Athletics

[Eamonnca1]

Irish Athletics seems to be having a bit of a moment. Is it just me or is there an unprecedented amount of Irish athletes in the top flight at the minute?

[armaghniac]

Irish Athletics seems to be having a bit of a moment. Is it just me or is there an unprecedented amount of Irish athletes in the top flight at the minute?

We still have a habit of coming 4th though.

[Tubberman]

Irish Athletics seems to be having a bit of a moment. Is it just me or is there an unprecedented amount of Irish athletes in the top flight at the minute?

We still have a habit of coming 4th though.

In finals though - very rare we were getting to finals in the past 20 years

[seafoid]

If you compare with the world Medals historically it looks cyclical. Even Coghlan and Sonia came fourth. Adeleke may be as great in time as Sonia. Her mother's interview with Ray D'Arcy was a hoot.

[weareros]

Rhasidat Adeleke will be a serious medal contender at Paris Olympics and certainly a strong gold prospect in LA, 2028. If protected and minded of course. Pulling her out of relay was a good sign in that regard. A lovely young woman, too. Paris could be a very good Olympics for Ireland across a variety of sports.

[seafoid]

It is great to see the Athletics team smiling again. We have a strong athletics history going back a century and beyond

[Hound]

Ciara has had a super year and ran a phenomenal race in the 1500m final. Feckin Dutch girl who medaled should have skipped that event to help her win the 5,000m instead of tripling up

Adeleke looks an amazing talent. No guarantee she will kick on, but at this stage she really does look like a medal contender in Paris.
'
Sarah Lavin has also had a great season and I expect her to make the 100m hurdles final in Paris.

Not sure we'll have any man in the Top 8 in any athletics event in the Paris Olympics.

[Pub Bore]

Back in the late 70s and 80s pre-Sonia, we had Eamonn Coghlan, Ray Flynn, Marcus O'Sullivan and Frank O'Mara who were all serious middle distance runners.  In fact that quartet still holds the 4 x 1 mile relay record.  Also John Treacy at the longer distances.  But yes for a minority sport in Irish terms, Ire is producing some talent again, esp among the women.

[seafoid]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/athletics/2023/0826/1401822-structural-issues-in-lower-back-a-risk-for-adeleke/

[imtommygunn]

Ciara has had a super year and ran a phenomenal race in the 1500m final. Feckin Dutch girl who medaled should have skipped that event to help her win the 5,000m instead of tripling up

Adeleke looks an amazing talent. No guarantee she will kick on, but at this stage she really does look like a medal contender in Paris.
'
Sarah Lavin has also had a great season and I expect her to make the 100m hurdles final in Paris.

Not sure we'll have any man in the Top 8 in any athletics event in the Paris Olympics.

Tommy Barr is a possibility. I don't think he is top eight but is a very good championship runner.

All of the success is tbh despite investment. Clubs do a great job in various places but it takes huge commitment from the individuals as it would be a real struggle to be pro.

[seafoid]

The high performance team are quite impressive.

[WT4E]

That 4 x 400m ladies relay team is as good as it gets ands I'm not talking about pace

[Hound]

Back in the late 70s and 80s pre-Sonia, we had Eamonn Coghlan, Ray Flynn, Marcus O'Sullivan and Frank O'Mara who were all serious middle distance runners.  In fact that quartet still holds the 4 x 1 mile relay record.  Also John Treacy at the longer distances.  But yes for a minority sport in Irish terms, Ire is producing some talent again, esp among the women.

O'Sullivan and O'Mara were fantastic indoors in the late 80s / early 90s. Marcus 3 time indoor world champion, Frank twice. They probably underperformed at the big outdoor meets.

Coughlan the best of the lot. World outdoor champ in 1983, although didn't happen for him at the Olympics. 4th in 76 and 80. Would almost certainly have medaled in 84, but got injured. Apparently made a fortune on the indoor circuit in the US, where he was winning all around him in the late 70s / early 80s.

Good point re Thomas Barr tommygunn, he may well have made the final in these championships but for injury. There are a couple of young male sprinters emerging, esp Olatunde, but tough to have an impact at world level.

Maybe I was reading between the lines too much, but I thought there were a couple of wee digs made by the 4x400m team in their after-race interview about Adeleke not running. There doesn't seem to be any talk of Adeleke coming in for the final (other teams will have changes), which would shave 4 or 5 seconds off our time (our weakest in the team is a 54-55 runner, whereas Adeleke is 49-50 sec).

[imtommygunn]

Gillick and derval o'rourke were fantastic indoors too. Wasn't sure with digs but I did think Adeleke could have ran. It would only extend her season by less than a week.

Realistically what we're looking at bar the very odd exception is European standard. Olatunde looks good but more European than world level. Indoors a good target for a lot too.

[seafoid]

Adeleke was advised  not to run on medical grounds.