Sharlene Mawdsley

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.

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.

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

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.

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

This weekend’s two big events see five Irish Olympians in action. Another is among those hopeful of securing a spot in the NCAA Div I finals. A sprinkling of other events have a sprinkling of other Irish athletes in action. Here’s a quick summary of what to look forward to.

Irena Szewińska Memorial, Bydgoszcz

On Friday, Mark English (800m), Cathal Doyle (1500m) and Jodie McCann (1500m) will all compete at the Irena Szewińska Memorial (Continental Tour Gold) in Bydgoszcz. Both English and Doyle have accumulated considerable Road to Tokyo ranking points already, with English best of those who haven’t achieved the Auto Q. Neither were far off their personal bests when they opened their seasons last week, and bettering the respective qualification standards of 1:44.50 and 3:33.00 would be a nice bonus at this point in the summer.

The 1500m appears to be a tune-up outing for McCann who is set to race over 5000m at the Trond Mohn Games (Continental Tour Silver) on Tuesday. There she’ll be hoping to run fast enough and finish high enough to elevate herself back within the quota spots for Tokyo.

Bydgoszcz will be broadcast on the World Athletics Website from 6-8pm, Irish time.

Grand Slam Track, Philadelphia

Sharlene Mawdsley will get her first taste of Grand Slam Track racing when she competes in the long sprints group in Philadelphia on Saturday (400m) and Sunday (200m). She’ll be up against Olympic Champion Marileidy Paulino, among others.

Andrew Coscoran stunned the field when winning the 3000m last time round. While he won’t have to race the 5000m too this time, there is only half the prize money on the line, and Grant Fisher, and the rest, will likely be prepared for his speedy finishing kick.

Mawdsley already has the Auto Q in the 400m for Tokyo, but she may well be looking to revise her 2023 200m PB of 23.18.

Coscoran too, is already sitting on a Tokyo Auto Q in the 1500m, though he has mentioned looking to secure qualification over 5000m too (he is currently sitting in a quota spot). Sunday’s race, however, is unlikely to be fast enough to improve his ranking.

NCAA Regional Qualifiers/first round (Florida and Texas)

At the time of writing, Diarmuid O’Connor (Decathlon), Seán Mockler (Hammer Throw) and Shane Brosnan (10,000m) have already secured their spot at the NCAA National finals, which will take place in Eugene from 11-14 June.

Sophie O’Sullivan, Laura Nicholson and James Dunne (all 1500m) are among the others looking to join them at the Regional qualifiers, which conclude in Florida (East) and Texas (West) on Friday and Saturday.

You can follow the East qualifiers here and the West qualifiers here.

Other in action

Cillian Kirwan and James Gormley (in Karlsruhe on Saturday), Lauren Callaghan and Conor Murphy (in Nice on Saturday), Saragh Buggy (in Lier on Saturday) and Anna Gavigan (in Loughborough on Sunday) are among others competing this weekend. Keep an eye on the homepage over the weekend for other additions, as some startlists have not yet been released.

This weekend runs straight into a busy mid-week programme with Brian Fay and Mark English set to compete in Rovereto and Sommer Lecky, Callum Baird, Oisin Lynch and Christopher Sibanda in San Vito al Tagliamento on Monday, McCann (as previously mentioned) and John Kelly in Bergen on Tuesday, and others throughout the week.

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.

There’s no doubt but that Irish relay running is on the rise. In Paris last summer, the women’s 4x400m team came ever so close to what, just a few years ago, felt unimaginable: an Olympic relay medal.

But the current success didn’t happen overnight. The current Irish relay story is the blossoming of seeds that were planted in the unlikeliest of places. Two races in particular spring to mind.

And then there’s been the success. The silverware, the record-smashing runs, the beginning of what feels like something that will provide further fruit in future years.

These are five of our favourite relay races with Irish interest from the past decade.

From the Depths of Hell

Women’s 4x400m, IUAA Intervarsity Championships, 2016

This race had it all.

Three future Olympians (Phil Healy, Louise Shanahan, Michelle Finn), plus other future national medallists at various distances, including Ellie Hartnett and Jenna Bromell.

Athletes who had competed in multiple disciplines over the two days of the championships.

Those who had been coerced into running one more lap of the Morton Stadium track. And those who were there very much by choice.

A breakout run.

A finish for the ages.

And the soon-to-go-viral commentary to match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVhjAXEyjMI

Rare World U20 medal

Women’s 4x100m relay, World U20 Championships, Tampere, 2018

Irish medals at World U20 Championships are a rare thing. In fact, when the women’s 4x100m relay team took the starting line at the 2018 event in Tampere, Finland, generations of Irish athletes had between them accumulated just two.

Therefore, a silver medal was a pretty big deal for the quartet of Molly Scott, Gina Akpe-Moses, Ciara Neville and Patience Jumbo-Gula who ran a national U20 record that day, the reserves (Rhasidat Adeleke, who’d raced in the heats, and Lauren Roy), the Irish team, and a nation of aspiring relay runners.

For some of that squad, Adeleke in particular, their athletics story was only just beginning. Others, like Roy, have taken till 2025 to blossom. Jumbo-Gula, has since retired, while Scott, Akpe-Moses and Neville, have learned just how difficult turning junior talent into senior success can be.

But no matter their story, this is a moment in time of which they should all be proud.

Watch the race here!

Just the Beginning

Mixed 4x400m, World Relays, Nassau, May 2024

Having secured Olympic qualification for both in the qualification rounds, the tight schedule and restrictions around the use of reserves meant that Ireland prioritized the mixed 4x400m over the women’s 4x400m at last summer’s World Relays.

Still a relatively new event, it’s not surprising that the Irish quartet of Cillín Greene, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley set national records in both the qualifying rounds (3:12.50) and the final (3:11.53).

Some of this quartet were involved when mixed relay made the final of both the Olympics in 2021 and the World Championships in 2022, but the addition of Rhasidat Adeleke gave them their first serious chance of a medal. The team duly delivered, as they finished a close third behind the USA and the Netherlands.

Most of Ireland may well have been sleeping when the quartet won their bronze medals, but the 48.45 split from Adeleke made the world sit up and take notice.

Watch the conclusion of the race here!

The full race can be watched in Ireland via Eurovision Sport coverage (mixed relay is 2hrs 46 mins into the day two coverage).

Goosebump Moments in Rome

Mixed 4x400m relay, European Championships, Rome, June 2024

The World Relays, it seems, was just a prelude for things to come. With Adeleke, Mawdsley, Barr and Chris O’Donnell all making themselves available to run on the first night in Rome, despite each also having individual hopes for the championships, it was clear that the Irish meant business.

And again they broke the Irish record as they won Ireland’s first European gold medal since 1998. Their time, 3:09.92, was just over a second outside the then World record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-lV4hErGUQ

Ever so close

Women’s 4x400m relay, Olympic Games, Paris, August 2024

Sophie Becker. Rhasidat Adeleke. Phil Healy. Sharlene Mawdsley. Four athletes having the collective run of their lives. A national record of 3:19.90.

Ultimately short of the sport’s biggest prize. But only just. A mere 0.18 of a second between them and a medal.

We may never see an Irish relay run like this again.

But you can’t help but suspect that these four have other ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf1Ap5Cl0Mg

It's been an epic six weeks tracking the route Irish athletes took to Apeldoorn. Some came into 2025 with the Auto Q already secured and many hit it in their first competition of the year. Others had plenty of ranking points, but needed the Athletics Ireland B standard to be selected. 

A few hung out around the quota cut-off for the past few weeks, knowing (or at least hoping) that there would be some withdrawals. And here we are with a team of 19. This is a summary of how each individual and team qualified for Apeldoorn.

Bori Akinola (60m) was sitting in or around the cut-off mark coming into the season, and once he nailed the Athletics Ireland B standard (6.65) at the National League on 19 Jan he was all but assured his place, given the number of athletes ahead of him on the Road to Apeldoorn who were unlikely to compete. Akinola’s silver medal at last summer’s National Seniors made up a big chunk of his final ranking score, along with his win from National Indoors and that 6.65 from the national league. Two rounds of the UCD Track and Field Meeting in June were enough to complete Akinola’s Apeldoorn-qualifying score.

Sharlene Mawdsley (400m): While her place by ranking was never in doubt coming into the season, Masdsley made things straightforward when she achieved the Auto Q in her first race of the season in Glasgow on 2 Feb. Her 51.69 that day was an indoor personal best, and her fastest time of the season so far.

Lauren Cadden and Rachel McCann (both 400m) were selected for relay teams in Apeldoorn and therefore did not need to hit the Athletics Ireland B standard. They took the final two slots on the Road to Apeldoorn (Cliodhna Manning and Arlene Crossan were next in line for a place). Like Akinola, both Cadden and Manning benefited from the podium finishes at last summer’s National Senior Championships and the placing points that it, as a Category B event, carried. But most importantly, they had enough outdoor performances (at least 3) to have a ranking score. Both will be making their senior individual debut in Apeldoorn.

Mark English (800m), a regular in high-scoring races, rarely struggles to gather ranking points. He was already sitting pretty on 1240 points when he ran the Auto Q (and smashed the Irish record in the process), at the Millrose Games on 8 February. English, a two-time medal-winner at this event, goes into Apeldoorn ranked third of the field on season’s best.

Cian McPhillips (800m) looked to have a mountain to climb when sitting in 48th place. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, he ran 1:45.33 – an outright PB, second on the Irish all-time list, and most importantly the Auto Q for Apeldoorn. McPhillips is ranked fifth by season’s best among the field.

Cathal Doyle (1500m) seems to love just missing Auto Qs, and the Road to Apeldoorn has been no different; the 3:37.00 standard just alluding him on this occasion. He did, however, achieve the B standard on 7 Feb and thanks to three Category A top 4 finishes, a swift Olympic semi-final result, and another fast category C podium finish, Doyle amassed a massive ranking score of 1289 points. That’s almost 200 points more than was needed to make it on quota.

Sarah Healy (3000m): Because she had raced no 5000m races outdoors last season, Sarah always needed the Automatic qualification standard of 8:48.00. She achieved that in Boston in her first race of the season where she broke the Irish record, and improved it a week later in New York. Her time then - 8:30.79 – ranks her second by time among the Apeldoorn field. Sarah did also achieve the Auto Q for the 1500m, but has opted for the longer distance in Apeldoorn.

Jodie McCann (5000m): Having chased ranking points for the 5000m in Paris last summer, Jodie had a good chance of making Apeldoorn on ranking, so long as she achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard. She achieved that on 4 Feb, and while sitting in the last of the 24 slots the week before the window closed, she was well within the quota once withdrawals were made. McCann’s final ranking was made up of the same three performances that got her to the Olympics.

Andrew Coscoran (3000m), like Healy, needed the Auto Q, and that he delivered in his first outing of the season, with an impressive win and national record-shattering 7:30.75 in Boston. The following week Coscoran broke the Irish 1500m and mile records, but, like Healy, has chosen the longer distance in Apeldoorn. He is ranked third in the field on time.

James Gormley (3000m): A former British junior international, the first step for James was to gain his Irish eligibility, which happened in November last year. James hit the Auto Q in Boston on 14th February to secure his place.

Sarah Lavin (60m hurdles): has been making a habit of getting qualification out of the way early, and she achieved the required standard (8.00 seconds) at the World Indoors in Glasgow last March, within the first week of qualification for this event.

Kate O’Connor (Hepathlon) surpassed the Athletics Ireland B standard for Apeldoorn with her best heptathlon performance last summer, and she came into the indoor season sitting just inside the quota spots. Her 4683 national record on 2 February, however, bettered the Auto Q.  She is one of only three of the field to do so this season.

The Mixed 4x400m and Women's 4x400m relay teams both qualified by time, thanks to their Rome and Paris performances respectively. Netherlands, as hosts, were guaranteed a slot in each relay, the next three teams were decided based on 2024 toplist, and the final two slots in the 6-team finals were allocated based on cumulative times of a country’s best 4 performers this indoor season.

Orla Comerford (PA 60m) will also compete in Apeldoorn, European Athletics having added two Para Athletics events to the programme.

Those who have been around the sport for three decades or more will have fond memories of the intimate nature of competing at Nenagh’s Indoor Athletics Track, which was until 2000 the only indoor stadium on the island of Ireland.

Spectators and teammates banging on the metal advertising hoarding that circled the track provided the ultimate climax to hotly contested races. Encounters with styrofoam cups, chicken soup and the smell of Deep Heat may still conjure up nostalgic feelings. But the thing you’ll likely remember the most is the cold.

The stadium in Nenagh was ahead of its time, but indoor facilities have come a long way since then. Both the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Abbotstown and the arena on the Athlone Campus of the Technological University of the Shannonside (TUS) provide pleasant experiences for athletes and spectators alike.

Indoor athletics is special. The audience is closer to the action and the shorter 200m track means that athletes pass by more often. And spectators no longer need to pack a duvet and a hot water bottle. If you want to experience athletics at its most intense, get yourself to the NIA or TUS Athlone for one of the events on the domestic calendar. Here’s what to expect.

200m and 400m

Races of 200m and longer take place on the outer 200m circuit, which has banked curves. The banks are added to make it easier for athletes to maintain speed while negotiating the tight indoor bends. Drawing an outer lane therefore holds a greater advantage, and athletes racing over 200m or 400m will be particularly hopeful of being allocated lane 5 or lane 6.

Because of the disparity of the lanes, 200m is no longer an event at European or World Indoor Championships. But it is still raced at National level, and some of Ireland’s best 200m and 400m athletes often test their speed at this distance at National Championships. Sharlene Mawdsley won the women’s title in 2023, while Mark Smyth just missed the National Record in the men’s race the same year.

While they stay in their lanes the whole way around outdoors, 400m runners break to the inside after 150m indoors. Athletes used to having a whole lane to themselves learn quickly what it is like to be an 800m runner. Because of the physical nature of the event, the first 200m can be pretty fierce, and spectators have a clearer picture of positions throughout the race. However, there’s an advantage to being out front at the bell, and races are sometimes decided a lot earlier than they are outdoors.

Because there are fewer lanes indoors – usually only six, compared to the regular eight outdoors - and because of the advantage of outside lanes, the battle for final places and favourable lane draws is pretty cut-throat. Semi-finals are definitely worth watching. With no 200m or 400m hurdle contested indoors at European or World level, the 400m indoors can also make it a particularly competitive event at championships.

800m, 1500m and 3000m

Middle-distance athletes get to race 800m, 1500m and 3000m indoors (5000m is sometimes held, particularly in the US, but it is not a championship distance, and the steeplechase is very rarely raced indoors).

Because they go by twice as often, the middle distance races are particularly engaging. There is an advantage to being out front, and unlike racing into the wind outdoors, little disadvantage, so athletes often make their move earlier. The ‘sit and kick’ approach doesn’t always work indoors, and athletes who plan to make their move off the last bend often find that they’ve left it too late. That’s not to say that home-straight dramas don’t happen, but they look a bit different indoors.

The 3000m in particular attracts an interesting mix of 1500m runners looking to gain some strength over the winter, 5000m runners working on their speed, steeplechasers not wanting to be forgotten, and those who not-so-secretly wish that 3000m was a championship event outdoors.

Fifteen laps may sound like a long way, but if an athlete lapses in concentration for just one moment, they’re gone. And sometimes ‘gone’ involves unexpected contact between skin and track. Sharp elbows, sustained attention, and a pinch of luck are essential kit bag items.

60m and 60m hurdles

The limited space indoors means that the sprinters and hurdlers race just 60 metres. The short sprints and hurdles take place on the infield, allowing for at least eight lanes. But the short distance between the end of the race and the edge of the outer track is rarely enough for the speedsters to stop, so the final act of their performance tends to involve a crash with the padding that lines the outer track barriers.

The start plays a big part in all sprints, but never more so than over 60 metres. Some athletes are more suited to the shorter distance, and those who dominate indoors are not always the same ones who win the medals outdoors.

The Irish men’s 60m record is just 6.57 seconds (Israel Olatunde, 2023), while Derval O'Rourke's women’s 60m hurdles record is 7.84, so the short sprints are the ultimate event for those with short attention spans. But don't be surprised if there's a false start or two - the unwanted consequence of athletes trying to get every advantage out of the blocks.

Field events

There’s no visible difference between the high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump indoors and out, though athletes don’t have to deal with the weather. Shot put, too, is similar to outdoors, though the shot usually lands on mats rather than grass or grit, and they tend to have a rubber rather than a steel outer. All the field events take place in the centre of the track, so there’s no excuse for not paying attention.

There is no Javelin, Discus, or Hammer indoors, for obvious reasons, and the long throwers will instead brave the spring weather for some dedicated outdoor throwing meets, including, for the international athletes, the European Throws Cup.

Relays

While both 4x200m and 4x400m relays feature on the domestic calendar, the 4x400m is the only relay raced at European and World Championship level. And if you thought those events got messy outdoors, wait until you see the drama that unfolds indoors!

Some of the more technical stuff

Indoor performances, particularly from 200m upwards, are generally slower than those achieved outdoors. In addition to most athletes still being in winter training, so not yet in peak form, the tighter and more regular bends and the increased bumping and barging, means that an athlete’s indoor personal best tends to be slower than their best time outdoors.

World Athletics, European Athletics and National Federations therefore have separate records for indoor and outdoor competitions. Or at least they used to.

Athletics Ireland continues to have separate records and all-time lists for indoor and outdoor performances. World Athletics, however, have started to view things a bit differently. Since 2024, competitions held on a 200m track are know as short track, irrespective of whether they’re held indoors or out. These events (200m and above, pentathlon for women, heptathlon for men, and the indoor relays) have separate short track records.

For a few years now, field events have a combined world record, irrespective of whether it was achieved indoors or out (depending on what sort of a season Mondo Duplantis has had, the pole vault record may have been achieved indoors). There is now also just a combined 60m and 60m hurdles recorded, which can be broken indoors or out.

While the distance of regular indoor tracks is 200m, indoor competitions are sometimes held on 300m and 400m tracks, often without banked bends. These tracks are not considered ‘short track’, and don’t count for short track or indoor records or qualification purposes. Indoor performances on tracks that are longer than 200m are often recorded as being held on an oversized track.

Because racing indoors (i.e. on a 200m track) is usually a bit slower, the points available for ranking purposes are more generous. Performances achieved on oversized indoor tracks are scored as if they were achieved outdoors.

Domestic calendar

The indoor season is much shorter than the outdoor season, with most of the senior events held between mid-January and late February. The Athletics Ireland Indoor Games, two rounds of the national league, the Indoor Combined Events Championships, and the action-packed IUAA Intervarsities provide the warm-up for the main event, the National Senior Indoor Championships.

Track and Field Live provides graded open competitions, across all the age groups, between November and February. National Masters Championships, National U20 and U23 Championships, National Juvenile Championships – of which the relays provide all the passionate and chaotic entertainment you’ll ever need – and provincial championships across the various age groups complete the calendar.

What is TrackAthletes?

TrackAthletes is your ultimate resource for following Irish track and field athletes. It includes information about Irish athletes, what competitions they’ll be competing in, and how to follow all the major domestic and international indoor, track and field, multievent, race walking, cross country and road racing events. 

We list the Irish athletes currently in qualifying spots for major international championships, including on the road to Apeldoorn (European Indoor Championships), Nanjing (World Indoor Championships) and Tokyo (World Athletics Championships). The current qualification picture for other international championship events, together with links to event websites and selection policies, can be found via our Road to Elsewhere/Other Championships page.

If you want to follow specific athletes or meetings, simply set up an account, and add the athletes, competitions and championships you’re interested in to your Watchlist.
 

Who is the site for?

Anyone with an interest in Irish athletics will find something of interest on the site. Our main target audience are fans of the sport - new and diehard - who want to watch more Irish athletes in action.

If you’re just interested in, for example, Sharlene Mawdsley because you went to school with her, then select her profile from the Irish Athletes page, set up an account, and add her to your Watchlist. If you opt to receive email notifications, we’ll let you know every time she’s due to compete.

If you’re a die-hard fan, and want to watch everything the sport has to offer, then check our calendar each day, and you’ll see what competitions are on, and how to watch them.

We’ll write articles for those who are somewhere in between, and want to learn more about the sport, when the best events are on, and how to watch them.

If you’re an athlete, you can use the filter options on our calendar to plan your season. However, we strongly recommend that you check all details on the meeting organisers’ websites before firming your race plan; some information, including dates of competitions and level of the meet, can change as the season progresses.

We want to elevate the sport of athletics, and journalists and others working in athletics media may find useful information for telling the story of Irish athletes on their journey to major championships. Credit in return is always greatly appreciated.
 

You use the word Track in your title. Does that mean we can’t find anything about field events here?

TrackAthletes is all about tracking athletes, irrespective of their discipline, as they compete on the international circuit and try to qualify for major championships. We share links so you can follow Irish athletes (by livestream and live results, where available), in track and field competitions and on the roads and cross country, and updates of athletes qualified for upcoming major championships. Ireland have some talented field and multi-event athletes emerging on the international stage, and we’re just as excited to track their progress as we are the sprinters and distance runners.
 

I watched the athletics at the Olympics, and liked what I saw. How can I follow the sport in non-Olympic years?

Firstly, you’ve come to the right place. We really want to help lower the entry barrier for new fans of athletics. During the summer there are meets on most nights of the week, but not all are entertaining for those new to the sport. We’ll list events that are coming up on TV on our homepage - they’re a great place to start as they’ll generally have Irish athletes competing, informative commentary, and something at stake (e.g. championship titles or lots of prize money). 

If you search the calendar page for ‘Very High’ relevancy you’ll get a list of upcoming competitions either in Ireland (so with lots of Irish athletes), or with top international stars and/or high profile Irish athletes competing. Information is included on how to watch these events and where to find the timetable, startlists and live results.

We also share some articles on what is good to watch and how to follow the sport closer. Check out our suggestions for 10 events to attend in Ireland and our guide to indoor athletics for beginners.
 

There are a lot of filter options on the Calendar page. How can I best use them?

This searchable database of events includes national and international competitions, and will be of interest to both fans looking to watch the events, and athletes looking to plan their seasons.

• Click on the competition title to find out more about it, including the list of events and details of how to enter the competition, where available.
• The various World Tours can be chosen from the Tour option.
• The level of the event (Championship, Diamond League, Gold, Silver, Bronze) can be chosen under the Category option. Domestic and International Championship events are also highlighted with a purple surround.
• Events or disciplines (e.g. women’s 800m; Men’s 20km walk) can be selected from the event option. 
• You can also choose the type of competition/surface on which it will be held (e.g. indoor, cross country, road, track).
• The relevancy option highlights competitions you won’t want to miss. The relevancy rating is outlined below. The relevancy of an event may increase closer to the time as Irish athletes are confirmed.
• Once you have set the variables you want to search by (e.g. all Continental Tour Bronze events with women’s 800m), you can export the list of competitions to excel by clicking on the Export to Excel button.

Dates of competitions, events at a particular meeting, and the level of the meeting may change. While every effort is made to ensure that the information is up to date, please always check the meeting website. We hold no responsibility for loss or damage occurring as a result of information gained from this site.
 

Can you explain the relevancy scale?

Very High: High standard events in Ireland - these are events we think you should try get to in person.
High: Major Championships, Diamond Leagues, and World/Continental Tour Meetings with Irish athletes competing.
Medium: These are lower-ranked meetings with Irish athletes, or World/Continental Tour Meetings which are likely to feature Irish athletes, but have none listed yet.
Low: These are meetings which have little or no relevance to fans of Irish athletes and do not feature big international stars.
 

Why do only certain meetings appear on the homepage?

The Upcoming Meetings list on our homepage indicate the next meetings which have a Very High or High relevance attached to them, i.e. that they are domestic meetings, or are World Athletics tour meetings with Irish athletes confirmed in them. If you'd like to see a more complete list of upcoming meetings, then please check out the Meeting Calendar.
 

Are juvenile events listed?

No. TrackAthletes is focused on senior athletics. Some major U20 events may be mentioned, especially if there’s an international championship to watch, but the priority is always adult and senior athletes and competitions.

Profiles of individuals who are under the age of 18 will never be added to the site.
 

If an athlete is listed on a start list, does that mean that they’ll definitely be competing?

No. There can be last minute change of plan, due to illness, injury, missed flights or an athlete being upgraded to a higher meeting. The higher the meeting, the more likely an athlete listed on the final startlist is to compete. Some meetings (Continental Tour Bronze and below, in particular) only list entries in advance, and the final startlists are not available until athletes check in for their event(s) an hour before.

We will always try to list the most up-to-date information we can find, but this is not always accurate. We encourage athletes to let us know if they are no longer competing in a competition they've entered, but sometimes they have other things on their mind.
 

I’m looking for the results for an event that happened two weeks ago, but the event is no longer listed on the calendar. Is it possible to find this?

While only events in the future will appear by default on the calendar, if you choose the year in the search, you will see past events. Events back to when the site was started (January 2025) can be found this way, though there is no guarantee that the links still work (as these are all on external websites).
 

Why do I need to set up an account and log into the site?

You don’t. But if you want to save athletes and events to your Watchlist, then you’ll need to register an account. When you’re setting up your account, you can opt to receive email notifications about when the athletes on your Watchlist are due to compete and additional information during championships on your Watchlist.
 

What do you do with my data?

We take your privacy rights seriously, and you’ll find the full details of why we collect data, what data we collect and how we store and manage it in our Privacy Policy.
 

Who is behind this site?

The site is set up and maintained by Louise Shanahan and Elizabeth Egan, both athletes, avid athletics fans, and data enthusiasts.

Louise, from Cork, is an Irish senior international athlete. She competed in the 800m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has multiple Irish titles and held the Irish senior 800m record from May 2022 to May 2023. She completed a PhD in Quantum Physics at University of Cambridge in 2024, and has since picked up the programming skills to build this website. Louise is sponsored by Asics and is currently aiming to qualify for her second Olympics in 2028. 

Elizabeth has been tracking Irish athletes on their ‘Road to…’ journeys, deciphering ranking points and sharing links to livestreams and results since 2020. She has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, has published two books, and provides lifestyle and personal development coaching to high performance sportspeople. She competed in her first All Ireland cross country championships in 1993 and has six Irish Senior steeplechase medals. 

Elizabeth and Louise met for the first time in October 2023, and had their first conversation about this site in July 2024, just six months before it launched.
 

Where do your photos come from?

All photos on the site are used with the permission of the photographer who took them. We are indebted to Eric Bellamy, Mark Kavanagh, Keith McClure and Gregory Ufnal for the use of their wonderful shots.

If you're a photographer and have photos that we can use, then we'd love to hear from you. We're particularly interested in photos of field event athetes.
 

How can I contact TrackAthletes?

You can get in touch via email or through the contact form on this site. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions on how the site can be improved. We also want to hear when we’ve missed information or got something wrong, so that we can correct it.

More athlete profiles will be added as the site grows, but if there’s an athlete that you would like to follow, or if you’re an athlete yourself and would like to be added so that your friends and family can easily follow your races, then do get in touch.
 

I’m an athlete and I’ve spotted missing and incorrect information about myself. What should I do?

Please contact us via email or our mistake reporting form. We want the information on the site to be correct, but we're human and sometimes we get things wrong. Whether we've missed the fada from your name, added you to a meeting that you're not competing in, or missed a PB or qualifying standard, please don't feel like you're being a nuisance. We want to know when something is wrong, so that we can make it right.
 

I’m a meeting organiser and my meeting is not listed. Why is this?

We make every effort to add meetings relevant to Irish senior athletes and fans (e.g. domestic competitions, international competitions that Irish athletes are competing in, international meetings that Irish athletes might be interested in watching). However, sometimes we miss an important event. If that's the case, then please get in touch.

The 38th European Indoor Athletics Championships will be held in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn between 6 and 9 March 2025. After missing out on medals in 2021 (Phil Healy finished fourth in the 400m) and 2023 (Darragh McElhinney was fourth in the 3000m), Irish athletes will be hoping for some silverware.

But first, they must qualify. At the time of writing, two relay teams (Women’s 4x400m and Mixed 4x400m) and six individuals have achieved the required entry standards, though some of the latter do not have Apeldoorn in their plans for 2025.

Athletes have until 23rd February, the weekend of the National Senior Indoor Championships, to achieve the entry standard set by European Athletics, or to gain enough ranking points to be within the required quota AND achieve the Athletics Ireland B standard.

Current status of Irish Athletes on Road to Apeldoorn

The mixed relay is making its indoor debut this year, and the Irish have qualified for both that and the women’s relay by virtue of their position on the World top list at the end of 2024. The Men’s 4x400m has the opportunity to join them, but the Irish men will need some swift individual performances by the 23rd February cut-off.

Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium and France have already secured their place and the remaining two spots will be allocated based on the best cumulative times of a nation’s four fastest athletes during the 2025 indoor season.

Sarah Healy, Sophie O’Sullivan (both 1500m), Brian Fay (3000m) and Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) ran fast enough outdoors last season to qualify, and, should they choose to compete, will be looking for top eight finishes (or higher).

Rhasidat Adeleke has already said that she will skip both European and World indoors this season, and Ciara Mageean, who has achieved the qualification standard for both the 800m and 1500m is recovering from recent surgery on the injury that kept her out of Paris.

Kate O’Connor (Pentathlon) is the only athlete in quota who currently has the Athletics Ireland B standard. Others within the quota cut-off at the start of the season are Israel Olatunde (60m), Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker (both 400m), Mark English (800m), Cathal Doyle, Andrew Coscoran (both 1500m) and Jodie McCann (3000m).

Luke McCann (1500m) is also ranked within quota though he has announced that he won’t be competing in 2025 due to injury.

The complexity of ranking points

Approximately half the quota spots in each event will be allocated based on World Rankings. World rankings are based on outdoor performances, even when used for qualification for indoor events, and while two (or one for 3000m) indoor or associated-distance performances can count, athletes need at least some outdoor results to have a ranking.

Nick Griggs is currently a few spots outside the quota for 1500m, and just missed the outdoor standard for the 3000m. He’ll hope to qualify for at least one event, though if he’s to do it in the longer distance, he’ll need to hit the 7:43.00 Auto Q or find an outdoor 5000m race (or an indoor 5000m on a 400m track) to qualify by ranking.

Track athletes who missed last year’s outdoor season therefore only have the Auto Q route to qualification. Same too for 400m hurdlers looking to race 400m indoors. Field eventers can qualify by virtue of their five best-scoring performance, irrespective of how many of these were achieved indoors.

Because Auto Qs can be achieved outdoors, athletes who never race indoors, are currently injured, or retired post-Paris, may well be sitting within quota spots – by qualification or ranking – at the end of the qualification period. Irish athletes interested in competing in Apeldoorn will be hoping to benefit from subsequent withdrawals by such athletes.

But first, they need to hit the Athletics Ireland B standards. And while there’s still much to play for, particularly in terms of Auto Qs, much of the heavy lifting is already done in terms of gathering world ranking points.

We’ll keep you informed of when Irish athletes hit Auto Q standards and Athletics Ireland B standards, and bring you regular ranking updates after the Road to Apeldoorn is updated each week on our European Indoors information page.

Some other useful information

The Irish team will be announced after final selections have been made on 25th February.

If you’re looking to support the Irish athletes in person, you’re probably too late. Tickets for all the evening sessions sold out early, though there are limited moving morning session available for Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March.

We’ll publish all the information you need to follow the event – including an Irish-specific timetable, links to startlists and live results, and details of where to watch the event – closer to the time.

Irish athletes will be aiming for their first European Indoor medal in six years, and we don’t want you to miss any of the action.