Star Studded Irish Contingent Set for Golden Spike Meet Tomorrow Evening

Five Irish athletes are on the startlists for the prestigious Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Tuesday evening as the outdoor season continues to gather momentum ahead of a busy summer of championship racing.

The World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting regularly attracts some of the biggest names in global athletics and offers valuable opportunities for athletes chasing qualification standards, ranking points, and competitive sharpness ahead of the European Championships in Birmingham later this summer.

Among the Irish athletes in action is national sprint record holder Bori Akinola, who lines up in the men's 100 metres. The Dublin sprinter has enjoyed a breakthrough 12 months, breaking the Irish 60m indoor record during the winter. His personal best of 10.19, set last month, came up just short of the 10.15 qualifying standard for the European Championships, and he remains in pursuit of shaving those final four hundredths of a second from his time.

European mixed relay gold medalist Sharlene Mawdsley will contest the women's 400 metres. Mawdsley has already secured qualification for Birmingham and opened her outdoor campaign in impressive fashion with victory in Savona earlier this season. With qualification concerns already taken care of, Tuesday's race represents another chance to continue building form against quality opposition ahead of the major championships later this summer.

In the women's 800 metres, Emma Moore continues her push towards a senior championship debut outdoors. The Galway City Harriers athlete enjoyed a breakthrough indoor season, representing Ireland at the World Indoor Championships and lowering her personal best significantly in recent months. Currently sitting just outside the European Championship quota places, a strong performance in Ostrava could prove valuable in her pursuit of a place on the Irish team for Birmingham in August.

One of Ireland's brightest young distance talents, Nick Griggs, will race the mile. Griggs has already secured automatic qualification for the European Championships over 5000 metres, but continues to test himself across a range of distances. The Tyrone athlete remains close to the qualification positions in the 1500 metres rankings, making every high quality race an important opportunity to strengthen his credentials ahead of team selection.

Rounding out the Irish contingent is Mark English, who will race over 1000 metres. The Donegal athlete has enjoyed another excellent season, including a Diamond League victory and a runner up finish on the sport's biggest circuit. After an unfortunate early exit in Oslo last week, English will be hoping to return to form quickly as he continues preparations for Birmingham.

The Golden Spike meeting gets underway on Tuesday evening, with all five Irish athletes set to test themselves against strong international fields in one of Europe's most respected athletics meetings.

We will have full start times, live stream information and results across Run Republic's website tomorrow evening.