This preview originally appeared on www.athleticsireland.ie, see here.
The stars of Irish athletics will take to national competition at the 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships which take place in the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena this weekend (February 17th & 18th).
The action gets underway from 12pm on Saturday, with a second helping also taking place on Sunday from 12pm.
Both days of competition will be streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube Channel.
Sarah Lavin and Mark Smyth look set to headline the opening day’s action with the finals of the 60m hurdles and men’s 200m set for decision on day 1.
Day 2 of these championships will see a flurry of finals which look set to include Ireland’s fastest man Israel Olatunde (60m), endurance star Nick Griggs (1500m), and Olympians Mark English (800m) and Louise Shanahan (800m).
How to follow:
Top list for 2024 indoors Here
Weekend timetable Here
Entries Here
Watch on Athletics Ireland YouTube Here
Live Results (Updated from Saturday Feb 17th) Here
Spectator Tickets (Please note this is a ticket only event. U16s are FREE and do not require a ticket) Here
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 17TH
TRACK THRILLS
The heats of the 400m and 1500m will get the track action underway on Saturday, with the first track final (200m) set to take place at 3.30pm (heats 1.25pm).
The men’s 200m race should make a compelling watch with Irish 200m record holder (indoors), Mark Smyth (20.64), already looking very sharp this indoor season having clocked 21.08 at the university championships last weekend.
Smyth is one of 14 Irish athletes to go under 22 seconds for 200m this season, a group that also includes Colin Doyle (Leevale AC), and the Galway pair of Robert McDonnell (Galway City Harriers) and Andrew Egan (Galway City Harriers) who are set to take their places. Aaron Keane (Tullamore Harriers) and Padraic Hassett (Nenagh Olympic) could also get into podium contention, while Craig Newell (Ballymena and Antrim AC) picked up bronze in the race last year and is not to be discounted. It’s likely Smyth will need to challenge his 2023 winning time of 20.77 to retain his crown.
Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) holds entries in the 200m and 400m, and the Newport athlete may choose to defend her 200m title once more as she looks to make it three-in-a-row. Last year’s winning time of 23.50 may not be enough to claim gold this year with Phil Healy (Bandon AC) opting to focus solely on the 200m this weekend following her recent season’s best of 23.37.
Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC) also holds an entry in the 200m, while Katie Bergin (Moyne AC) and Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers) are two who will fancy getting amongst the medals.
The heats of the women’s 60m hurdles will follow at 2.35pm where Sarah Lavin will look to book her place in the final which is set for 3.50pm
Lavin has carried her remarkable run of consistence performances into 2024, enjoying another blistering start to this year’s indoor season which has so far culminated in a new personal best of 7.91, putting her within touching distance of Derval O'Rourke’s indoor hurdles record (7.84). Notably, Lavin has broken the 8-second mark on seven separate occasions this indoor season.
Away from Lavin, Okwu Backari (Leevael AC) and Kate Doherty (Dundrum South Dublin AC) look likely contenders to battle it out for the podium places, while a resurgent Molly Scott (St Laurence O’Toole AC) could yet join Lavin in doubling up in the 60m hurdles and 60m.
The men’s race will be a straight final and in the absence of some of the familiar names of recent years. It could be left to rising star Adam Nolan (St Laurence O’Toole AC) who clocked a PB of 7.98 earlier this indoor season which would have been enough to claim gold in 2023.
Away from Saturday’s track finals, the heats of the 800m should attract plenty of attention at 2.50pm with international stars Mark English (Finn Valley AC) and Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) set to book their places in Sunday’s respective finals.
The 4x200m relays will round out the track action on day 1.
FIELD FOCUS (SATURDAY)
The men’s pole vault looks set to be the best Irish indoor pole vault competition in recent times. Defending champion Matthew Callinan Keenan (SLOT) boasts the best clearance this indoor season with a 4.60m, while a resurgent Conor Callinan (Leevale AC) posted 4.45m last weekend.
It took a best of 4.80m to claim gold in this event last year and Enniscorthy’s Michael Bowler is sure to be there still there as the final medal deciding attempts take to the runway.
The women’s high jump competition gets underway from 1.15pm and it has the potential to be one of the closest competitions of the weekend with Sommer Lecky (1.81SB), Daena Kealy (1.79SB), Ciara Kennelly (1.79SB), Tara O’Connor (1.77SB), Sium Quinn (1.76SB), Aoife O’Sullivan (1.76SB), and Anna McCauley (1.75SB) all clearing 1.75m or better this indoor season.
The men’s high jump competition is likely to see David Cussen (Old Abbey AC) top the podium again, while rising Craughwell stars Evan Hallinan (Craughwell AC) and Conor Penny are sure to threaten the 2.00m mark once more. Paralympian Jordan Lee (Killarney Valley AC) also returns to action as he builds towards another huge outdoor season.
Saragh Buggy (St Abbans) will look to make it EIGHT indoor triple jump titles in a row on Saturday. Buggy looked as impressive as ever last year, clinching the 2023 indoor title with a championship record of 13.25m.
The men’s triple jump winner could be a little harder to predict with Nenagh Olympic’s Brendan Lynch sure to push defending champion Jai Benson (Lagan Valley AC) all the way.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18TH
TRACK DECIDERS
Olympian David Kenny (Farronfore Main Valley) returns to national championship action in the men’s 5,000m walk where he will look to make it four indoor titles in a row. Fellow Olympian Brendan Boyce (Finn Valley AC) will be sharp following a recent 10k appearance in Spain (42.42), while rising stars Matthew Glennon (Mullingar Harriers) and Jake O'Brien (Moy Valley AC) have been impressing over the shorter distances this indoor season.
Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) will rank as one of this weekend’s leading favourites for gold as she goes in search of her 7th indoor title in a row (*2021 micro meet).
The men’s 3,000m is set for a 1.50pm start and has attracted a bumper entry which will see the final split as a time trial. The race looks wide open in the absence of last year’s champion Darragh McElhinney, while last year’s silver medallist, Nick Griggs, looks set to opt for the 1500m.
Cheryl Nolan (St Abbans AC) claimed her first national senior medal to take the women’s 3,000m last season and returns to defend her title on Sunday. 2020 champion Ciara Wilson (DMP AC) also looks set to take her place. Last year’s bronze medallist, Niamh Kearney (Raheny Shamrock) will also be a contender, albeit also holding an entry in the 1500m. 2023 national senior cross country champion, Fiona Everard (Bandon AC), will likely ensure a strong pace from the gun.
3pm will see the finalists in the 1500m take to the track. The champions from the previous two editions in Carla Sweeney (Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. AC) and Georgie Hartigan (Dundrum South Dublin) look to be among the leading favourites once more. Hartigan clocked a 4:15.35 earlier this season and a reproduction of that effort would see the DSD athlete hard to beat.
The men’s 1500m race could very well be dictated by Candour Track Club with Nick Griggs and Callum Morgan both holding entries. Griggs has been in sparking form this indoor season, already boasting an NU23 record of 7:45.57 for 3000m. With no entry for Griggs in this year’s national 3,000m, a run for gold in the 1500m could well be the target. If he is to go for gold it's likley the Tyrone teenager will have to go past Clonliffe's Cathal Doyle who tends to save his best perfromances for nationals.
Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) also holds an entry for the 1500m on Sunday but time will tell if the championship record holder (3.41.36) takes to action in Abbottstown given his busy recent schedule stateside.
The women’s 400m could provide another of this weekend’s highlights with Sophie Becker (Rahen Shamrock AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) holding entries, while last year’s bronze medallist Miriam Daly (Carrick-on-Suir AC) will also be eager to move up the podium placings.
Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers) and Cillin Greene (Galway City Harriers) look set to renew rivalries in the men’s 400m. Raftery claimed gold last year in a blistering championship record of 46.37. The Donore athlete comes into the weekend on the back of a 47.53 SB in Belgrade on Tuesday.
The women’s 60m final is set for a 3.40pm start. Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC), Molly Scott (St Laurence O’Toole AC), Mollie O'Reilly (Dundrum South Dublin), Kate Doherty (Dundrum South Dublin), and a returning Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) will all look to make it to the sprint decider as they try to topple defending champion Sarah Leahy (Killarney Valley AC).
Israel Olatunde (Tallaght AC) provided the standout moment of last year’s indoor championships in breaking Paul Hession’s 2007 national indoor record with a stunning 6.57.
Ireland’s fastest man will face several challengers to his throne on Sunday (3.50pm) with Bori Akinola (UCD AC), Colin Doyle (Leevale AC), and Gabriel Kehinde (Ennis Track) all having gone 6.74 or better this season.
Olympians Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) and Mark English (Finn Valley AC) are the star names in the 800m which are the penultimate events on the track.
Shanahan’s chief rivals could likely come in the form of Georgie Hartigan (DSD) and Jenna Bromell (Emerald AC) who have both gone sub 2.06 this season, while Raheny’s Iseult O’Donnell seems to thrive in the championship race environment and can’t be discounted.
English returned to record breaking form in recent weeks when lowering the Irish 600m record with a 1:16.64 in Boston. Sunday’s race will likely be a tactical affair however and although the 17-time Irish senior champion undoubtedly knows how to find a way to win, he is likely to be pushed all the way by Cian McPhillips (Longford AC) and John Fitzsimons (Kildare AC).
The 4x400m relays will sign off this year’s 123.ie National Indoor Championships from 4.20pm.
FIELD FINALS
The women’s pole vault will lead off the field event action on Sunday with Ellie McCartney (City of Lisburn) travelling over from her Loughborough base as she looks to secure her sixth indoor title.
The women’s long jump was one of the standout events in Irish Athletics last season with Ruby Millet and European U20 gold medallist Elizabeth Ndudi continuing to chase down Kelly Proper’s national record.
In the absence of Millet and Ndudi this weekend, it looks as through a jump off between last year’s bronze medallist Lauren Callaghan (Finn Valley AC) and Saragh Buggy (St Abbans) could well be on the cards, while Sophie Meredith (St Mary’s Limerick AC) will also have eyes on a podium finish.
Reece Ademola (Leevale A.C.) extended his own Irish U23 indoor long jump record to 7.93m back in January and looks the standout entry in the men’s long jump. Ademola, who is a student at Munster Technological University, currently sits third on the Irish senior indoor all-time list behind only Adam McMullen (7.99m) and Ciaran McDonagh (8.00m NR).
The women’s shot will see Michaela Walsh (Swinford AC) go in search of her 7th indoor title in a row. The Swinford athlete comes here with a best of 14.23m this season but is capable of throwing well over 15 meters, as was demonstrated with last year’s winning throw of 15.60m.
Ciara Sheehy (Emerald AC) has been in superb form this indoor season and comes into the weekend with the best of the 2024 throws (14.40pb)
Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock A.C.) looks a red-hot favourite in the men’s shot with the Raheny athlete having already bettered his own indoor record with a 20.18m at the World Indoor Tour meet in the Kazakhstan earlier this year. Favors will lead out a field which includes some exciting young shot putters including Andrew Cooper, Sam Vines, Liam Shaw, and multi-eventer Alex Ademola.
