by Perri Williams
The Irish team have arrived in Apeldoorn. Photos and videos of the team training at the Omnisport stadium here in Eastern Netherlands went viral today. The beautiful stadium being showcased from multiple perspectives, by many videographers and photographers.
Tomorrow afternoon the Irish will be in action in three events; Cathal Doyle in the opening rounds of the 1500m, Sarah Lavin in the 60m hurdles and the Irish mixed 4x400m in the relay. Since that thrilling moment when the relay team made it into the final at the World Indoors in Glasgow last year, this and our ladies 4x400m relay teams have accumulated many major accolades. That magnificent win in Rome by the mixed relay and the 4th place Olympic finish by the ladies team have captivated Irish athletic and non-athletic audience. What are the predictions for Apeldoorn. For starters Sharlene Mawdsley clearly announced her intention to run in the mixed team, which is good news for Ireland. However, the team will be without Thomas Barr who recently announced his retirement, Rashidat Adeleke who is bypassing the Europeans as she builds up for the Worlds and Sophie Becker who is recovering from an injury. There are general improvements to the times of those athletes that are coming behind, the question is, can the collective efforts of the chosen quartet be enough to bring home the medals? Thursday at 21.50 Irish time will reveal those answers.
Mark English already has two European medals over 800m and his recent Irish record is an emphatic statement of his intent to put yet another around his neck. On his heels will be Cian McPhillips who had a magnificent run in the US a few weeks ago. The former European Junior champion finding that spark that ignited him on that warm summers day when the world was covid bound. We may not have got that dual we wanted at the National Senior Indoors but perhaps Apeldoorn will present a showdown between the two fastest men in Ireland over 800m.
High hopes are pinned on Sarah Healy to bring home a medal in the 3000m. It is a different Healy than the athlete that appeared in Glasgow a year ago. Hand held on her head in disbelief when she walked off the track as a non-qualifier in the 1500m. With several recent Irish records under her belt, she has the ability to break into the top three. Andrew Coscoran is within striking distance of a medal. His European ranking and his recent Irish records also suggest that narrative. Like Healy he too has had his disappointment. He has opted for the 3000m which will feature the great Jacob Ingebrigtsen who has expressed his intent of doing the 1500m/3000m double. Kate O’Connor is another athlete who has a chance of a podium placing. O’Connor has made massive improvements over the past year. Her recent good form and spate of personal bests indicates she is a woman on a mission. Other big names like Sharlene Mawdsley (400m), Jodie McCann (3000m), Sarah Lavin (60mH) and Cathal Doyle (1500m) will be hoping to make finals. McCann will feature in the 3000m which is a straight final.
Making their Senior debuts for Ireland will be James Gormely (3000m) and Bori Akinola (60m). Gormely has been eligible to compete for Ireland since last November, while Akinola is making his first individual debut. Excited to be included in the para event on Sunday is Orla Comerford who finished third in the 100m at the Paralympics in Paris.
Ireland may be under-represented in the field events this time around but we will have plenty to focus on as Mondo DuPlantis will be in action over the Pole Vault and will attempt to emulate the world record he secured just last week.
RTE will be covering the event over the four day period and you can also follow it on the player. Run Republic will be bringing you daily updates and we will be publishing a schedule for you to access at your convenience.