Pia Langton U20

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.

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.
 

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

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

Diamond League

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continental Tour meetings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National U20 & U23 T&F Championships

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere

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

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