Luke McCann (UCD AC) secured his place in Friday’s 1500m final on the opening day of the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul (March 2nd).

McCann went in the final 1500m heat, knowing exactly what he needed to ensure his return to tomorrow’s start line at the Atakoy Arena.

McCann left nothing to chance, positioning himself to the front of the field throughout. Some interference in the final 50 meters saw McCann slip a few places in the finish, but his time of 3:41.51 (5th) was still well inside the time needed to secure one of the fastest non-automatic qualifier places.

Irish 1500m record holder Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Seas AC) went in heat 2 of the 1500m and unfortunately his 4th place finish (3.44.11 ) was not enough to see him join McCann in tomorrow’s final. Coscoran looked comfortable throughout but some jostling for position over the final 400 meters saw the Star of the Sea athlete unlucky to be boxed in coming into the final straight which resulted in him missing out on the qualifying places.

Tomorrow’s 1500m final is set for 5.40pm Irish time where McCann will line up alongside gold medal favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway).

John Fitzsimons (Kildare AC) was first of the Irish to take to the track on the opening day of these championships. Fitzsimons went in heat 3 of the 800 meters and unfortunately his 4th place finish in 1:49.36 was not enough to progress on this occasion. The Kildare athlete was unlucky to find himself in a stacked heat which included Belgium's Elliot Crestan, Andreas Kramer of Sweden and Tony van Diepen of the Netherlands who battled  it out for the top two automatic spots.  Fitzsimons was the sole Irish representative in the 800m heats after Mark English was unfortunately forced to withdraw earlier in the day due to illness.

Full Results HERE

Friday March 3rd

Commonwealth Games Heptathlon medallist Kate O'Connor will lead Ireland out on Friday, with the Dundalk St Gerards athlete taking to another busy day of competition in the pentathlon. O’Connor will start off with the 60m hurdles early tomorrow morning (6.00am) before taking to the high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800m.

O’Connor will have sights on the leading places, and if reproducing the superb January performance which saw her smash the Irish indoor pentathlon record with 4,396, she should be right there come the final 800m.

• European Athletics Pentathlon Preview HERE

The women’s 400m looks arguably the event of the week. National champion Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock), Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC), and Cliodhna Manning (Kilkenny City Harriers) will bid to progress through Friday’s tricky heats (7.40am).

Mawdsley boasts a PB this season of 51.91, with Rhasidat Adeleke the only Irish athletes to go faster in 2023. A reproduction of that performance would see Mawdsley right in contention for a final appearance.

Sophie Becker claimed the national 400m title on her first outing of the season with a dominant display. Expect to see the Raheny star improve on her seasons best of 53.11 as she looks to progress through the rounds.

The semi-finals of the 400m will follow in Friday’s afternoon session (4.55pm)

• European Athletics 400m Preview HERE

Joan Healy rounds out the Irish in action in Friday’s morning session with the Leevale athlete extending her indoor season on the back of a string of outstanding 60m performances in recent weeks. Healy ran 7.30 last weekend which ranks as the fastest of her career, so expect to see her target sub 7.30 as she looks to break into the semis.

Friday’s afternoon session will be live on RTE 2 and will include the women’s 60m and 400m semi-finals, as well as the men’s 1500m final.

All eyes will then turn to the final 800m of the pentathlon as Kate O’Connor rounds out her competition.

Irish Athlete Schedule: Friday March 3rd (times listed in Irish time):

More Information:

• Irish Team Selections: HERE
• Where to watch: HERE
• Entries, schedule & results: HERE
• Irish All Time Lists: HERE