Irish athletics looking to take momentum into 2026 championships
Elizabeth Egan | Jan 07, 2026
After a successful European Championships and two fourths at the Olympics in 2024, and a 2025 season which brought European Indoor, World Indoor, World Championship, European Cross Country, European 10,000m cup, European U20, European U23 and World University medals for Irish athletes, it's difficult not to get carried away.
Irish Athletics has clearly arrived, and 2026 will again provide plenty of opportunities for current stars to add more silverware, for new stars to make a breakthrough, and for the long-time injured to remind us of their existence.
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic derailed the 2020 season, there won't be a global outdoor championship. But worry not; the new World Athletics Ultimate Championships, which will round out the season, aims to ensure that the World's top athletes will still compete against each other in 2026.
But even more exciting from an Irish perspective is the fact that both the European and the Commonwealth Games will take place just across the Irish Sea. There will be a third World Indoor Championships in three years, World Relays in Africa for the first time, World U20 Championships in Eugene, and European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade at the end of the year, with plenty more in between.
Here’s a summary of the significant international athletics events due to take place across the year, the majority of which will feature Irish athletes.
World Cross Country Championships, Talahassee, USA, 10 Jan
The World Cross Country Championships head back to the US for the first time since 1992, the year that Catriona McKiernan won the first of her four consecutive silver medals in the Senior Women’s Race. Talahassee will play host to the first-ever January edition of the now-biannual event.
Four Irish athletes have been selected to compete in Talahassee, with a number of the top performers from the European Cross Country Championships heading indoors, or taking on the Valencia 10km in an attempt to qualify for the European Championships in August.
Fiona Everard, Niamh Allen and Brian Fay, who have all finished 10th at recent editions of Euro Cross will participate in the senior races while Noah Harris will be the sole Irish U20 representitive.
Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
European Throwing Cup, Nicosia, CYP, 14-15 Mar
The indoor season won’t even have concluded by the time the top throwers open their 2025 campaigns at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia, the site of unprecedented Irish throwing success in 2025.
After two consecutive silver medals in the U23 Hammer, Nicola Tuthill took gold at the 2025 edition. A move up to senior level shouldn't daunt the athlete who reached the World Championship final in Tokyo.
Anna Gavigan (silver, U23 discus) and Oisín Joyce (bronze, U23 javelin) also won medals at the 2024 edition, and both are again eligible for the U23 category in 2025. Others who may make the trip are Conor Cusack (Javelin) who had a breakthrough 2025, Niamh Fogarty who broke the long-standing national discus record and Eric Favors who made another global championships in the shot put.
Event information
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish Athletes who have achieved consideration standards
World Indoor Championships, Kujawy Pomorze-Toruń, POL, 20-22 Mar
The 21st World Athletics Indoor Championships will be held in Toruń, in the Polish Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship from 20 to 22 March.
The 2025 edition saw Ireland win its first medal in 19 years as Kate O'Connor took silver in the women's pentathlon. With no global outdoor championship in 2026 - the first time since 2020 that there won't be a World or Olympic outdoor Championships - this may well be a competitive event, and medals may be even more difficult to come by.
Qualification will be based on entry standards, with any remaining places to fill quota based on the Top Performances list during the qualification window (1st November 2025 to 8th March 2026).
Each country can have two athletes per event, plus a Wild Card where applicable. Wild Cards will be allocated to 2026 World Indoor Tour winners. There is no entry standard for relays; any nation can enter a team.
Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes
World Race Walking Team Championships, Brazilia, BRA, 14 Apr
In April 2026, the World Race Walking Team Championships will take place in South America for the very first time. The Brazilian capital will also host the first championship event to feature walks at the half marthon and marathon distances.
Oisin Lane, who finished 28th in the 35km Walk at the World Championships in Tokyo, and David Kenny, who finished 11th over 20km at the European Race Walking Cup last spring, are likely to lead any Irish team that is selected.
Event website
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Irish athletes who have achieved consideration standards
World Relays, Gaborone, BOT, 2-3 May
The World Relays head to Africa for the first time in 2026. With no global championships to qualify for in 2026, it's unclear what role the World Relays will play in the overall calendar, and whether or not Athletics Ireland will send a team.
There will also be smaller fields than in last year's edition, with just 24 federations in each event. The top 8 teams from the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo have qualified. The host nation is also guaranteed a spot in each event. Remaining places will be allocated based on the top list during the qualification period (1st Januray 2025 to 5rh April 2026).
At the end of the 2025 track season, Ireland sit in qualificaiton spots for the Women's 4x400m, Women's 4x100m and Mixed 4x400m relays.
Event info
Athletics Ireland selection policy
Road to Garborone
European 10,000m Cup, La Spezia, ITA, 23 May
La Spezia in Italy will host the European 10,000m Cup. There will be A and B races in both men’s and women’s categories, with athletes seeded according to prior accomplishments. The addition of pacemakers allows athletes to avail of a rare opportunity to chase personal bests and championship qualification standards while surrounded by athletes of a similar ability.
Efrem Gidey won Ireland's first ever European 10,000m cup medal when he took the men's title in Pacé last year.
Event website
Athletics Ireland Selection Policy
European Off-Road Running Championships, Ljubljana-Kamnik, SLO, 5-7 Jun
The 3rd edition of the European Off-Road Championships will traverse the stunning landscape of the Kamnik–Savinja Alpine region in Slovenia.
The elites will compete over Uphill and Classic (up and down) Mountain races and a 52km trail race. Like with the inaugural European Running Championships, the event will be open to mass participants.
Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, GBR, 27 Jul - 1 Aug
Having picked up a silver medal at the last edition in Birmingham four years ago, Kate O'Connor, should she choose to compete, would head to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with clear medal expectations. Olympic medallist and two-time World Champion Katrina Johnson-Thompson would be her most likely rival for the Hepathlon title.
Other Northern Irish athletes who have already hit consideration standards are Nick Griggs (mile and 5000m), Callum Morgan (5000m) and Anna McCauley (Hepathlon). Others will look to secure their spot before the 14 June deadline.
Event website
Athletes who have achieved consideration standards
World U20 Championships, Eugene, USA, 5-9 Aug
The World U20 Championships will head to the Americas for the 3rd consecutive edition, having been held in Colombia in 2024 and Peru in 2021. The USA (also Eugene) last hosted this event in 2014.
Irish athletes have won just 5 medals at previous editions of the World Junior/U20 Championships: High Jump silver medals for Antoine Burke (1994) and Sommer Lecky (2018), 1500m silver for Ciara Mageean in 2010; Javelin bronze for Oisín Joyce at the last edition, and 4x100m silver for Molly Scott, Ciara Neville, Gina Akpe-Moses, Patience Jumbo-Gula, Rhasidat Adeleke in 2018.
European U20 Champion Conor Kelly (400m), who competed in Lima, is still young enough for the 2026 edition. Others that could potentially make the cut are European U20 finalists Cian Crampton (Discus), Theo Hanlon (Shot Put) and Dubem Amah (200m).
European Championships, Birmingham, GBR, 10-16 Aug
The European Athletics Championships will be held in Birmingham from 10 to 16 August 2026, marking the first time that the Championships will be held in the UK. Ireland had their most successful European Championships two years ago in Rome, with medals for Ciara Mageean (gold, 1500m), Rhasidat Adeleke (silver, 400m), the mixed 4x400m relay (gold) and the women's 4x400m (silver).
Kate O'Connor (Hepathlon), Cian McPhillips (800m) and Sarah Healy (1500m) are likely to also be among those in contention. Others to achieve the automation qualification standards before the end of the 2025 season are Israel Olatunde (100m), Sharlene Mawdsley (400m), Mark English (800m), Sophie O'Sullivan (1500m), Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs (both 5000m), Efrem Gidey (10,000m), Sarah Lavin (100m Hurdles), Nicola Tuthill (Hammer Throw), David Kenny (Half Marathon Walk) and Oisin Lane (Marathon Walk). Five of the six relay teams are also sitting in quota spots at the end of 2025, suggesting that this could be one of the biggest Irish teams ever at an international championship.
It's also likely to attract the biggest ever flock of Irish supporters.
Event website
Athletics Ireland Selection Policy
Qualification status of Irish athletes
World Athletics Ultimate Championships, Budapest, HUN, 11-13 Sep
The Ultimate Championships is a brand new competition which will run in the years where there is no World Championship and will close out the season. The first edition will take place in Budapest in September 2026.
Proudly representing their countries and competing for the largest prize pot in track and field, only the world's very best athletes win the right to compete.
Automatic qualifiers include 2024 Olympic Champions, 2025 World Athletics Champions and 2026 Diamond League winners. The best performers of 2026 based on the World Ranking qualification system will complete the remainder of the spots (16 in individual events; 8 in relays).
There is no limit on how many athletes from a single country can qualify. While we won't know Irish qualifiers until much closer to the date (none have qualified automatically), only Cian McPhillips (800m) and Sarah Healy (3000m) would have made the initial cut in 2025.
World Road Running Championships, Copenhagen, DEN, 19-20 Sep
No Irish athlete has ever won a medal at either the World Road Running Championships or its precursor, the World Half Marthon Championships. While it's unrealistic to expect that to change in 2026, the fact that the Irish half marathon record was broken here in both 2024 (Efrem Gidey) and 2025 (Fearghal Curtin), would appear a good omen for Irish road runners.
Championship medals will also be contested over the mile and 5km, in a city renowned for fast times.
European Cross Country Championships, Belgrade, SRB, 13 Dec
The European Cross Country Championships will return to Friendship Park in Belgrade on 13th December 2026, the site of the 2013 event and the 2024 World Cross Country Championships. Irish athletes will be hoping for more medals, having won silverware at each of the past six editions. Nick Griggs is young enough to defend his U23 title, as will three of his title-winning teammates. Emma Hickey has three more years in the U20 category where she won bronze in 2025. And the senior men will likely be looking to upgrade their team silver from last year.
