Mark English (800m) Maeve O’Neill (800m) and Bori Akinola (60m) all advanced to semi-finals of their respective events on the opening morning of the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland.
English (Finn Valley AC) who turned 33 this week, cruised through his heat of the Men’s 800m in 1:46.42. The Donegal man took control of the race in the closing 400m to seal his semi-final spot.
“I was looking around a bit on that final lap, I knew there was good guys in that race…I’m happy to come away with the win,” he said. “For me every championship I go to is the most important it doesn’t matter what level it’s at. I put the head down after Tokyo (World Championships) last year, I wanted to do my form justice.”
O’Neill (Doheny AC) learned that she had made the Women’s 800m semi-final in the mixed zone. Having initially finished third in her heat in 2:03.20 she was advanced to next round after Valery Tobias (USA) was disqualified. The 22-year-old who recently broke the Irish indoor record (2:00.33) will now prepare to race again tomorrow.
“I’m over the moon. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be disqualified, I didn’t see what happened. It’s a big shock but to try and make a semi-final was my aim. That’s huge for me,” she said.
Earlier in the session Akinola (UCD AC) had got the Irish off to a strong start at the championships. Despite a 6:30am alarm, his time of 6.59 seconds was enough to automatically advance to the semi-finals of the Men’s 60m later this evening.
“I’m happy the clock was sub-6.60, it’s my quickest round opener all season,” he told Athletics Ireland afterwards. “I’m happy out. This was early. We’ve the rest of the day to go back, rest, relax, eat, stay hydrated and come back for the semi-final. I’ve outperformed my best time from Apeldoorn (European Indoors) last year. I’m off to a great start, hopefully I can lower it again.”
Emma Moore (Galway City Harriers) made her senior international debut in the heats of the Women’s 800m, clocking 2:02.00 to finish fifth, missing out on a semi-final spot. The 21-year-old was optimistic about what the future holds.
“I stood there on the line and felt like I belonged,” she said. “I need to sharpen the elbows, get more confident taking positions. The team have been a huge help…I’m proud of my performance and proud of how I handled myself, huge experience gained.”
James Gormley (Carmen Runners) will race in the heats of the Men’s 1500m this evening at 6:04pm, before Bori Akinola returns to action for the semi-finals of the Men’s 60m at 7:30pm.
Team Ireland Results Summary
Day One – Morning Session – Friday March 20th
- Bori Akinola – Men’s 60m – Heat 3/7 – 6.59 Q (3rd)
- Maeve O’Neill – Women’s 800m – Heat 4/6 – 2:03.20 Q (2nd)
- Emma Moore – Women’s 800m – Heat 6/6 – 2:02.00 (5th in heat, does not advance)
- Mark English – Men’s 800m – Heat 4/6 – 1:46.42 Q (1st)
Team Ireland Schedule: Irish Time (Local time in brackets)
Day One – Evening Session – Friday March 20th
- James Gormley – Men’s 1500m – Heat 2/3 – 18:04 (19:04)
- Bori Akinola – Men’s 60m – SF 3/3 – 19:30 (20:30)
- Bori Akinola – Men’s 60m – Final – 20:22 (21:22) *
*Subject to advancing
Where to watch
Virgin Media TV will bring you live coverage across the three days. See Virgin Media listings for details.
- Results are HERE
- Interviews available on Athletics Ireland social media channels
