all be making their World Cross Country debuts.

The senior men and women will race over 10km, more than 2.5km further than Europeans, while the U20 races will cover approximately 6km, also considerably longer than the European Championship distances. There will also be a 4x2000m mixed relay on the programme.

The event will be on Saturday afternoon (Irish time), and will be available to watch on Virgin Media 2 (in Ireland) and online.

Valencia 10km and other road action

While some of the world’s best distance runners will be racing in Tallahassee, many others will be preparing for one of the world’s fastest 10-kilometre road races in Valencia the following day. The elite startlist includes 120 athletes, including Jack O'Leary who recently finished 5th at the European Cross Country Championship, Cormac Dalton, who was 11th in the same race, and Efrem Gidey, who set the Irish 10km record at this event last year.

O'Leary and Dalton will be targeting the European Championships standard of 27:50. Gidey has already secured that standard, but will, no doubt, be looking to improve the 27:43 he ran there in 2025.

Peter Lynch, who held the Irish National Marathon Record for part of 2025, will be taking on the Houston Half Marathon on what will be a very busy weekend for Irish endurance athletes, and later in the month, Ryan Creech will race over the same distance in Seville.

There are likely to be others taking on the half marathon too as endurance athletes sharpen up for the spring marathon season.

World Indoor Tour meetings

Andrew Coscoran set an Irish record in the 3000m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (World Indoor Tour Gold) in Boston last year, and he is the first Irish athlete announced for the 2026 edition, which will take place on 24th January.

There are World Indoor Tour silver meetings in Luxembourg (18 Jan), Tampere (21 Jan), Stockholm (22 Jan), Düsseldorf (24 Jan), Paris (25 Jan), Łódź (25 Jan) and Miramas (30 Jan) this month, and Irish athletes are likely to be competing at some of these.

The Irish female jumpers look set to make the most of indoor competition abroad with Saragh Buggy, Lauren Callaghan and Sommer Lecky on startlists for World Indoor Tour bronze and challenger meetings later this month.

Domestic action

Mark English is among the entrants for the 600m at the third NIA Track & Field Live meeting of the season in the NIA on Wednesday 14th January.

Strong fields are entered for the AAI Games on Saturday 17th January, particularly in the 60m. The first national champions of 2026 will be crowned at the National multi-event championships on 17th and 18th January and the National mixed 4x400m relay championships which are being held alongside the AAI Games.

The National Indoor League will get underway the following weekend, and will be followed by NIA Track & Field Live #4, and the Leinster Senior & U20 Championships before the month is out.

Other indoor action

Middle distance athletes know that if they want to record a fast time indoors, then the track at Boston University is the place to go. A number of Irish athletes will train at altitude in Flagstaff before hitting the boards alongside some of the US-based collegiate athletes at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at the end of the month.

A number of other college meetings will see Irish student-athletes chasing performances to qualify them for the NCAA indoor championships in March.

Irish Pole Vault champion Clodagh Walsh, and heptathlete Anna McCauley, who has already secured the Northern Ireland consideration standard for the Commonwealth Games, are among the Irish athletes currently appearing on startlists for events in the UK across the month.

The World Indoor Championships will take place in Poland in March, and with qualification only opening in November, no Irish athlete has, at the time of writing, achieved a consideration standard. Expect that to change dramatically as the month progresses. We’ll bring you all the qualification moments, national records, and other significant performances as they happen.