Ireland’s top athletics stars will join over 2,000 athletes from more than 200 countries at the 20th edition of the World Athletics Championships, which take place at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo from the 13^th to 21^st of September.

The Irish team, which is the largest ever selected for a World Athletics Championships, will be spearheaded by 2025 European indoor medallists Sarah Healy (1500m) and Mark English (800m), while European and World Indoor medallist Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon) will also be looking to make her presence felt when taking to the heptathlon competition which gets underway on Friday 19^th.

Five-time Olympian Fionnuala McCormack will don the green singlet once again when she takes to the marathon on Sunday morning (14^th). McCormack will be joined in Tokyo by fellow Olympians Sarah Lavin (100mH), Sharlene Mawdsley (400m & relays), Sophie Becker (400m & relays), Nicola Tuthill (Hammer), Eric Favors (Shot Put), Cathal Doyle (1500m), and Andrew Coscoran (1500m & 5000m) who will all be targeting strong individual performances, while Laura Nicholson (1500m), Cian McPhillips (800m), and a returning Darragh McElhinney (5000m) will look to sign off their impressive 2025 seasons in positive fashion.

Clonliffe’s Efrem Gidey heads for the men’s 10,000m as the leading European this season, while the women’s and mixed 4x400m relay squads will once again look to outperform their rank.

Peter Lynch and Hiko Tonosa currently hold the top two spots on Ireland’s all-time marathon list, and there is sure to be little to separate them once more as they navigate the 26.2 miles through the streets of Tokyo in the early hours of Monday morning.

In all, 21 individual athletes and two relay squads will represent Ireland in Tokyo with many looking to secure top-24 placings – a reflection of the depth and quality across Irish athletics in 2025. The 2023 World Championships in Budapest saw Irish athletes secure a record twelve top-24 positions, compared to the nine top-24 placings at the World Championships in Oregon a year previous.

• Championship Schedule (Team Ireland): HERE
• Championship Timetable: HERE
• Entries by season’s best: HERE
• Further event information: Tokyo 2025 Website

Opening Weekend Action

The opening day of competition (Saturday, 13th September) will see Oisin Lane lead out Team Ireland in the Men’s 35km Race Walk, followed by Eric Favors in Shot Put Qualification. The Mixed 4x400m relay team face another tough task as they bid to secure a place in the final later in the morning, but few will rule them out given past major championship performances.

The Women’s 1500m heats will feature a strong Irish trio in Sarah Healy, Sophie O’Sullivan, and Laura Nicholson, with Healy very much having eyes on another major championship final appearance following her standout season.

Day Two (Sunday) sees Fionnuala McCormack take on the Women’s Marathon, while Andrew Coscoran and Cathal Doyle begin their campaigns in the Men’s 1500m heats. Sarah Lavin will look to progress through the 100m hurdles heats once again, backing up on her semi-final appearances in Eugene and Budapest.

Sunday’s second session includes Efrem Gidey in the Men’s 10,000m Final, with Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker set to get their individual championships up and running in the heats of the Women’s 400m.

Where to follow

RTÉ will broadcast live coverage of the World Athletics Championships, bringing nine days of world-class athletics to Irish screens from 13–21 September.

Follow AthleticsIrelandOfficial on Instagram for all the behind-the-scenes and athlete interviews.

Team Ireland Schedule

Day One – Morning Session – Saturday September 13th

• Oisin Lane – Men’s 35km Race Walk – Final – 00:00 (08:00)
• Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – Qualification – 02:55 (10:55)
• Mixed 4x400m Relay – Heats – 03:55 (11:55)

Day One – Evening Session – Saturday September 13th

• Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – Heats – 11:50 (19:50)
• Sophie O’Sullivan – Women’s 1500m – Heats – 11:50 (19:50)
• Laura Nicholson – Women’s 1500m – Heats – 11:50 (19:50)
• Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – Final – 13:10 (21:10) *
• Mixed 4x400m Relay – Final – 14:20 (22:20) *

Day Two – Morning Session – Sunday September 14th

• Fionnuala McCormack – Women’s Marathon – Final – 00:00 (08:00)
• Nicola Tuthill – Women’s Hammer Throw – Qualification Group A – 01:00 (09:00)

OR

• Nicola Tuthill – Women’s Hammer Throw – Qualification Group B – 02:45 (10:45)
• Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – Heats – 01:35 (09:35)
• Cathal Doyle – Men’s 1500m – Heats – 01:35 (09:35)
• Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m Hurdles – Heats – 03:28 (11:28)

Day Two – Evening Session – Sunday September 14th

• Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – Heats – 11:25 (19:25)
• Sophie Becker – Women’s 400m – Heats – 11:25 (19:25)
• Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Sophie O’Sullivan – Women’s 1500m – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Laura Nicholson – Women’s 1500m – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Efrem Gidey – Men’s 10,000m – Final – 13:30 (21:30)

Day Three – Morning Session – Monday September 15th

• Peter Lynch – Men’s Marathon – Final – 00:00 (08:00)
• Hiko Tonosa – Men’s Marathon – Final – 00:00 (08:00)

Day Three – Evening Session – Monday September 15th

• Nicola Tuthill – Women’s Hammer Throw – Final – 13:00 (21:00) *
• Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m Hurdles – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – SF – 13:30 (21:30) *
• Cathal Doyle – Men’s 1500m – SF – 13:30 (21:30) *
• Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m Hurdles – Final – 14:20 (22:20) *

Day Four – Evening Session – Tuesday September 16th

• Mark English – Men’s 800m – Heats – 11:35 (19:35)
• Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m – Heats – 11:35 (19:35)
• Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Sophie Becker – Women’s 400m – SF – 13:05 (21:05) *
• Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – Final – 14:05 (22:05) *
• Sophie O’Sullivan – Women’s 1500m – Final – 14:05 (22:05) *
• Laura Nicholson – Women’s 1500m – Final – 14:05 (22:05) *

Day Five – Evening Session – Wednesday September 17th

• Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – Final – 14:20 (22:20) *
• Cathal Doyle – Men’s 1500m – Final – 14:20 (22:20) *

Day Six – Evening Session – Thursday September 18th

• Mark English – Men’s 800m – SF – 13:45 (21:45) *
• Cian McPhillips – Men’s 1500m – SF – 13:45 (21:45) *
• Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – Final – 14:24 (22:24) *
• Sophie Becker – Women’s 400m – Final – 14:24 (22:24) *

Day Seven – Evening Session – Friday September 19th

• Kate O’Connor – 100m Hurdles – Women’s Heptathlon – 09:33 (17:33)
• Kate O’Connor – High Jump – Women’s Heptathlon – 10:20 (18:20)
• Brian Fay – Men’s 5000m – Heats – 12:05 (20:05)
• Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 5000m – Heats – 12:05 (20:05)
• Darragh McElhinney – Men’s 5000m – Heats – 12:05 (20:05)
• Kate O’Connor – Shot Put – Women’s Heptathlon – 12:30 (20:30)
• Kate O’Connor – 200m – Women’s Heptathlon – 13:38 (21:38)

Day Eight – Morning Session – Saturday September 20th

• David Kenny – Men’s 20km Race Walk – Final – 01:50 (09:50)
• Kate O’Connor – Long Jump – Women’s Heptathlon 03:30 (11:30)

Day Eight – Evening Session – Saturday September 20th

• Kate O’Connor – Javelin – Women’s Heptathlon – 11:00 (19:00)
• Women’s 4x400m Relay – Heats – 12:00 (20:00)
• Kate O’Connor – 800m – Women’s Heptathlon – 13:11 (21:11)
• Mark English – Men’s 800m – Final – 14:22 (22:22) *
• Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m – Final – 14:22 (22:22) *

Day Nine – Evening Session – Sunday September 21st

• Brian Fay – Men’s 5000m – Final – 11:50 (19:50) *
• Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 5000m – Final – 11:50 (19:50) *
• Darragh McElhinney – Men’s 5000m – Final – 11:50 (19:50) *
• Women’s 4x400m Relay – Final – 12:40 (20:40) *