Two of Ireland’s top sprint stars will return to action in London today as Marcus Lawler and Bori Akinola compete at the BFTTA Outdoor Series 5. Both athletes are entered in the men’s 100m at Lee Valley Athletic Centre, while Lawler is also scheduled to contest the 200m later in the afternoon.
It will be their first competitive appearance since the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where both reached individual semi finals before helping Ireland qualify for the men’s 4 x 100m relay final.
Akinola has enjoyed an impressive 2026 season. The UCD AC athlete broke the Irish indoor 60m record with a time of 6.54 seconds in February before reaching the semi finals at the World Indoor Championships.
He later reduced his outdoor 100m personal best to 10.19 seconds and carried that form into Birmingham. Akinola won his opening European Championship race in 10.39 despite running into a strong 2.8 metres per second headwind. It was the fastest time across the opening round.
Akinola came even closer to his best in the semi final, clocking 10.38 into another headwind to finish fourth. He missed out on a place in the European final but ended his individual campaign among the leading sprinters at the championships.
Lawler also progressed from the opening round of the men’s 200m. The Clonliffe Harriers sprinter finished fifth in his heat in 20.94, placing him 11th among the 13 athletes who advanced by time.
