THE WORLD ATHLETICS Championships begin in Budapest this weekend.
Rhasidat Adeleke, Ciara Mageean, Sarah Lavin, Brian Fay and Andrew Coscoran have already met the Olympic qualification standard for Paris 2024, making the World Championships another major stepping stone in their preparations.
There will be strong medal prospects mixed in with that in what has been an encouraging period for Irish athletics across sprinting and middle distance disciplines.
Here’s what we have to look forward to when the Championships begin on Saturday.
Sarah Lavin – 100m Hurdles
Limerick native Sarah Lavin heads to the World Championships in eye-catching form.
Earlier this month, she improved on her lifetime best in the 100m hurdles twice in just over an hour at the Citius Meeting in Bern. After running 12.72 seconds in the heats, Lavin took another five-hundredths off her PB to finish fifth in the final in 12.67.
Now she’s just .02 off Derval O’Rourke’s Irish record, set when she won the silver medal at the 2010 European Championships.
Rhasidat Adeleke – 200m, 400m, 4x400m Relay
The star of Irish athletics at the moment, Rhasidat Adeleke has been scorching a path through the sprinting scene of late. The Dubliner, who turns 21 later this month, was forced to withdraw from the National Championships on medical advice, but remains a firm medal contender as she heads to Budapest.
In June, she set a new Irish 400m record of 49.20 seconds to win the NCAA title for University of Texas. Only three other women have run a faster time over the distance this year, and one of them — US superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone — will miss the worlds through injury.
After turning professional and signing with Nike, she narrowly missed out on breaking her own Irish 200m national record when she clocked a time of 22.36 seconds to finish second on her pro debut behind world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica.
Adeleke will be competing in the women’s 4x400m relay as well as her individual events but will be unavailable for the mixed relay team.
Mark English – 800m
Mark English is one of the more recognisable names on the Irish team, but is searching for form heading to Budapest.
He was forced to withdraw from the European Indoors in Istanbul due to illness, and his fastest outdoor time this season was a 1:46 in Montreuil in May, almost two full seconds slower than his eye-catching run in the heats at the worlds in Oregon last summer.
He’ll know that he’ll need to get back to nearer that level to make any progress in a stacked division.
John Fitzsimons – 800m
This is a first World Championships for the Kildare AC runner. Fitzsimons won the 800m at the National Championships in July, beating a field which included 1500m specialist Coscoran.
Louise Shanahan – 800m
Another reigning national champion, Louise Shanahan won the 800m final last month as she continues to make her mark at this distance.
Shanahan has plenty of major championship experience under her belt in the last two years, including the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s European Championships and World Championships.
Ciara Mageean – 1500m
Ciara Mageean heads for the 1500m after breaking Sonia O’Sullivan’s Irish mile record in Monaco last month. Her 4:14.58 secured a second-place finish behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon who smashed the women’s mile world record for the third time this season.
Kipyegon, a two-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist and twice world champion, returns to the worlds as the undisputed favourite.
But even with that daunting prospect awaiting Mageean, she will still be hoping to at least make the final, and chase down a medal.
Sarah Healy & Sophie O’Sullivan – 1500m
Rising 1500m stars Healy and O’Sullivan delivered one of the most memorable days in Ireland’s recent track and field history when they took gold and silver at the European U23 Championships last month. O’Sullivan’s PB of 4:07.18 took her to glory, with Healy only the blink of an eye behind in 4:07.38.
The pair made headlines again when they renewed their rivalry in a fantastic battle at the National Championships. This time, as they pulled clear of the pack and went head-to-head in the final lap, it was Healy who came home in front in 4:11.39.
Earlier in the summer, Healy set a new Irish U23 record at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, eclipsing her own record with a blistering time of 3:57.38.
Andrew Coscoran – 1500m
Andrew Coscoran is another who approaches the World Championships on the back of some impressive results.
In June, he broke national record for 1500m which had previously stood for 40 years. Coscoran ran 3:32.68 in Nice to improve on Ray Flynn’s national record of 3:33.50.
The Balbriggan man went on to break his own record at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Chorzow, Poland, shaving two seconds off his time. Coscoran clinched fourth in 3:30.42 in a world-class field which included Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Kenya’s Abel Kipsang.
Nicholas Griggs – 1500m
Nicholas Griggs won’t turn 19 until December, but his stock is steadily rising in the 1500m. He holds U20 racing records over the mile (3:58.51), the 3000m (7:53.24), and the 5000m (13:36.47).
Such are his ambitions, the Tyrone native was disappointed earlier this month to be out-kicked on the final lap and left to settle for silver at the European U20 Championships in Jerusalem, where he was bidding to retain the title he had won as a 16-year-old two years ago.
With Coscoran also running in the 1500m at the worlds, Griggs has plenty to aim for when he takes to the track in Budapest.
Luke McCann – 1500m
Also joining Coscoran and Griggs in the 1500m is Luke McCann. McCann qualified for the final of the 1500m at the European Indoors in Istanbul after taking fifth in his heat in a time of 3:41.51.
Brian Fay – 5000m
Brian Fay goes to Budapest having broken the Irish 5000m record which previously stood since 2011. The 24-year-old’s time of 13:01.40 at the Night of Athletics meeting in Belgium overtook Alistair Craig’s longstanding achievement.
That impressive performance was good enough to meet the qualification standard not only for the worlds but also for next summer’s European Championships in Rome and the Olympic Games in Paris.
Sophie Becker – Mixed 4x400m Relay, Women’s 4x400m Relay
Becker will be on relay duty in Budapest, running in the women’s 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay.
She was part of the mixed relay team who made history by bringing Ireland to an Olympic final for the first time in that event in Tokyo two years ago, as well as the team which qualified for the final at the World Championships last summer.
Roisín Harrison – Mixed 4X400m Relay, Women’s 4x400m Relay
Roisín Harrison joins Adeleke, Becker and company in the women’s 4x400m relay team, and also runs in the mixed team. In June, she ran a personal best of 52.53 in Geneva to bring her up to eighth on the Irish All-Time list over 400m.
Sharlene Mawdsley – Mixed 4x400m Relay, Women’s 4x400m Relay, 400m
The National 400m champion will bring title-winning form into the worlds, after running 51.94 to edge out Sophie Becker for the crown in Santry last month.
At the European Games in Poland, the Tipperary native also ran the second-fastest time of her life (51.55) when she won her heat.
Kelly McGrory – Mixed 4x400m Relay, Women’s 4x400m Relay
Donegal native Kelly McGrory is another member of the 4x400m relay squad. She travels to Budapest after winning a silver medal in the 400m hurdles at the National Championships, narrowly losing out to Jessica Tappin of Clonliffe Harriers. McGrory also came close to her personal best when she won the 400m hurdles in a time of 57.27 seconds at the Tampere Motonet GP meeting.
Cliodhna Manning of Kilkenny City Harriers AC is the final member of the women’s 4x400m relay selection.
Christopher O’Donnell – Mixed 4x400m Relay, 400m
Like Sophie Becker, Christopher O’Donnell was a part of the history-making mixed relay team that represented Ireland in an Olympic final in Tokyo as well the world final in Oregon last year.
The 25-year-old, who won his fifth national title in six years last month, will also compete in the men’s 400m in Budapest.
Jack Raftery and Callum Baird are also part of the mixed relay squad.
Kate O’Connor – Heptathlon
Kate O’Connor of Dundalk told BBC Sport NI this week that she is targeting a top-10 finish in the Heptathlon at the World Championships. O’Connor, who was born in Newry, won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Eric Favors - Shot Put
Eric Favors was born in New York, but qualifies to represent Ireland through his grandmother who comes from Ballina.
Favors has already beaten the Irish record that was set by Paul Quirke and took the gold medal at the Irish National Championships with a throw of 19.91 metres.
In March, he smashed his own Irish record with a massive 20.66m to take fifth place at the European Throwing Cup in Portugal.
David Kenny – 20km Walk
David Kenny of Farranfore Maine Valley AC goes to Budapest fresh off a National Championships where he captured his third title. The Kerry man set a new personal best of 40:20:63 in the 10km walk to put him fifth on the Irish all-time list.
Back in February, he broke Rob Heffernan’s national record for the 5km at the Munster Senior and Master Indoor Championships with a time of 18:42.
Brendan Boyce – 35km Walk
After booking his spot at the World Championships, Brendan Boyce headed off to Spain where he competed in the XXXVI Gran Premio Cantones de A Coruna de Marcha. He was in the 20km race at that event where he took 47th in 1:27:14.
The Donegal native finished in 25th in the 35km walk at last year’s World Championships, and will feature in the same event this time around.
You can find Team Ireland’s full schedule here
The 42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
