Tokyo 2020 Wrap
The curtain of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games came down Irish athletics team with the conclusion of the Men’s Marathon early on Sunday morning (Aug 8th).
A Games like no other provided athletics fans with some edge of the seat performances and will be remembered for some heroic performances including Ireland’s first appearance in an Olympic relay final.
Tokyo 2020 Snapshot:
- National Record: Mixed 4 x 400m Relay – 3.12.88
- Finals:Mixed 4 x 400m Relay
- Semi Finals: Andrew Coscoran 1500m, Thomas Barr 400m Hurdles, Mixed 4 x 400m Relay*
- Top: 10 – Brendan Boyce 50k Walk (10th), Mixed 4 x 400m Relay (8th), Thomas Barr 400m Hurdles (9th)
- 14 top 30 finishes
- PB: Eilish Flanagan (Carmen Runners AC) secured a personal best of 9:34.80
- SB: Thomas Barr Barr - 48.26 in 400m Hurdles SF, Marcus Lawler 20.73 in 200m Heats, Leon Reid Reid 20.53 in 200m Heats, Alex Wright 50k Walk 4:06:20
- First time Olympians: Nadia Power, Louise Shanahan, Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Cillin Greene, Chris O’Donnell, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Robert McDonnell, Cliodhna Manning, David Kenny, Andrew Coscoran, Aoife Cooke, Sarah Lavin, Eilish Flanagan, Sarah Healy, Marcus Lawler, Leon Reid, Stephen Scullion
- Two Time Olympians: Thomas Barr, Mark English, Ciara Mageean, Michelle Finn, Paul Pollock, Kevin Seaward, Alex Wright
- Three Time Olympians: Brendan Boyce
- Four Time Olympian: Fionnuala McCormack
Ireland’s second largest ever Olympic team started their Tokyo quests in the early hours of Friday July 30th and we didn’t have to wait long for the fireworks when the Mixed 4 x 400m Relay team of Cillin Greene (Galway City Harriers AC), Chris O’Donnell (North Sligo AC), Phil Healy (Bandon AC), and Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC) secured a place in the Olympic final with a stunning display which saw them smash the Irish national record (3.12.88).
The Irish team who would ultimately finish in 8th place in the Olympic final, produced another superb performance to post the second fastest ever time by an Irish mixed 4 x 400m team to round out an incredible two days for the team.
Olympic relay finalist Phil Healy (Bandon AC) would go on to create Irish Olympic history in becoming the first Irish woman to compete in 3 track events at an Olympic Games.
Healy recovered remarkably well from her relay final exploits and clocked a 23.21 season’s best to finish 5th in her 200m heat before going on to have her Olympic journey come to an end in the most agonising of fashion, missing out on a place in the semi-final of the 400m by just 0.07 of a second.
Healy signed off her Tokyo 2020 Games by running the second fastest outdoor 400m of her career to cross the line in 4th place in her heat in 51.98, made all the more impressive with it being her 4th appearance of the week at the Games.
Andrew Coscoran, who was making his Olympic debut in the heats of the 1500m produced a perfect finishing straight burst to book his place in an Olympic semi-final with a time of 3:37:11 which secured a fastest qualifier spot.
Coscoran's first Olympics came to an end with another brilliant display in the semi-final of the 1500m, with the Balbriggan man crossing in 10th in a time of 3:35.84, which was just outside his personal best of 3:35.66 to finish 20th overall having come into the event ranked 41st.
Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) ran an astonishing race in the semi-final of the 400m hurdles to produce the second fastest time of his career (48.26), behind only to his 47.97 when he finished fourth in the Olympic final in Rio in 2016.
Barr didn’t make the final on this occasion and was very unlucky to have been drawn in a semi-final with the eventual gold and silver medallist who would both go on to break the world record as it stood.
The Irish Women’s 800m division has given Irish athletics fans some of the biggest highlights on the track over the past 16 months and Tokyo trio of Nadia Power, Louise Shanahan, and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner all made their Olympic debuts in the heats of the 800m.
All three athletes will be firmly focused on Paris 2024, as will Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) who put in a brilliant performance in the heats of the 100m Hurdles to run the second fastest race of her life (13.16).
Mark English (Finn Valley AC) was another unlucky to progress with the Finn Valley AC athlete crossing the 800m finish line in 1:46.75, which was just 0.16 seconds behind Polish runner Patryk Dobek for the 3rd automatic qualifying spot.
Michelle Finn and Eilish Flanagan made their Tokyo debuts in the heats of the 3,000 metres steeplechase with Finn finishing ninth place in her heat in a time of 9:36.26 at her second Olympic Games.
Eilish Flanagan secured a phenomenal personal best of 9:34.86 in the third heat to finish 12th which moved Flanagan up to third on the Irish all-time list behind Michelle Finn (2nd) and Roísín McGettigan (NR).
Ciara Mageean was first of the 1500m duo in action and unfortunately didn’t make it through to the semi-final stage due to an injury picked during preparations which did curtail her performance.
20-year-old Sarah Healy joined Mageean in the 1500m heats for her Irish Olympic debut, and although the UCD didn’t progress to the semi-finals, the experience gained will be invaluable as she continues her progress over the coming years.
Marcus Lawler produced his season’s best - finishing 6th in his 200m heats in a time of 20.73.
Leon Reid followed up shortly after Lawler with a season’s best of 20.53 which booked a semi-final spot for the Menapians athlete. Reid would go on to finish in 7th place in the semi-final, clocking a 20.54 run, just outside his SB from the earlier heats.
The final two days of competition provided outstanding performances; none more than 3-time-Olympian Brendan Boyce’s brilliant top-10 finish in the men's 50km walk.
The 10th place finish was made all the more impressive in the gruelling race conditions which saw the Finn Valley athlete back up his 26th in London 2012, 19th place finish in Rio, and 6th place finish at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019.
Alex Wright also secured a top 30 finish, picking up six places in the final 5km to finish in 29th for his best ever championship performance to round out a superb Olympic Games for 50k walkers.
European U23 silver medallist David Kenny (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) produced a brilliant display in the 20K Walk on his Olympic debut. Kenny secured a top 30 placing to cross the line in 1:26:54 (29th) in extremely tough and humid conditions.
Kenny, who came into the race ranked 50th of those starting raced superbly and crossed the line in 29th place at his first Olympic Games, a feat which almost mirrored his coach and Olympic bronze medallist Robert Heffernan who finished 28th on his Olympic debut.
Fionnuala McCormack marked her fourth Olympic Games with a gritty 25th place finish in the Women's Olympic Marathon. McCormack backed up a top-20 finish in Rio with a controlled race plan, crossing the line in a time of 2:34:09 for 25th place to join an elite group of 4-time Irish Olympians.
Conditions in Sapporo were extremely tough, even with the rescheduled start which saw the heat take its toll on the field including Olympic debutant Aoife Cooke who withdrew shortly after the halfway point. Cooke enjoyed a tremendous 24 months which included taking the Dublin Marathon title in 2019 and will certainly be back in an Irish marathon vest in the future.
The Men’s Olympic Marathon concluded the involvement of Irish athletics athletes at these Games in the most brutal hot and humid conditions in Saporro which saw 30 athletes fail to finish.
Kevin Seaward finished 58th and Paul Pollock was 71st after enduring the tough 42km route. Both athletes showed all their marathon experience to bravely cross the line at an Olympic Games for a second time.
Seaward produced a brilliant final 15km to secure the top 60 finish.
Stephen Scullion was one of the 30 to step out during the event but there’s no doubt the 32-year-old will be hungry for more on the back of this, his Olympic debut.
Athletics Ireland would like to congratulate all of our athletes who travelled and represented us in Tokyo over the last two weeks.
We are so proud of you all and thank you for being tremendous ambassadors in helping us to promote our sport.
Athletics Ireland would also like to extend a special word of thanks to the support team who were on the ground in Tokyo.
You all played an integral role in supporting our athletes during the Olympic Games and we are very grateful for all the work done on the lead up to, and during these Games.