by Perri Williams
First, we had the snow, when all events were cancelled, with athletes and enthusiasts left in a void. Fast forward two weeks later and the athletics events are coming on fast and furious. From college athletics to international and domestic competitions, an extravaganza of athletics took place last weekend.
The National League took place on Sunday and in true Irish style round two kicked started the league with round one following in a few weeks’ time. Alongside the league some guest events kept the day going for a little longer. One of the highlights of the day was the sensational 60m run by Bori Akinola where he smashed his own personal best by .07 seconds to top the 2025 60m rankings with 6.65 seconds. Israel Olatunde is currently training in Florida and with Akinola’s fast season opener, this should make the Irish men’s sprinting season something of an interesting affair.
In the ladies 60m there was a win for Sarah Leahy (Killarney Valley) with a time of 7.49 seconds. Leahy currently sits at the top of the Irish 60m ranking list with her 7.35 from the AAI Games the previous weekend.
Abroad this past week there have been some promising performances. In Loughborough Ellie McCarthy opened up her season as she recorded a win in the Pole Vault with a vault of 4.31m. Staying with the UK, a number of Irish athletes were in action at the BMC race in Sheffield. Jonas Stafford (UCD) finished fifth with a new personal best of 3.48.73 over 1,500m. Amy O’Donoghue (Emerald) recorded 4.19.19 to finish 5th in her 1500m heat. In the same race Amy Wallace (Mullingar) opened up her season with 4.30.94. The men’s 3,000m race provided the first race of 2025 for Sean Tobin (Clonmel). Tobin finished runner-up to Baldvin Magnusson of Iceland, who crossed the line in a time of 7.45.13 setting a new Icelandic record. Tobin recorded 7.51.39. Raheny’s Niamh Kearney took her place in the ladies 3,000m line up. Kearney finished 5th in 9.17.40.
In the USA, Peter Lynch (Kilkenny City Harriers) finished 19th in the Houston Half-Marathon in a time of 61.15. This moves the Kilkenny man to fifth on the Irish all-time list. In the same race Waterford’s Barry Keane recorded 1:01:22. Both athletes are inside the Athletics Ireland consideration standard for the European Road Running Championships. Two other Irish athletes Efrem Gidey and Fearghal Curtin also have the half marathon standard for that event.
Meanwhile in Arkansas Shay McEvoy (Kilkenny City Harriers) became another Irish man to break the sub-4-minute mile barrier. McEvoy who spent much of 2024 injured has made a decent comeback, as he enters the final six months of his degree programme in Tulsa. While Sean Tobin was setting his markers in England, Charlie O’Donovan (Villanova) was laying some of his own in the USA. O’Donovan finished first in Philadelphia over 3000m in a time of 8.05.85 for his first win of the new season. Meabh Richardson (Kilkenny City Harriers) running in the Portland colours clocked 9.22 at the UW Invitational in Seattle.
The throwers were in action too, with John Kelly (Finn Valley) closing in on Eric Favors (Raheny) with a throw of 17.97 at a meet in Sweden. Favors has a comfortable lead with his 19.30 which he threw last weekend Akron, Ohio.
