123.ie National Track and Field Championships set for 150th Anniversary
A star-studded entry will offer a fitting tribute to the 150th Anniversary of the 123.ie National Senior Track and Field Championships which take place at Morton Stadium this weekend (July 29th and 30th).
The first national athletics championships were organised in College Park (Trinity College Dublin) on July 7th, 1873, and have been held every year since then, making the Irish national championships the longest running consecutive national senior championships in the world.
Among the over 600 athletes entered include sprint stars Rhasidat Adeleke (200m) and Israel Olatunde (100m) who will both be looking to make it three national senior outdoor titles in a row when they take to the starting blocks on the recently upgraded track at Morton Stadium.
The in-form trio of Andrew Coscoran (1500m), Sarah Lavin (100mH/100m), and Brian Fay (5000m) will also have eyes on their respective national titles this weekend as they continue preparations for the upcoming World Championships in Budapest (Aug 19th – 27th).
Fans of Irish athletics will be treated to a bumper weekend with action getting underway from 12.00pm on Saturday, with a second helping taking place on Sunday from 1.00pm.
Both days of the competition will be streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube Channel.
Live RTE coverage will be available on RTE 2 from 6:05pm-8:30pm on Sunday.
How to follow
- Digital Programme HERE
- Weekend timetable HERE
- Entry list HERE
- Watch on Athletics Ireland YouTube HERE
- Live Results HERE
- Spectator Tickets HERE
- Top list for 2023 outdoors HERE
BLOCKBUSTER SATURDAY (JULY 29TH)
Set to headline Saturday’s action will be Tallaght’s Rhasidat Adeleke who has opted for the 200m this weekend having claimed the 100m title in 2021 and 2022.
Adeleke posted a national 200m record of 22.34 earlier this season and a reproduction of anything close to that is sure to see the recently turned professional sprinter walk away with gold come 2.55pm on Saturday afternoon.
Mark Smyth (Raheny Shamrock AC) smashed Paul Brizzel’s national 200m indoor record with a blistering 20.64 NR back in March and the Dubliner looks a leading contender for the men’s 200m title (3.05pm).
Preceding the 200m finals will be the short hurdles where Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) will look to continue her outstanding season in the final of the 100mH from 2.30pm. Lavin clocked a 12.74 at the Diamond League in Monaco last week and has moved ever closer to Derval O'Rourke’s 12.65NR which has stood since 2010.
The women’s 3000m s/c (3.15pm) will see Michelle Finn (Leevale AC) go in pursuit of her 9th national steeplechase title, a feat that looks all the more likely given her strong showing at the Diamond League in London last Sunday afternoon which saw her claim the B standard for the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
The first medals of the weekend will be decided in the field events with the men’s hammer getting underway from 12pm on Saturday. The women’s hammer is set for a 1.30pm start where European U23 4th place finisher Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) will return to the cage as she bids to defend her title.
National shot put record holder, Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock) will take to the circle from 1pm, while St Abban’s star Saragh Buggy will look to add to her 20 national titles in the triple jump from 1.50pm.
The 4x100m relays will round out the action on day 1 from 5.30pm.
SUPER SUNDAY (JULY 30Th)
The walks events, which bookend the heats of the 100m, will lead out proceedings on day 2 with Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) and David Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) likely to dominate the women’s 5,000mW and men’s 10,000mW races respectively.
The women’s 5,000m will take to the gun at 4pm and a stacked field should see an ultra-competitive race. Michelle Finn (Leevale AC) could look to double up, while Roisin and Eilish Flanagan (Finn Valley AC) are sure to be right in contention alongside Shona Heaslip (An Riocht), marathon champion Courtney Maguire(Clonmel AC), and national indoor 3,000m champion Cheryl Nolan (St Abbans).
Kate O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerard’s) is entered in the 100mH and long jump, while the Dundalk athlete is also expected to dominate the javelin from 6.45pm.
Reece Ademola (Leevale) is likely to face stiff opposition from Shane Howard (Bandon AC) and Sam Healy (Leevale AC) in a Cork dominated long jump competition from 2pm.
The women’s long jump could be one of the events of the weekend with Ruby Millet (St Abbans), Saragh Buggy (St Abbans), and Elizabeth Ndudi (Dundrum South Dublin) all capable of going well over the six-meter mark from 3.30pm.
The pole vaulters will be hoping for a break in the forecasted weather come Sunday afternoon. Ellie McCartney will likely be last standing in the women’s pole vault from 5.30pm having already cleared 4.25m this season.
RTE coverage of this year’s championship is live from 6.05pm on Sunday and viewers could be tuning in for race of the championships with the men’s 5,000m likely to set the tone for the evening session.
A 26-strong field includes national record holder Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC), Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers), and Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers), all of whom have broken 13:40 this season including Fay who has posted a blistering 13:01:40NR on July 15th.
Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) looks the standout name in the long hurdles with the double Olympian set for a reappearance at 6.50pm.
The women’s 800m race is sure to be compelling viewing with the top three on the Irish all-time list in Louise Shanahan (Leevale), Georgie Hartigan (Dundrum South Dublin) and record holder Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn) all entered (7.00pm).
The men’s 800m final will follow as Mark English (Finn Valley AC) looks to continue his domination of the event as he goes in search of outdoor title number nine. Cian McPhillips (UCD) and John Fitzsimons (Kildare AC) are sure to be right on his shoulder coming into the home straight.
A new women’s 100m champion will be crowned shortly after 7.45pm on Sunday evening with previous champions Rhasidat Adeleke (2022,2021) and Phil Healy (2020) opting for the 200m and 400m respectively. Sarah Leahy (Killarney Valley AC) was very impressive in taking the 60m indoor title earlier this year, while Joan Healy (Leevale AC), Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn), and Lucy May Sleeman (Leevale AC) could all be in the shake up for podium places.
Israel Olatunde (UCD AC) will be the star attraction in the men’s 100m sprint final. Olatunde lit up the senior indoor championships with a blistering 6.57 to win gold in the 60m on his way to breaking Paul Hession’s 2007 national indoor record of 6.61.
The UCD athlete looked very composed in reaching the final at the European U23 Championships earlier this month and those in attendance can expect another bold showing from the Dundalk athlete should he safely negotiate the heats earlier in the day.
Irish 1500m running has arguably been the standout event this outdoor season with both Ciara Mageean and Andrew Coscoran (Star of the A.C.) producing world class performances on the circuit.
An intriguing rematch between European U23 medallists Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy (UCD AC) makes the 1500m a race not to be missed.
Andrew Coscoran broke his own Irish 1500m record with a sensational performance of 3.30.42 to knock over two seconds off his previous best earlier this month, but the men’s race will likely prove a tactical affair with Nicholas Griggs (Candour Track Club), Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers), and Charlie O'Donovan (Leevale AC) hoping to get a jump on the fast finishing Coscoran in the penultimate track event of the championships.
Rounding out the 150th Anniversary of the 123.ie National Track and Field Championships will be the ever dramatic 4x400m relays from 8.30pm.