It’s been a long wait, almost a full month since the last Diamond League meet lit up London on July 19th – but the world’s premier athletics series is finally back tomorrow, August 16th, in Silesia, Poland. For Irish fans, all eyes will be on Sarah Healy as she takes to the track in the women’s 1500 metres (3:45pm Irish time).
In Diamond League terms, a month without action feels like an eternity. Since London, Irish athletes have been producing headlines and breaking records elsewhere:
- Kate O’Connor stormed to heptathlon gold at the World University Games.
- Nicola Tuthill took silver at those Games and another silver at the European U23 Championships.
- Annika Thompson claimed gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m at the European U23s.
- Eimear Maher earned bronze in the women’s 1500m, while Nick Griggs took silver in the men’s 5000m.
- Young Irish athletes picked up a haul of bronzes at the European Youth Olympic Festival.
- And just this week, Mark English smashed his own Irish 800m record yet again.
Rhasidat Adeleke will not feature in Poland. The 400m star has had a temperamental outdoor season, though she showed a welcome upturn in form with an improved performance in the 200m in London last month. That leaves Healy as Ireland’s sole representative on the track tomorrow afternoon.
Healy’s outdoor season has been nothing short of exceptional this year. Her Diamond League 1500m campaign began with a brilliant victory in Rome on June 6th, followed by a strong run in Paris, a battling seventh place in an elite Eugene field, and a podium finish in the London mile. Two weeks ago, she stepped down in distance to claim 800m silver at the National Championships.
That form built on a hugely impressive indoor season at the start of the year, where she won European Indoor 3000m gold back in March, reached the World Indoor Championships final, and sharpened her racing instincts ahead of the summer
Heading into Silesia, Healy sits top of the Diamond League 1500m qualification standings, a clear marker of her consistency and sharpness this year. She’ll face a strong field that includes Georgia Hunter-Bell, Nikki Hiltz, and Gudaf Tsegay, all world-class middle-distance talents.
After nearly a month without Diamond League action, Healy will be keen to make her mark again. She’s in the form of her life, she’s racing with confidence, and she has a golden opportunity to remind the circuit exactly why she’s leading the standings.
The wait is over. Diamond League is back tomorrow. And so is Sarah Healy.
