Ireland’s endurance stars lit up the track in Oordegem, Belgium, with Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs delivering standout performances in the men’s 5000m.
McElhinney clocked a sensational 13:02.06, a personal best that moves him to second on the Irish all-time list, just behind Brian Fay’s national record of 13:01.40.
Griggs, still U23, smashed his own national age-group record with 13:05.75, also earning European auto qualification and hitting the Tokyo B standard. The time places him fifth on the Irish all-time list.
Elsewhere in Oordegem, Cian McPhillips claimed victory in the 800m with a European auto Q time of 1:44.34, while Sophie Becker ran 52.20 for sixth in the 400m. Laura Nicholson posted 4:07.91 for 12th in the 1500m, and Shane Bracken led the Irish men in the same event with 3:37.82.
Internationally, Cathal Doyle finished second over 1000m in Poland with 2:17.37, and Andrew Thompson took third at the BMC meet in the UK, running a personal best of 1:46.77.
