Sophie Meredith

Between 12 noon on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday 40 individual senior national titles and five national relay titles will be decided. Dreams will be realised. Hearts will be broken. Memories will be made.

The 154th edition of the Irish National Track and Field Championships promises to be a golden one, with exciting head-to-heads right across the programme.

And there are not just national medals on the line. European Championship spots will be decided. And a record or two may also be broken.

Here are some of the expected highlights and storylines across the action-packed programme.

Men’s 800m: Two world-class athletes going head-to-head

Another edition of Mark English versus Cian McPhillips is an easy head-to-head to get excited about, and a somewhat obvious place to start. Both have the tools to win fast-run races or slow tactical affairs, but only one of them can top the podium on Sunday, and while English has history and recent form on his side, McPhillips is no dark horse.

English got his season off to the best possible start with his first-ever Diamond League win in May, and last Saturday joined McPhillips in the sub 1:43 club. Missing out on a World final and loosing his national record to the younger athletes will have been a tough blow for the Donegal man in Tokyo, and will, no doubt, have motivated his training in the intervening period.

McPhillips, on the other hand, is coming into form at just the right time, and will be keen to win his first senior outdoor title. Despite not quite living up to the hype last year, or perhaps because of that, this rematch should not be missed.

If English wins, it will be his 11th National 800m title. He will not give up his crown easily.

Both athletes secured European Championship qualification standards in Tokyo, and are currently ranked second (McPhillips) and fifth (English) on the road to Birmingham. English is the fastest European in 2026, while McPhillips, despite the setbacks this spring, will be oozing with confidence following his fourth place at the World Championships last year. Both will be medal contenders in Birmingham next month.

Women’s Long Jump: Four into three doesn’t go

With four athletes consistently well over 6.20 metres this season, and at least two looking to propel themselves into European Championship qualification spots, the women’s long jump could be the event of the championships.

Elizabeth Ndudi is the national record holder, and has surpassed the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham. She’s been in a race against time, however, to collect ranking points, after an NCAA season where placing points are difficult to come by.

The DSD athlete is currently 45th on the Road to Birmingham, with 30 places available. As things stand (i.e. not taking into account results elsewhere this weekend), a wind-legal win in 6.60m would move her within quota.

Lauren Callaghan has been the most consistent athlete of the year, jumping 6.30 or beyond in eight competitions, and going beyond 6 metres in all but her opening competition of the indoor season in mid-January. She has also been canny in her choice of events – both indoors and out – and has sat on the cusp of the quota spots for Birmingham right throughout the season.

The Finn Valley athlete is, however, just short of the Athletics Ireland B standard of 6.55m, which she would need to jump on Sunday to be selected for Birmingham. She jumped personal bests of 6.50m and 6.51m earlier in the season, so that target is not completely out of the question.

Ruby Millet made her return to long jumping after an three-year absence in Belgium on 6th June. There she jumped 6.38, just 6 cm short of her lifetime best. She has competed sparingly since, most recently jumping 6.26 at the AAI Games on Sunday.

Even after the national championships she will not have enough results for the Road to Birmingham ranking, but making another national podium would be a fitting way to round out her comeback season.

Sophie Meredith has also made a stunning return to competition after missing all of 2025. Her best before this season was 6.08m, a distance she has surpassed in all 5 of her competitions this year. Her personal best now stands at 6.24m.

Callaghan is the defending champion, Ndudi won in 2023 and 2024, while Millet was the winner in 2019 and 2022. Meredith has yet to win her first outdoor title. Saragh Buggy, a three-time winner, is also entered.

Women’s 1500m: So many stories rolled into one

The women’s 1500m is incredibly interesting, both from a competitive perspective (who will do it? How will it play out? Who will win the title?), but also from a qualification for Birmingham perspective, with three athletes vying for a potential third spot.

It is also a great reminder of the inherent inequality between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ of the qualification-by-ranking system.

Sarah Healy, who ran the standard in Tokyo last September, has raced just four times in 2026, once each at 1500m, the mile, 3000m and 5000m. Sophie O’Sullivan, who also bettered the 4:03.50 Auto Q at the World Championships, has also been able to ease into the season, running four times over 1500m and twice over 800m since March, but only the last two of those, time-wise at least, anywhere near her own incredibly high standard.

Eimear Maher and Jodie McCann, by contract, have been on the hunt for the B standards – both securing that in early July – and the ranking points needed to get within quota. Maher has raced the 1500m eight times since late May, and Jodie has run the 1500m or mile 11 times in 2026. They both raced four times in the 12 days, in four different countries, in early July.

Both are still outside the 30 available slots, but a win in a reasonably fast time on Sunday could elevate them within quota. And their ticket to a fast time could lie at the feet of Laura Nicholson, the defending champion, who still needs the B standard if she is to have any hope of selection.

However, should Nicholson run 4:07.00 or faster, and finish in the top two, she would likely be the one to secure the final spot, irrespective of how well McCann and Maher do.

If O’Sullivan and Healy race (they are both also entered for the 800m and may choose the shorter distance), we could be in for a re-run of the 2023 event, one of the most extraordinary races in recent years, where Healy, beaten to the European U23 title by O’Sullivan a week earlier, came out on top.

One of the big two may race the 800m with the other cruising to the title here, but don’t ignore the story unfolding behind them. And anyone thinking this will be an easy title to win, could well be mistaken.

Men’s 5000m: The potential for another last-lap burnup

The 5000m was the men’s event of the meeting last year, with two-time champion Brian Fay and eventual winner Andrew Coscoran involved in a relentless burn-up over the final lap.

Darragh McElhinney was involved in a similar last-lap dash for top Irishman with Nick Griggs at the Morton Games on this track two weeks ago, the Cork man eventually edging it.

With Griggs and Coscoran slated to contest the 1500m, the battle for the title is likely to be between Fay and McElhinney, and while McElhinney appears to be the in-form at the moment, if Fay – the fastest Irish man over the distance in 2026 - is with him at the bell, then expect this to be yet another tight tussle.

Jack O’Leary, qualified for Birmingham in the 10,000m, is unlikely to want to sit and try kick, and he may well play a role in how this race plays out. If either of the big hitters falter, he is certain to be there to pick up the pieces.

Sean Tobin, also not a stranger to tight finishes at national championships, could add further spice to this one.

Women’s Hammer: Tuthill v a 19-year-old national record

A fifth national title appears to be all but a formality for 22-year-old Nicola Tuthill. The World finalist, however, will likely be taking yet another crack at Eileen O’Keeffe’s 19-year-old national record of 73.21

Tuthill set what was at the time a personal best of 71.75m here last year, and had since improved to 72.73m, just 48 centimetres short of O’Keeffe’s longstanding mark. All eyes will surely be on the infield when this event opens Sunday's programme.

Women’s 200m: The half lap to heaven

The women’s half-lap contest is another potentially spicy match-up, particularly if defending champion Sharlene Mawdsley, who is also entered for the 400m, chooses to compete.

Rhasidat Adeleke is coming here to secure an individual spot at the European Championships, her only remaining route, the 22.85 automatic standard which she missed by 0.01 seconds in April.

The Tallaght woman is well capable of that sort of time, her national record standing at 22.34. Her quest would be greatly aided by a following wind, but anything faster than +2.0m/s would invalidate times for qualification purposes. For that reason, there is a possibility that she chases it in both the heats and the final.

Lauren Roy is an athlete who has secured the qualification standard, running 22.83 in late May. This fastest Irish woman this year, over both 100m and 200m, be using this weekend to tune up for Birmingham.

Mawdsley has been in breathtaking form this season, running a personal best of 23.09 (-0.1) in her only outing over this distance in May, and recording the six fastest times of her career in her six outings over 400m.

Mawdsley is the defending champion. Adeleke has never won this title. Roy, third last year, is seeking her first national senior title at any distance.

Men’s and Women’s 400m Hurdles: events on the rise

Emerging from the ashes of Tom Barr’s retirement last year is a multitude of talent over the one-lap hurdles event. The men have been receiving much of the attention, with Donegal bothers Ethan and Fintan Dewhirst and Dublin man Des O’Neill all shooting up the all-time lists, but the strength-in-depth in the women’s event has never been stronger.

O’Neill and Ethan Dewhirst will be heading Eugene for the World U20 Championships in early August, the latter choosing to skip this event. However, O’Neill, who got the better of the younger Dewhirst at the National U20 Championships last year, may well be looking to cause another upset here.

Fintan, meanwhile, may well be looking to regain the fastest-in-the-family title, with the bigger aim of becoming only the third Irish man to break 50 seconds for the event. Adam Courtney, with a best of 52.87, could also be in the mix.

The event was won in 54.87 last year. Expect this one to be much faster.

Five Irish women have broken 59 seconds in this event in 2026, and all five are entered here. Arlene Crossan, who broke into the Irish consciousness at the World Relays in May, is the fastest in the field with a best of 57.95, and will start as favourite.

Those chasing her down, however, will be the defending champion Cara Murphy, who recently improved to 58.54, last year’s fastest Irish woman Victoria Amiadamen (58.56), and the under-20 duo of Elle-Kate McRae (58.61) and Ellis McHugh (58.96), who have both bettered the national U20 record this year. Jennifer Sawyer, the 2024 champion, is also in the field.

Men’s 1500m: Who dares call this one?

No matter the level, the men’s 1500m is always an exciting championship event, but the growing rivalry between Coscoran and Cathal Doyle, with Nick Griggs thrown in for good measure, makes this one of the events to watch when Irish athletes are involved.

Doyle and Coscoran were the protagonists in two of the fiercest middle distance head-to-heads in recent Morton Stadium history, with Coscoran coming out on top of the 2021 Morton Mile, and Doyle getting the upper hand, just, in last year’s national title decider.

Coscoran was trying to complete the near-impossible 1500m-5000m double last year, but is focusing all his energy this year on regaining the 1500m title he won in 2021, and preventing Doyle from winning five in a row.

Griggs won his first National Senior title over 3000m indoors earlier this year. If he were to win here, it would be an upset, not because he doesn’t have the ability, but because he is focusing on the 5000m this summer, the distance he will race at the Commonwealth Games next weekend.

Making it out of the heats was a challenge last year, such is the depth in this event in Ireland at the moment. There are definitely athletes missing this year, but among the other contenders are 3:35 athlete James Dunne; Ronan McMahon-Staggs, who has a mile best of 3:51.85; Callum Morgan, who, like Griggs, will be contesting the 5000m in Glasgow next weekend; breakthrough athlete of the year Liam Lyons; and Niall Murphy, fresh from his impressive run over 3000m in Cork a few weeks ago.

The men’s 1500m is the last individual track event of the programme. And for good reason. Three-and-three-quarter laps of pure excitement await.

Elsewhere: Birmingham possibilities

For a small number of athletes, Birmingham spots are still possible. In addition to Ndudi, Callaghan, Adeleke, Nicholson, Maher and McCann mentioned above, Sophie Becker (400m), Abbie Sheridan (3000m steeplechase), Ciara Neville (100m), Jack Raftery (400m), Emma Moore (800m), and Anna Gavigan (Discus) will be among those looking to maintain or achieve a quota spot, and, in Gavigan’s case, hit the B standard.

Becker and Sheridan are currently just inside the quota cut-offs in their respective events, and strong performances over the weekend should solidify their positions. However, with almost every other European country also holding their national championships this weekend, the target points are likely to increase for everyone.

Some will be depending on withdrawals of other athletes to make it to Birmingham, and anxious times await all those who have secured automatic qualification standards.

The Road to Birmingham rankings will be updated on Monday. National teams then have until Wednesday to declare which athletes they wish to enter and which athletes they would be willing to accept entries for. European Athletics will publish the final list of athletes eligible for entry on Thursday.

With just ten days – at the time of writing – left in the European Championships qualification window, and just over three weeks until the Championships themselves kick off, there’s a sense of urgency, and importance, surrounding this weekend’s events.

Some athletes will be making a last-ditch attempt to qualify – standards and ranking points foremost in their minds -  while medal hopefuls and potential finalists will be looking to build form ahead. The sprint relay squads, both of whom have two runouts in the coming days may even have national records on their minds.

The London Diamond League is the main event, but a pair of Continental Tour meetings on Thursday evening provide important opportunities for Irish athletes. Younger athletes will be competing at the European U18 Championships in Reiti, while domestic action includes the National 10 Mile and the AAI Games.

Teamwork Thursday

Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern, a Continental Tour Silver meeting, has a very large Irish contingent, with a mix of hopes and dreams for the evening.

Among them are both men’s and women’s 4x100m relays teams, who will face stiff opposition ahead of next month’s European Championships. The men’s team – named on the startlist as Max O'Reilly, Sean Aigboboh, Mark Smyth and Bori Akinola – currently sit in 9th on the Road to Birmingham, and with 16 teams to qualify, are all but ensured their spot in Birmingham.

The women’s team is less secure in terms of Birmingham qualification. They are currently sitting in 15th place, and will be hoping that Slovenia and Sweden don’t both pull out massive performances. The team of Lucy-May Sleeman, Lauren Roy, Sarah Leahy and Precious Akpe-Moses may have their own time-targets in mind: the 43.73 national record set last year well within their grasp.

All but Aigboboh, who has already secured the Birmingham auto Q in the 200m, will also be in action in individual events. Akinola, who has twice run 10.19 this season, looks to be secure within the 100m quota, but will want to run faster again ahead of championship season. Roy, too, has the 200m standard, and is ranked 35th in the 100m, with 36 spots available.

Sleeman, who has been in flying form in the US this summer, desperately needs to bag some of the placing points on offer here and put in a good performance at next week’s national championships, if she is to have any chance of catapulting herself into a quota spot.

None of the other relay athletes have the athletics Ireland B standard or are close enough to quota for an individual spot to be a realistic target at this point. However, there are two other sprinters to watch out for.

Rhasidat Adeleke has yet to secure an individual spot for Birmingham. She just missed the 200m Auto Q (22.85) when she ran 22.86 in Texas in April. She’ll race that distance in Luzern, before – it is rumoured – she races over 400m at the weekend.

Benjamin Richardson, the former South African representative who will be eligible to compete for Ireland from August 2027, will compete in both the 100m and 200m.

Elizabeth Ndudi and Lauren Callaghan both have a chance to make the Long Jump cutoff for Birmingham. Callaghan is just outside the quota spots and still needs to surpass the Athletics Ireland B standard of 6.55, a mark she just missed by 4cm last week.

Ndudi hit the B standard when she broke the national indoor record earlier in the year but, like Sleeman, is desperately short on ranking points. A podium finish here would do her qualification quest the world of good.

Emma Moore is currently just one spot outside quota for the 800m, and has the opportunity to leap up the rankings with a good run here. She will be joined by Alex O’Neill, who is outside the quota spots, but has the opportunity to considerably improve her ranking over the next 10 days. She does, however, also need to hit the 2:00.95 Athletics Ireland B standard.

Callum Morgan will get a run out over 3000m ahead of the Commonwealth Games where he will run the 5000m. Conor Cusack has a breakthrough performance at this event in 2025 when he threw beyond 75 metres for the first time. The Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham is 79.00.

And it isn’t all about the action in Switzerland on Thursday. Sharlene Mawdsley will be racing the 400m at Meeting Madrid, also a Continental Tour Silver meeting, as she endeavours to break 50 seconds for the first time. A podium finish here would boost her chances of making the World Ultimate Championships in September.

Cillian Kirwan and Hannah Segrave are both due to compete at Meeting Arcobaleno EAP AtleticaEuropa, a Continental Tour Challenger, in Italy. Kirwan has the Athletics Ireland B standard, but is still some way off the quota spots.

The European Under 18 Championships got underway in Rieti on Thursday morning and will continue through until Sunday evening. Irish athletes will be hopeful of medals across the four days of competition.

Friday night lights

All eyes will be on Bishopstown on Friday for the MTU Track Night. Notable names among the sizeable entry include Colin Doyle, Mollie O’Reilly (100m) and David Cussen (High Jump). Entries for this event remain open until 7pm on Thursday.

Slamdunk Saturday

Hundreds of Irish fans will head to London on Saturday for the 11th Diamond League meeting of the season, and they’ll have plenty of Irish athletes to cheer.

An incredibly competitive men’s 800m will include both Cian McPhillips and Mark English, while Sarah Healy will compete over the 3000m. Orla Comerford (ambulant 100m), Brandon Ballard (ambulant 1500m) and the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams will all take part in the pre-meeting programme.

English won the opening Diamond League race of the season, and has raced extensively since, with mixed results. McPhillips, on the other hand, has had a quiet year, his indoor season curtailed due to dental issues. His last outing, at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Budapest on Tuesday, was less than impressive, so he’ll be looking for a quick return to form.

Likewise, Healy missed the indoor season, and while her opening runs over 5000m, 1500m and the mile haven’t been disastrous by any means, she’ll be looking for that extra spark over yet another distance at which she is second on the Irish all-time list.

Comerford has been in unbeatable form all season, and broke the European T13 record at the Morton Games last week. She’ll be looking to continue that form in the British capital. Twenty-three-year-old Ballard transferred allegiance from Great Britain to Ireland in August last year.

The main programme events will be shown on Virgin Media Two from 2-4pm. There will be extended coverage on Virgin Media Play to include the relay races, but not the para races.

The KBC Nacht (Night of Athletics) in Heusden-Zolder is another important competition for those seeking last-minute European Championship qualification, though it’s likely that the entries include a number of athletes who will not compete should other competitions go their way on Thursday.

Adeleke will race over 400m, in a last-ditch attempt to qualify for Birmingham. The automatic qualification standard of 51.20 should be well within her grasp, and will be the minimum target for the Tallaght AC star.

800m runners Kirwan, Moore and O’Neill all have at least a shot at making the team for Birmingham and will also race on Thursday (see above). Eimear Maher has the B standard for Birmingham in the 1500m but is outside the quota sports, ranked just behind Laura Nicholson who still needs the 4:07.00 standard. Maddie Mooney and Zoe Toland, both setting personal bests over multiple distances in the past week, are also entered in the 1500m.

Other names on the entries include Joe Doody (400m), who’ll be looking to make the relay team in Birmingham, and Cormac Dalton (5000m). The complete startlists for the main programme events have not yet been confirmed, so other Irish athletes may also be competing.

Rory Devaney, a recent transferee from the United States, will compete in the Lappeenrante Games in Finland. Devaney is the top Irish hammer thrower this year, and has a personal best of 74.16m.

The National multi-events Championships get underway in Santry on Saturday. Laura Frawley, a two-time national heptathlon champion, will start as favourite for the senior women’s title, while Lexx McConville is the only athlete entered in the senior men’s event. National U20, Masters and juvenile titles will also be decided across the two days of competition.

Sunday Showdown

The AAI Games, which will take place in Morton Stadium in Santry, has one of its strongest entry lists in recent time. Many, however, may be entered in case other results don’t go their way this weekend, or if their flights or meetings abroad are cancelled.

If, however, everyone does show, exciting races are guaranteed over a number of distances, most notably the 400m hurdles, where in-form brothers Ethan Dewhirst and Fintan Dewhirst are both entered. There is very little to separate the Donegal pair on paper, but this is the first (and probably last) time they would go head-to-head this season.

The men’s 400m has Jack Raftery and Cillin Greene among the entries, along with Ciarán Carthy, while Sophie Becker is the standout entry in the women’s 400m. Marcus Lawlor (200m), Adam Nolan (110m Hurdles) and Victoria Amiadamen (400m Hurdles) are among the other leading names in the sprints and hurdles events.

Field event entries include Sophie Meredith (Long Jump), Saragh Buggy (Triple Jump), Michaela Walsh (Shot Put), Eoin Sheridan, Anna Gavigan (Discus), Margaret Hayden (Hammer), Cusack and Kate Joyce (Javelin), all title contenders at next weekend’s national Senior Championships.

Among the leading entries in the middle distance events are Moore (800m), who is also on startlists on Thursday and Saturday, and Liam Lyons (800m), who ran sub-four miles in Cork and Morton last week.

The National Senior and Master 10 Mile champions will be decided in the Phoenix Part on Sunday morning. Jake O’Regan and Heather Murphy are among the leading entries. See the Athletics Ireland website for a more detailed preview.

Molly Scott (100m) and Adam Murphy (200m) are the leading Irish entries for the BFTTA Outdoor Series 4 meeting in north London. Day two of the National multi-events will be held alongside the AAI Games, while the European U18 Championships will conclude in Rieti.

The race for Road to Birmingham ranking points and B standards is well and truly on, but the focus this weekend for Northern Irish athletes will be on securing national titles and Commonwealth Games selection in the final days of Glasgow 2026 qualification.

Saturday is particularly busy, with Irish athletes in action at Continental Tour meetings in the UK, Malta, France, the Netherlands and the USA, along with Cat F meetings in Dublin and London. Depending on how Thursday goes at NCAAs in Eugene, the Irish women may also be contesting for national collegiate medals.

There are a small number of meetings with Irish interest on Sunday, with Irish athletes also likely to be competing at Continental Tour meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

NCAA Div I Nationals

Three Irish athletes will be competing for individual glory on the second day of the NCAA Division I Nationals in Eugene on Thursday, and while medals are unlikely, all three will be hoping to build on positive starts to 2026, and bolster their confidence ahead of this summer’s senior international championships.

Elizabeth Ndudi (long jump) and Maeve O’Neill (800m) broke national senior indoor records earlier in the year. Both have Athletics Ireland B standards for Birmingham, but are currently outside the quota spots.

They will be competing for ranking points in the weeks ahead, but Thursday’s challenge will be to perform at or above their current NCAA ranking status. O’Neill is ranked 16th in the NCAA and 13th of those competing; nine will make it to Saturday’s final. Ndudi is ranked 20th, and 13th of those competing.

Lauren Roy has already achieved the qualification standard for Birmingham in the 200m, the distance she will contest here, and is within quota, with the B standard, for the 100m. She also has Commonwealth Games consideration standards at both distances. Currently second on the Irish all-time lists for 100m and 200m, Roy is ranked =22nd of the 24 qualifiers, based on season’s best.

On Wednesday, Sean Aigboboh helped his University of Houston 4x100m relay team qualify for Friday’s final. They finished second in their heat, and recorded the third fastest time across the three heats.

Lucy-May Sleeman will also be racing in the 4x100m relay. Her Florida State University team race in the heats on Thursday. The final is on Saturday. They are ranked tenth.

Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior Championships

The Northern Ireland selection window for the 2026 Commonwealth Games will close at midnight on Sunday, and the team will be selected early next week. Before then, athletes have one final opportunity to achieve nomination standards, and to win an Ulster and Northern Ireland Senior Championships title.

If the start lists are anything to go by, some cracking races could be expected. Nick Griggs and James Gormley, who both hold qualification standards over the mile and 5000m, are entered in the 800m, alongside Andrew Thompson who did better the 800m standard last summer, but not in a World Athletics calendar meeting.

Callum Morgan, the third man who has bettered the 5000m nomination standard is entered for the 1500m, while the women’s 200m could see Arlene Crossan, Rachel McCann, Jenna Breen and Michelle Duggan go head-to-head, though Breen and Duggan are also entered in the 400m, and Crossan is also down for the 100m.

Anna McCauley, who, alongside Kate O’Connor, has exceeded the Heptathlon standard is entered for Javelin and Shot Put, while Finn O’Neill, who’ll be hoping for selection in the Decathlon, is entered in the Pole Vault and the Shot Put.

Other field event entries of note are in-form Discus Thrower Anna Gavigan, former national shot put record holder John Kelly, Ashleigh McCardle (Javelin and Shot Put) and Thomas Williams (Hammer Throw). Sommer Lecky is entered for the High Jump both here and at a competition in France also on Saturday. It’s unclear which she will do.

Elsewhere on Saturday

James Dunne is entered for the 1500m at the USATF Distance Classic, which is being held alongside the LA Grand Prix, a Continental Tour Gold meeting. Dunne continues to search for the form that saw him run 3:35.17 last May, before injury derailed his progress.

Lauren Callaghan and Sophie Meredith are both on the long jump startlist at Meeting Nikaia (Continental Tour Bronze). Both have jumped personal bests this season, and will be looking to continue their progress and pick up some ranking points.

Ruby Millet, who made a winning return to long jumping after an absence of almost three years, is entered for Gouden Spike (Continental Tour Challenger) in the Netherlands. She’ll be looking to at least replicate the 6.38m she jumped last weekend.

Fintan Dewhirst will be looking to build on the 51.93 he ran to win the IUAA Intervarsity 400m hurdles title in April when he takes to the start line at the EAP Malta International (Continental Tour Challenger). His personal best is 51.19 from May 2024, but he’ll also have his sights on the 50.81 PB his younger brother Ethan ran earlier this season.

This has already been a good summer for Irish female high jumpers, and both Sommer Lecky and Aoife O’Sullivan will look to exceed 1.80m when they take part in the Envol Trophee (Continental Tour Challenger) in France. Lecky, who has a best of 1.90m, cleared 1.79m in Granada earlier this month, while O’Sullivan, unbeaten in six competitions this year, has a season’s best of 1.78.

There are more than 30 Irish athletes on the start lists for the British Milers Club Grand Prix (Continental Tour Challenger) in Loughborough. Among them are Eimear Maher, Saoirse Fitzgerald, Jo-Lauren Keane and Callum Hurley who will compete over 800m, Niall Murphy, Amy O'Donoghue and Niamh Carr at 1500m and Jamie Battle and Ella Fennelly, both entered for 3000m.

Among those entered for the fifth Dublin Graded Meeting of the year are Orla Comerford, Mollie O’Reilly and Katie Bergin in the 200m, Conor Cusack in the Javelin and Eoin Sheridan and Michael Healy in the Discus Throw.

Two meetings in London on Saturday with Irish interest are the BFTTA Outdoor Series 3 meeting where Marcus Lawler, Max O’Reilly, Paul Costelloe and Cliodhna Manning are all entered, and The London 5000m, for which Diarmuid Fagan, Fennelly (also entered at Loughborough, see above), Emily Haggard-Kearney and Patricia Jackman hold an entry.

Benjamin Richardson, who will be eligible to represent Ireland in August 2027, is entered for both the 100m and 200m at the Dromia Sprint and Relays Meeting (Continental Tour Silver) in Greece.

A small number of athletes are also entered for the BAUHAUS Juniors-Gala in Mannheim.

Sunday's action

Sunday looks like a calmer day for fans, but those competing will be looking to generate a storm of their own.

Fresh from her 11.31 personal best in London on Tuesday, Ciara Neville will be racing for ranking points when she competes in the 100m at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden, a Continental Tour Bronze meeting.

Eric Favors (Shot Put) and Niamh Fogarty (Discus) will be looking for some form in the throwing circles in Sollentuna. Favors, whose place at the European Championships looks secured, will now be looking to travel to Birmingham in the best shape possible.

Fogarty, however, has some work to do if she is to make her first major international as a senior. Her Irish record of 58.40m is further than the Athletics Ireland B standard of 57.80m, but she has yet to get close to that within the qualification window.

Clodagh Walsh is entered for Vault Manchester, while Daena Kealy is due to high jump at the BIG on Tour jumps meeting at the University of Birmingham.