One of the biggest events in the Irish athletics calendar takes place this Friday (July 14th) as the Morton Games return once more.
The event will have an extra element of intrigue this year as it takes place at a new look Morton Stadium, which has recently undergone a €3m refurbishment project led by Dublin City University which included the installation of a new World Athletics Certified Class II Mondo track.
Several of Ireland’s brightest stars will be hoping to shine on the night as they look to continue to set standards and inspire the next generation.
Sarah Lavin (Emerald A.C.) will certainly be one to watch in the Women’s 100m Hurdles. Lavin has had a remarkable season to date, winning a European Games bronze medal and more recently clocking a 12.73 personal best at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting.
The stadium record of 12.97 looks in serious danger of falling as Lavin will be pushed all the way by Australian athlete Liz Clay and Liberia’s Ebony Morrison, both of whom have broken 12.75 in their careers.
Darragh McElhinney (U.C.D. A.C.) spearheads the Irish challenge in the Albie Thomas Men’s 5000m race. Clonliffe Harriers duo Efrem Gidey and Stephen Scullion will also be hoping to be in the mix alongside several international stars. Chief amongst them is Germany’s Mohamed Addihaahi who has a 13.03.13 personal best, while the South African national champion Maxime Chaumeton, multiple times Portuguese national champion Samuel Barata, as well as several British athletes will be looking to take the spoils.
The home club hero Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers A.C.) just missed out on taking the prestigious Morton Mile title last year, losing to Andrew Coscoran but returns to the field this year with his eyes firmly set on the prize. Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) and Paul Robinson (St. Coca’s A.C.) are also amongst the field, which includes sub 3.50 miler Jye Edwards of Australia and South Africa’s Ryan Maphahlele.
The DCU sponsored Men’s 800m looks set to be one of the races of the night as European bronze medallist Mark English (Finn Valley A.C.) returns to the meet. He will face off against John Fitzsimons (Kildare A.C.) who is the Irish leader this season after a superb 1.45.66 season’s best in France last weekend.
British athlete Kyle Langford will look to win the race for the fourth consecutive year, while his compatriots Guy Learmonth and Piers Copeland should also be in the shake-up as they enter the home straight.
Louise Shanahan (Leevale A.C.) had to be content with second in the meet last year and she will be hoping to go one step further in 2023. Georgie Hartigan (Dundrum South Dublin A.C.) is also listed to start alongside former European champion Lynsey Sharp (Great Britain) and American Olivia Baker.
Phil Healy (Bandon A.C. – 200m), Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrocks A.C. – Shot Put) and Chris O’Donnell (North Sligo A.C. – 400m) are also all confirmed entrants.
The pre-programme gets underway at 5:45pm, while the main programme kicks off at 7pm. An exciting evening of athletics action awaits!