It was a packed weekend of action for Irish athletes abroad, with senior runners competing across Europe and the United States. While a large Irish contingent was also involved in NCAA competition and will be covered separately, this report focuses on the senior performances on the World Athletics Indoor Tour and Challenger circuit.
The weekend got underway on Friday in Spain, where Eimear Maher opened Irish involvement at the Meeting Internacional Catalunya de Pista Coberta. Lining up in the women’s 1500 metres, Maher produced a strong run to finish second, setting a new personal best of 4:18.67.
In France, Lauren Callaghan enjoyed an excellent outing at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole. Competing in the long jump, Callaghan secured victory with a best mark of 6.34 metres, equalling her personal best on the Bronze Tour circuit.
Saturday morning brought Irish success outdoors in Australia, where Laura Nicholson took on the Cooks International Classic. Now working under coach Nic Bideau, Nicholson claimed victory in the women’s mile, stopping the clock at 4:43.75.
Later that evening, attention turned to Boston for the New Balance Grand Prix, where three Irish athletes lined up in a high quality men’s 3000 metres field. Andrew Coscoran led the Irish charge with a second place finish in 7:30.97. Nick Griggs followed closely in fourth, clocking 7:32.79 and lowering his own Irish under 23 record. Crucially, both athletes achieved the qualifying standard for the World Indoor Championships. Brian Fay rounded out the Irish involvement in tenth place with a time of 7:42.58.
The standout performance of the night, however, came from Cian McPhillips in the men’s 600 metres. Running with patience, McPhillips sat at the back of the field before making a decisive move just after the bell. He surged through the pack and quickly opened daylight on the field, pulling clear down the final straight to win comfortably in a time of 1:16.37.
Back in France, Irish athletes were again among the medals at the Meeting Indoor de Lyon. Bori Akinola had a superb day in the men’s 60 metres, winning his heat in 6.71 before taking the final in 6.65, just six hundredths outside the World Indoor qualifying mark. In the men’s 800 metres, Mark English narrowly missed out on second, finishing third in 1:46.63. Jodie McCann also claimed third in the women’s 1500 metres, running 4:11.51.
Sunday saw more Irish progress in Paris at the Meeting Indoor de Paris. Sarah Lavin delivered two solid runs in the women’s 60 metre hurdles, winning her heat in 8.03 before finishing second in the final with a time of 7.98, securing the World Indoor qualifying standard.
Over in Czechia, Eric Favors put in a strong performance at the Jablonec Indoor Meet to finish second in the Shot Put event with a best throw of 19.15m.
The weekend concluded in Portugal at the Meeting Moniz Pereira, where a Dublin City Harriers contingent made the trip. In the women’s 2000 metres, Niamh Carr and Lucy Holmes produced a memorable one two finish, clocking 6:01.91 and 6:02.03 respectively. In the men’s race, Philip Marron added another podium placing with second in 5:08.70.
Overall, it was a highly productive weekend for Irish athletes abroad, featuring multiple tour victories and three athletes securing World Indoor qualifying standards as the indoor season gathers momentum.
