DOYLE DOMINATES 1500M AS LAVIN AND ENGLISH MAKE IT A PERFECT TEN ON A BLUE-RIBBON DAY AT MORTON STADIUM

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DOYLE DOMINATES 1500M AS LAVIN AND ENGLISH MAKE IT A PERFECT TEN ON A BLUE-RIBBON DAY AT MORTON STADIUM

3 August 2025

Cathal Doyle, Sarah Lavin, and Mark English were among the star performers on a blue-ribbon day at Morton Stadium as day two of the 123.ie National Senior Track and Field Championships delivered a string of standout performances (Aug 3^rd).

Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers AC) made it four consecutive national 1500m titles in a stacked final, while Lavin (Emerald AC) and English (Finn Valley AC) each celebrated their 10th national outdoor titles in the 100m hurdles and 800m respectively, cementing their legacies as two of Ireland’s most decorated track athletes.

English secured his 10th title with a clinical performance, crossing the line in 1:48.76. The Donegal star sat in patiently throughout before weaving his way to the front in customary fashion over the last 100 meters to stay on strongly to the line. Cian McPhillips (U.C.D. A.C.) pushed him closest but had to settle for second in 1:49.26, with Andrew Thompson (North Belfast Harriers) claiming bronze in 1:49.93.

Speaking after his race, Mark English said: ‘I felt great. I was a little bit nervous coming into the race because there’s a bunch of guys that train together so I knew it was going to be a difficult race, but I had a plan, and I executed it, and it worked out.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, English said: “I changed coach back in November and I’ve increased the volume a little bit, they’ve probably been the two big differences. After the indoor season I went away to altitude again so maybe that’s standing to me. Hopefully I’ll have another race or two before the world championships, and I can’t wait for that because I’m in great shape at the minute”.

The men’s 1500m saw Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers AC) make it four-in-a-row with a composed and tactical performance in a stacked final, crossing the line in 3:53.60. Billed by many as the race of the weekend, it did not disappoint with a host of athletes including Andrew Coscoran, Nick Griggs, Darragh McElhinney, Callum Morgan, and Shane Bracken all in contention at the bell.

Ultimately it would be the Clonliffe athlete who made the decisive move with 200 meters to go, and he never relinquished the lead as he held off the fast-finishing Andrew Coscoran who followed up his superb gold medal performance in the men’s 5,000m just 90 minutes previous. Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) and Griggs (CNDR Track AC) would cross in 3:53.80 and 3:53.90 respectively.

Hurdles queen Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) stormed to her 10th national 100m hurdles title, clocking a world class 12.92 to extend her remarkable reign as Ireland’s dominant sprint hurdler. Molly Scott (SLOT) walked away with silver in 13.61, with Sarah Quinn (St Colmans South Mayo AC) bronze in 13.84.

The men’s 5000m also lived up to its billing with Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) showing no signs of fatigue from Saturday’s 1500m heat as he outkicked defending champion Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) in a thrilling sprint finish.

Coscoran, Fay, Efrem Gidey, Cormac Dalton, and Jack O’Leary broke clear at the 3,000m mark, before Coscoran unleashed a race-winning-kick over the final 100 meters to take the win in 13:34.14 ahead of Fay in 13:34.92.

The women’s 5000m got the day’s track proceedings underway, and it was dominated by Cork athletes with Leevale’s Niamh Allen leading the way in 15:35.90. Allen was followed home by clubmate Anika Thompson who set the pace for much of the race, ultimately crossing in 15:40.56. Fiona Everard of Bandon AC completed the Cork 1-2-3 in 16:04.36.

Bori Akinola (U.C.D. AC) claimed his first national senior 100m title in style, clocking 10.29 to add to his indoor 60m crown from earlier this season. Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght AC) was right in contention to the finish (10.41) with Lorcan Murphy (DSD AC) crossing in third for bronze (10.57) respectively in a high-quality final that unfortunately saw defending champion Israel Olatunde withdraw following his semi-final.

The women’s 100m witnessed emotional scenes as Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) returned to the top of a national podium, securing her first outdoor sprint title since 2019 with her fastest time in over four years to clock 11.44. The Emerald AC athlete led home a field that saw Fast Twitch AC’s Lauren Roy (11.49) and DSD’s Mollie O’Reilly (11.60) join her on the podium.

Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock A.C.) stayed strong down the home straight to defend her women’s 400m title, crossing the line in 52.87. The Raheny athlete has showed a remarkable return to race sharpness following a recent injury to make it three national 400m titles in the last four years. Rachel McCann (North Down AC) and Cliodhna Manning (Kilkenny City Harriers AC) followed in 53.19 and 53.99 respectively in a high-quality final.

Becker’s training partner Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers) also went back-to-back in the men’s 400m, clocking a winning time of 45.71 to continue his upward momentum following an impressive outing at the recent World University Games. Five-time champion Chris O’Donnell (North Sligo AC) was second in 46.27, with Ciaran Carthy (Dundrum South Dublin) third in 46.34.

Alex O’Neill (Limerick Track AC) claimed her first national senior title in a thrilling women’s 800m final, crossing the line in 2:04.53 in a bunched finish. O’Neill, who is based in London, claimed a famous milestone for the newly formed Limerick Track who claimed their first senior track title. European 3000m indoor champion Sarah Healy (U.C.D. AC) took silver in 2:04.57, with Maeve O’Neill (Doheny AC) close behind for bronze in 2:04.69.

Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC) also picked up her first senior national title in the women’s 1500m race with the Bandon athlete producing a strong finish to clock 4:13.32. Zoe Toland (CNDR Track AC) and Niamh Carr (Dublin City Harriers AC) followed closely behind in 4:15.11 and 4:16.08 respectively.

Adam Nolan (St. Laurence O’Toole AC) powered to victory in the men’s 110m hurdles, claiming his first senior title with a time of 14.24. Gerard O’Donnell and Conor Penney completed the podium in a tightly contested final.

Cara Murphy (DSD AC) won her first 400m hurdles title in 59.85, followed home by Ellis McHugh (Ferrybank AC) 1:00.39 and Lauren Kilduff (Craughwell AC) 1:00.39. Monaghan Phoenix athlete Niamh Malone raced superbly and looked to have the title in her grasp but for a final hurdle tumble.

Niall Carney (Clonliffe Harriers AC) broke through to claim his first senior 400m hurdles title, coming on the back of Thomas Barr’s era of dominance that saw him win 12 of the last 14 runnings. Carney crossed the line for gold in 54.87 ahead of Brian Cullinan of Sligo AC (54.59) in one of the finishes of the day.

A visibly emotional Reece Ademola (Leevale AC) became just the second Irish athlete to post a leap of eight meters or longer in the men’s long jump. The Cork athlete producing a huge attempt to secure a long sought-after milestone of eight meters to continue his superb return to form in recent months. Sam Healy (Leevale AC) secured silver with a jump of 7.35m, while Luke O’Carroll (Tralee Harriers AC) claimed bronze with 7.15m in a quality men’s long jump final.

Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) continued her incredible run, securing her 4th senior outdoor title in the women’s hammer throw with a new U23 record. The UCD athlete saw three throws go out over the 70m mark, with her best and last attempt of 71.75m breaking her own U23 record.

National record holder Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock) completed a golden double at the championships, adding the discus title to her shot put victory from the day before. Her winning throw of 55.08m led a strong field, with Anna Gavigan (51.30m) and Marie Hanahan (38.63m) completing the podium.

Matthew Callinan Keenan of St. Laurence O’Toole AC continued his dominance in the men’s Pole Vault, claiming his third outdoor title in just four years with a winning height of 4.80m

Sean Mockler (Moycarkey Coolcroo) improved upon his winning throw from 2024, backing up last year’s win in the men’s hammer with a best throw of 65.62m.

Lauren Callaghan (Finn Valley A.C.) soared to her first senior outdoor title in the women’s long jump, landing a winning leap of 6.24m.

Selected Day 2 Results

5000m Women