IUAA Outdoor Championships 2024 Preview

Over 550 athletes from 21 universities will be travelling to Mary Peters track in Belfast this weekend for the 102nd edition of the IUAA Track & Field Championships where the O’Sullivan Cup and Martin Trophy will be on the line for the Men’s and Women’s team competitions. Action begins at 2pm on Friday and 9.45am on Saturday with 2 full days of competition.

Sprints

The men’s 100m title is shaping up to be a great contest with Bori Akinola (UCD), Nkemjika Onwumereh (DCU) and Gabriel Kehinde (SETUW) all set to take to the blocks. Robert McDonnell (UG) will be looking to add an IUAA title to the national indoor title he won last month over 200m with teammate Andrew Egan (UG) also looking to be a favourite for a podium position. Joe Doody (UCD) came out on top over 400m at the recent IUAA indoor championships and will be looking to add second IUAA title to his palmarès over the distance.

National indoor silver medalist Katie Bergin (UCC) will no doubt be among the favourites in the women’s 200m while UL duo Ciara Neville and Alana Ryan will also be aiming for podium positions. Rachel McCann (QUB) set an IUAA record over 400m at the IUAA indoor championships beating last year’s outdoor champion Miriam Daly (UL). Both athletes are set to battle it out once again this weekend.

Hurdles

In the absence of last year’s champion Jack McGrath, recently crowned national 60m hurdles champion Adam Nolan will be one of the favourites to take the IUAA title this weekend in the short hurdles, while Emanuel Osas (DCU) and multi-eventers Jack Forde (DCU) and Darragh Miniter (UL) will be likely contenders for podium positions. The men’s 400m hurdles race looks to be wide open with Oisin McCorry (UCD), James O’Connell (TCD), Brendan Lynch (UL) and Stephen Kiernan (DCU) being likely contenders for the podium positions.

Arabella Adeyoa (SETUC) and Niamh O’Neill (DCU) are the lead entries on the women’s side for the short hurdles after a close finish between the pair at the IUAA indoor championships which saw Arabella Adeyoa take the title. Last year’s silver medalist Jenny Sawyer (UL) will be hoping to make it gold this year over the 400m hurdles.

Middle Distance

The first medals of the championships will be awarded for the men’s 10000m which gets underway at 2.25pm on Friday afternoon. UL’s Jose Ignacio Gimenez Perez is due to defend his title but will face a strong challenge from last year’s silver medalist Cathal O’Reilly (DCU) with the final podium appearing to be wide open. Kevin McGrath (MU) enters the 1500m as the favourite after his impressive win at the recent IUAA indoor championships. However, Niall Murphy (UL) who took the title at the IUAA cross country, is also expected to be a strong contender for the top spot on the podium in what will certainly be an exciting race. Mark Milner (UCD) appears to be the firm favourite to take the 800m title while teammate and national indoor 800m champion Cian McPhillips (UCD) has been named as a sub on the team. Oisin Spillane (UL) will be looking for a medal in the men’s steeplechase after his 4th place finish at the recent IUAA cross country championships.

Hannah Gilliland (QUB) and Celine Gavin (TCD), the silver and bronze medalists at the recent IUAA cross country championships, will no doubt have their eyes set on gold in the women’s 5000m race. Other likely contenders for podium positions include Faye Dervan (DCU), Amy Pollmann-Daamen (UCD), and Evelyn Coughlan (TCD). Sophie Jackman (TCD) will look to carry on her form from the recent Dublin universities championships where she claimed first place over both the 1000m and 3000m distances as she competes over 1500m this weekend. However, she will face stiff competition from IUAA indoor medalists Eimear Maher (UCC) and Lucy Holmes (MTUC) in what promises to be an intensely competitive race. National Intermediate cross country champion Amy Greene (DCU) will be the favourite for the title in the women’s steeplechase with last year’s bronze medalist, Aine Burke (DCU), also among the top entries.

Jumps

Lauren Callaghan (DCU) is the top entry in women’s long jump as she attempts to add an outdoor title to her two indoor titles from recent years, while last year’s outdoor champion Erin Fisher (QUB) is also due to compete. Last year’s high jump competition saw Ciara Kennelly (DCU) and Aoife O’Sullivan (MTU) both jump 1.69m, with Aoife O’Sullivan claiming the title on countback. However, it was Ciara Kennelly who claimed silver ahead of Aoife O’Sullivan at the recent IUAA indoor championships, so this will no doubt be a closely contested event.

UL will have some great opportunities to score precious points for the team competition over the men’s horizontal jumps. The absence of Reece Ademola (MTUC) leaves the men’s long jump competition wide open with Luke O’Carroll (UL), Joe Miniter (UL), Jordan Knight (DCU), and Oisin Thompson (ATUD) among those likely to contend to the top position. Brendan Lynch (UL) will look to add to his tally of IUAA triple jump medals as he enters Saturday’s competition as the favourite for the title.

Throws

The men’s shot put is once again shaping up to be a great contest with Sam Vines (SETUW), Alex Ademola (MTUC), and Callum Keating (ULAC) all due to take to the circle. All last year’s medalists return for the men’s weight-for-distance as Robert Higgins (MU) will no doubt aim to make it three consecutive titles.

Ciara Sheehy (DCU) will no doubt play a pivotal role in DCU’s quest to retain their team title as she is down to compete in the weight-for-distance, discus, javelin, and shot put competitions. Last year saw Sheehy pick up three medals across the throws including a title in the discus. However, she will no doubt face stern competition from national indoor medalists Kotryna Pacerinskaite (UL) and Laura Frawley (UL) in the weight-for-distance in what promises to be a great competition. 4-time national champion Nicola Tuthill (UCD) will no doubt be the favourite to take the title in the women’s hammer throw, having set a national U23 record at last year’s IUAA T&F championship.

Relays

This year sees the Mixed 4x400m Relay make its debut in IUAA competitions with the final set for Friday evening at 6.40pm. This event is sure to bring some fierce competition as colleges strategically select their quartets to maximise points for the overall team title. The depth of the UL and DCU sprint squads will no doubt see them as strong contenders for the podium positions. The competition will be rounded out on Saturday afternoon with the men’s and women’s 4x400m finals. Last year saw DCU take both races, edging out UL by the smallest of margins in the men’s race. In the absence of DCU’s Jack Raferty, the UL team will have a good shot at taking the title.

Team Competition

In addition to individual medals, the sprints, middle distance, jumps and throws trophies will also be in play. DCU’s 7-year streak of taking home all 4 trophies was put to an end last year when UL came out on top in the sprints competition. DCU will be looking to continue their dominance in the overall competition having won that title every year since UU took the honours back in 2006.