MAGEEAN AND ADELEKE CROWNED JOINT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn) and Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) were named as the joint Athlete of the Year winners at the 123.ie National Athletics Awards which took place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry today (November 22nd).

Mageean and Adeleke took top honours on the back of their respective record-breaking seasons which were highlighted with 4th place finishes at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

An outstanding season for Mageean now sees the Portaferry athlete boast national records at 800m (1:59.27), 1000m (2:31.06), 1500m (3:55.87) and the Mile (4:14.58), while 2023 NCAA 400m champion Adeleke also lays claim to a host of Irish national records including 60m (7.17), 200m (22.34), 300m (36.87), and 400m (49.20).

Mageean also walked away with today’s Track Athlete of Year Award, fending off strong competition from Irish relay star Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) and fellow record breakers Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) and Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) who all enjoyed exceptional years.

Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) also picked up the U23 athlete of the year ahead of the exciting trio of Sarah Healy (UCD AC), Sophie O'Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC), and Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC). 

European U20 long jump champion, Elizabeth Ndudi (Dundrum South Dublin AC), was named U20 Athlete of Year following her superb gold medal performance in Jerusalem back in August. Ndudi produced the jump of her life to set a new national U20 long jump record of 6.56m on her way to securing Ireland’s first field event gold medal at a European U20 championships.  

The U20 award was hotly contested with Nick Griggs (Mid Ulster AC) and Dean Casey (Ennis Track) nominated for the second year in a row, while Oisin Joyce (Lake District AC) was a worthy nominee for the category given his superb breakout season in the javelin.

Irish relay has enjoyed another stellar year, and it was fitting that the mixed relay team of Callum Baird, Chris O’Donnell, Jack Raftery, Roisin Harrison, Sharlene Mawdsley, and Sophie Becker picked up the Team of the Year Award on the back of their performance at the World Championships in Budapest.

Mark Carroll was a very popular inductee into the Hall of Fame for 2023.  Carroll enjoyed a glittering career, announcing his arrival on the international scene by taking the European Junior Men’s 5,000m title in 1991 before going on to claim bronze in the 5,000m at the European Championships in Budapest (1998). Carroll would fulfil a lifelong ambition in the year 2000 when he won gold in the 3,000m at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Ghent.

Carroll also boasts a win in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile (2000), but arguably the greatest race of Carroll’s career was in Monaco in 1999, when he set the Irish 3,000m record of 7.30.36 which still stands today.

While the 123.ie National Athletics Awards are a celebration of the many successes of our international and national athletes, it also commemorates the association’s exceptional volunteer base. The Lifetime Services to Athletics Awards was presented to Matt Lynch, while Ballymena and Antrim’s Martin Wilkinson won Official of the Year.

John Hartnett and Susan Smith Walsh were joint recipients of Special Recognition Awards, while John Sheehan (Leevale AC) received the award for services to coaching.

Elaine Robinson, Managing Director for 123.ie commented: “At 123.ie, our team are always trying for better, for both our customers and the community. And that’s what our Irish athletes, in every corner of the country do every day. The 123.ie National Athletics Awards is a fantastic opportunity to support and honour our Irish Athletes on their achievements throughout a record breaking year.  I’d like to congratulate each of the Award winners and their families, their coaches, and all of the volunteers across the country on their achievements this past year and wish you continued success in 2024.”

CEO of Athletics Ireland, Hamish Adams: “The 123.ie National Athletics Awards allow us celebrate the great performances of our athletes over the course of the last year, while also offering Athletics Ireland the opportunity to thank and acknowledge our coaches, officials, and clubs for their enormous contribution to the success of our sport.

We have enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2023 and we look forward to building on this year’s successes heading into an Olympic year in 2024 and beyond.”

President of Athletics Ireland, John Cronin, added: “We are very proud of how our athletes have represented us across a busy year of competition both domestically and internationally.

We have enjoyed many highlights since last year’s European Cross Country Championships in Turin and these awards give us the opportunity to acknowledge those performances. We also thank our coaches, clubs, volunteers, and long serving members of our athletic community who all play a hugely important role in the promotion, growth, and success of our sport.”

A truly record-breaking season has seen 90 records fall across all disciplines over the last ten months, eclipsing the previous record high of 81 records from the 2022 season. A full list of records can be found on at AthleticsIreland.ie.

123.ie National Athletics Award Winners 2023

1. Hall of Fame: Mark Carroll
2. Athlete of the Year: Ciara Mageean & Rhasidat Adeleke
3. Endurance Athlete of the Year: Brian Fay
4. Under 20 Athlete of the Year: Elizabeth Ndudi
5. Under 23 Athlete of the Year: Rhasidat Adeleke
6. Track Athlete of the Year: Ciara Mageean
7. Field Athlete of the Year: Eric Favors
8. Team of the Year: 4x400m Mixed Relay World Championships
9. Inspirational Performance on Irish Soil: Israel Olatunde (60m Record - Sport Ireland NIA)
10. Lifetime Services to Athletics: Matt Lynch
11. Special recognition Awards: John Hartnett & Susan Smith Walsh
12. Performance Club of the Year: Leevale AC
13. Services to Coaching: John Sheehan
14. Official of the Year: Martin Wilkinson
15. Development Club of the Year: Ratoath AC
16. Mountain Runner of the Year: Becky Quinn
17. Masters Athlete of of the Year: Annette Quaid
18. Ultra Runner of the Year: Ciaran McGonagle
19. Schools’ Athlete of the Year: Adam Nolan
20. University Athlete of the Year: Nicola Tuthill

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