A 36-strong Irish team is set to compete in Bergen, Norway, for the European Athletics U23 Championships, with competition getting underway tomorrow morning.
Commencing proceedings on the field will be Paris Olympian and national U23 record holder Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC), who will begin her bid for her first international championships medal on Wednesday morning in qualifying for the women’s hammer final.
Tuthill narrowly missed a podium finish in the 2023 edition of the championship, placing fourth. She is again ranked highly and will be hoping to add to the historic gold she claimed in the European Throwing Cup in March.
Another must-watch will be Nick Griggs (CNDR TC) as he wears the Irish vest for the first time since claiming silver in the U23 category at the European Cross Country Championships in December last year.
The Tyrone athlete will contest the 5000m at championship level for the first time and will be challenged by some familiar faces for what could be his seventh individual underage European medal. He will be joined in the 12.5-lap event by clubmate Callum Morgan.
The women’s 3000m steeplechase will see a full Irish complement led by fourth-ranked Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers). Ailish Hawkins (DCH) and Alexandra Joyce (Tuam AC) complete the lineup in the event that has seen a resurgence on the women’s side this year, with seven Irish women breaking 10:30.
O’Connor will also contest the 5000m in the final session of the championships on Sunday alongside Leevale’s Anika Thompson (Leevale AC), who like O’Connor is doubling up and will have had a few days to recover from the 10,000m event, which is on Thursday evening.
2023 saw Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan battle to the finish for gold and silver in the women’s 1500m, with O’Sullivan clinching the win by a fraction. The strength in the event continues with in-form Eimear Maher (DSD AC) and Cara Laverty (Finn Valley AC), who will be hoping to take advantage of the wide-open field.
Maher is ranked fifth in Europe this year with a 4:08.67 clocking in last week’s Morton Games. This will be her first time in an Irish vest on the track, having previously donned green at the European Cross Country events in 2019 and 2023.
Abdel Laadjel (Donore Harriers) will compete in his first race outside of America since 2023 when he contests the first final of the four-day championship in the men’s 10,000m on Thursday evening.
The University of Oregon student finished fourth in the championships in 2023 and is ranked third out of 28 total entrants. He will be joined by Niall Murphy of Ennis Track.
The team is completed by three relay squads who will be aiming for final spots on Sunday evening to conclude the championships.
The men’s 4x100m squad is spearheaded by Tallaght’s Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght AC), who will also contest the individual sprint event.
Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m teams will be hoping to secure a final position in the heats of the event on Sunday morning.
Andrew Egan (GCH) will jump to the one-lap distance and senior squad regular Callum Baird (Ballymena and Antrim) will also be likely to get a run out.
On the women’s side, Jenna Breen (COLAC) makes her Irish debut and will be joined by Kate O’Connell (Lucan Harriers), Victoria Amiadamen (Dooneen AC), Aoife Hernon (Bandon AC) and 800m athlete Emma Moore (GCH) also listed as part of the squad.
How to watch?
You can stream the European Athletics U23 Championships in full on the Eurovision Sport platform – HERE
(Supported by the EBU via RTÉ in Ireland)
Nick Griggs will be making a bid for his seventh individual European age group medal in the men's 5,000m
Irish in Action Timetable
DAY 1- Thursday 17th July
Fintan Dewhirst, men’s 400mh R1, 10:05am (11:05am)
Lucy May Sleeman, women’s 100m R1, 10:55am (11:55am)
Sean Agiboboh, men’s 100m R1, 11:30am (12:30pm)
Nicola Tuthill, women’s hammer throw QA or QB, 11:45am (12:45pm) or 12:50pm or (1:50pm)
Adam Nolan, men’s 110mh R1, 4:15pm (5:15pm)
Maeve O’Neill and Emma Moore, women’s 800m R1, 5:00pm (6:00pm)
Lughaidh Mallon, men’s 1500m R1, 5:35pm (6:35pm)
Abdel Laadjel and Nial Murphy, men’s 10,000m Final, 6:00pm (7:00pm)
Aoife O’Sullivan, women’s high jump QA or QB, 6:15pm (7:15pm)
Lucy May Sleeman, women’s 100m SF, 7:30pm (8:30pm)*
Sean Agiboboh, men’s 100m SF, 7:50pm (8:50pm)*
DAY 2- Friday 18th July
Andrew Egan, men’s 200m R1, 9:50am (10:50am)
Ava O’Connor, Ailish Hawkins and Alexandra Joyce, women’s 3000m SC R1, 11:10am (12:10pm)
Eimear Maher and Cara Laverty, women’s 1500m R1, 11:50am (12:50pm)
Adam Nolan, men’s 110mh SF, 3:10pm (4:10pm)*
Fintan Dewhirst, men’s 400mh SF, 4:20pm (5:20pm)*
Lucy May Sleeman, women’s 100m Final, 5:35pm (6:35pm)*
Sean Agiboboh, men’s 100m Final, 5:50pm (6:50pm)*
Adam Nolan, men’s 110mh Final, 6:30pm (7:30pm)*
Anika Thompson and Heather Murphy, women’s 10,000m Final, 6:50pm (7:50pm)
Nicola Tuthill, women’s hammer throw Final, 7:00pm (8:00pm)*
DAY 3- Saturday 19th July
Andrew Egan, men’s 200m SF, 9:40am (10:40am)*
Anna Gavigan, women’s discus throw QA or QB, 10:50am (11:50am) or 12:20pm (1:20pm)
Aoife O’Sullivan, women’s high jump Final, 4:10pm (5:10pm)*
Fintan Dewhirst, men’s 400mh Final, 4:15pm (5:15pm)*
Lughaidh Mallon, men’s 1500m Final, 4:45pm (5:45pm)*
Nick Griggs, Callum Morgan and Abdel Laadjel, men’s 5,000m Final, 5:30pm (6:30pm)
Ava O’Connor, Ailish Hawkins and Alexandra Joyce, women’s 3000m SC Final, 6:20pm (7:20pm)*
Maeve O’Neill and Emma Moore, women’s 800m Final, 6:40pm (7:40pm)*
Andrew Egan, men’s 200m Final, 7:40pm (8:40pm)*
DAY 4- Sunday 20th July
Women’s 4x400m relay R1, 9:05am (10:05am)
Men’s 4x400m relay R1, 10:30am (11:30am)
Jake O’Brien and Matthew Glennon, Men’s 10,000m RW Final, 10:10am (11:10am)
Men’s 4x100m relay R1, 11:32am (12:32pm)
Eimear Maher and Cara Laverty, women’s 1500m final, 3:15pm (4:15pm)*
Anika Thompson and Ava O’Connor, women’s 5000m Final, 3:35pm (4:35pm)
Men’s 4x100m relay R1, 6:50pm (7:50pm)*
Anna Gavigan, women’s discus throw Final, 5:20pm (6:20pm)*
Women’s 4x400m relay Final, 6:15pm (7:15pm)*
Men’s 4x400m relay Final, 6:40pm (7:40pm)*
*Subject to qualification
Irish time listed (local time in brackets)
Competition Information
Championship website – HERE
Live Results – HERE
Official timetable – HERE
Make sure you are following Athletics Ireland social channels to keep up to date with all of the Irish performances across the four days.
Note– All information is correct at the time of publication, event start times are subject to change.
