{"id":625674,"date":"2026-08-07T16:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/625674\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:49:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:49:19","slug":"seven-irish-athletes-to-watch-at-the-european-athletics-championships-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/625674\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Irish athletes to watch at the European Athletics Championships \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarah Healy (1,500m\/5,000m): <\/b>Not since Sonia O\u2019Sullivan<\/a> in 1998 (two gold) and again in 2002 (two silver) has any Irish athlete had medal chances in two distance running events. Healy is still new to 5,000m racing, but will unquestionably have the finishing speed to make the podium. Then it\u2019s all about recovering for the 1,500m, where along with her training partner Georgia Hunter Bell from GB, the race could be on to succeed Ciara Mageean as European champion.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland’sIreland\u2019s Mark English. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Mark English (800m): <\/b>Some might say he hasn\u2019t always delivered on the championship stage, but his European record speaks for itself. From the five finals he\u2019s contested, he\u2019s won five medals \u2013 bronze in 2014 and 2022, plus silver and two bronze indoors. At 33, the Donegal athlete is running better than ever, his 1:42.97 the fastest European time this season. With Cian McPhillips also in the mix, it is a potentially fireworks event for Irish athletics.<\/p>\n

\"RhasidatRhasidat Adeleke with fans. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Rhasidat Adeleke (200m): <\/b>By Adeleke\u2019s own recent admission, dealing with adversity and repeated injuries was entirely new to her, and at times it became a little too consuming. Then in winning the national title last month, running 22.80 into a stiff headwind, the smile was back, and some of her confidence too. With the pressure off, if she can come close to her Irish record of 22.34 then a podium place may prove within reach.<\/p>\n

\"AndrewAndrew Coscoran. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Andrew Coscoran (1,500m):<\/b> For the first time in 20 years, there won\u2019t be any Ingebrigtsens appearing on the start-line, and with two-time reigning champion Jakob running the 5,000m only, this one also appears wide open. Coscoran has ample experience, making the World Championship final last year, rounding into good form too. His strongest asset remains his finishing speed, and if he\u2019s within reach to make that count, he won\u2019t be far off the medals.<\/p>\n

\"KateKate O\u2019Connor. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

Kate O\u2019Connor (heptathlon): <\/b>O\u2019Connor we know is never shy of motivation, but with defending champion Nafi Thiam from Belgium not competing due to injury, the European crown needs a successor. Two weeks after adding Commonwealth Games gold to her collection, the opposition this time will be significantly more testing, Annik K\u00e4lin from Switzerland scoring 6,819 points in May, ahead of O\u2019Connor\u2019s Irish record of 6,714.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland’sIreland\u2019s Fionnuala McCormack. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Fionnuala McCormack (marathon): <\/b>One month shy of her 42nd birthday, McCormack wouldn\u2019t be lining up unless she strongly believed in her medal chances. Last September, she finished ninth in the World Championships, and second-best European, in hot conditions. Alisa Vainio from Finland has run 2:20:39 this year, and is clear favourite, but with two fourth-place finishes in the 10,000m, then seventh in the marathon four years ago, McCormack\u2019s desire to make the podium will run deep. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Sky\u2019s the limit for several Irish medal hopes at the EuropeansOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\"Ireland’sIreland\u2019s Bori Akinola. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Bori Akinola (100m\/4x100m relay): <\/b>Four years ago in Munich, Israel Olatunde made Irish athletics history when reaching the 100m final, but Akinola has been leading the way this year. In the perfect race, he can improve his best of 10.19, and he\u2019ll then join forces with Olatunde in the 4x100m relay, where Irish potential is soaring. The addition next year of Irish-born Benji Richardson, formerly of South Africa, could soon have them mixing it with the big boys.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish barrister making her sprint comeback at the European Athletics ChampionshipsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sarah Healy (1,500m\/5,000m): Not since Sonia O\u2019Sullivan in 1998 (two gold) and again in 2002 (two silver) has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[45670,264190,18,69966,44830,19,17,10889,10888,8302,10886,83999,132],"class_list":["post-625674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-andrew-coscoran","tag-bori-akinola","tag-eire","tag-european-athletics-championships","tag-fionnuala-mccormack","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kate-o-connor","tag-mark-english","tag-rhasidat-adeleke","tag-sarah-healy","tag-sonia-o-sullivan","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117055256882835725","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}