Mark English has confirmed that Nic Bideau will be his new coach as well as his agent next season.

Mark English put to bed a glum night for Ireland at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, by qualifying for Friday ngiht’s final of the men’s 800 metres – but it was a close-run thing.

Thomas Barr comfortably cruised into Wednesday’s semi-finals of the 400 metres hurdles on the opening morning of the European Athletics Championships in Zurich.

By Will Downing

Robert Heffernan put on a masterclass of race walking to win his 15th national title but felt the atmosphere ‘dead’ on day one of the Woodie’s DIY National Indoor Championships in Athlone on Saturday.

The Woodie’s DIY AAI Games in the new Athlone IT indoor arena produced a long list of new personal bests and one new record.

Joanna Mills put the ongoing controversy over the make-up of the Irish Olympic women’s 4x400m relay squad behind her yesterday by returning to the track in impressive fashion.

Joanne Cuddihy cast aside the pain of the elimination of younger sister Catriona’s from the women’s Olympic 4x400m squad to win the Athlete of the Meet award at the Woodies DIY national track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday.

The Woodie’s DIY National Championships take place at the Morton Stadium, Santry this weekend.

Ireland’s 4x400m relay women were officially confirmed as London 2012 Olympians by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday.

A groin injury ruined Brian Gregan’s hopes of a medal at the European Athletics Championships, with a brave performance seeing him struggle over the line after being in the top three throughout the 400m final in Helsinki.

There was a mix of joy, drama and heartbreak for the Irish athletes in action on the opening day of the European track and field championships in Helsinki yesterday.

Twins featured strongly at yesterday’s Woodie’s DIY National Junior & Under 23 Track & Field Championships in Tullamore, with the Monaghans and Nevilles sharing four medals between them.

It’s a busy weekend for young Irish athletes with the annual AVIVA Tailteann Irish Schools Interprovincial Track & Field meeting taking place at the Morton Stadium, Santry today, followed tomorrow by the Irish Junior & U23 Championships in Tullamore.

Irish record holders Deirdre Ryan and Derval O’Rourke will not compete in the European Track and Field Championships in Helsinki at the end of the month.

FIONNUALA BRITTON beat a quality field to notch up another victory in Saturday’s IAAF Grand Challenge Cross Country International over a rain-sodden course in Greenmount, Antrim.

FIONNUALA BRITTON beat a quality field to notch up another victory in Saturday’s IAAF Grand Challenge Cross Country International over a rain sodden course in Greenmount, Antrim.

EUROPE’S top cross-country runner, Fionnuala Britton will be one of the favourites for the gold medal when she leads the Irish women’s team into next month’s European cross-country championships in Slovenia.

WORLD youth racewalking champion Kate Veale (West Waterford), finished third in the junior women’s race at the prestigious McCain UK Cross Challenge in Bristol over the weekend.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN made a dramatic return to competition at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium yesterday and retained his men’s 10,000m walk title in an impressive 40:1.64.

BEN KIELY (Ferrybank AC) produced another sensational, record-breaking performance in the final of the boys’ 400m hurdles to claim a second gold medal for Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in Trabzon, Turkey, yesterday.

RUAIRI FINNEGAN (Letterkenny AC), a finalist at the world youths championships a couple of weeks ago, claimed the gold medal in the 1,500m at the European Youth Olympics in Trabzon, Turkey, yesterday.

CIARA MAGEEAN (City of Lisburn) kept Irish athletics in the headlines after winning silver in the 1,500m at the European junior track and field championships in Tallinn yesterday.

THOMAS BARR (Ferrybank AC) set a new national junior record at 51.29 secs when winning his heat of the men’s 400m hurdles at the European junior track and field championships in Tallinn yesterday.

BRIAN GREGAN took his career to anew level with asilver medal in the men’s 400m at the European U23 championships with a new personal best time of 46.12 secs in Ostrava on Saturday.

RUAIRÍ FINNEGAN (Letterkenny AC) has qualified for Sunday’s 1500m final at the World Youth Track and Field Championships in Lille.

MEGAN KIELY (Ferrybank AC) qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 400m hurdles when she finished fifth in her first-round heat at the World Youth Championships in Lille yesterday.

Two-time European silver medallist Derval O'Rourke achieved the qualifying times for both this year's World Championships and the 2012 Olympics at a meeting in Switzerland yesterday.

PAUL HESSION found plenty of reasons to smile after Saturday’s trip to the Cork City Sports.

LIAM HENNESSY, President of Athletics Ireland, was elected to the Council of European Athletics at the European Athletics Congress in London.

THE Waterford senior hurlers will received specialist training from international athletics star Kelly Proper.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN will head for his training camp in South Africa today in buoyant mood after a solid performance at the Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships in the Odyssey Arena where he retained his 5k walk title in 19:09.56.

Mary Cullen broke away from the field in the final 400 metres to win gold in the 1500 metres final at the Woodie's DIY Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast.

THE surprise inclusion of a men’s 4 x 400m relay team alongside medal hopefuls, David Gillick and Derval O’Rourke, on the Irish team for the world indoor championships in Doha (March 12, 13, 14) is aimed at the future and, in particular, this year’s European outdoor championships in Barcelona, according to team manager Patsy McGonagle.

DERVAL O’ROURKE, Leevale AC, produced a solid performance to win the 60m hurdles at the UK Indoor Championships in Sheffield yesterday.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN will have a new spring in his step when he lines up for the 5,000m walk at the Woodies DIY All-Ireland indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast this afternoon.

KELLY PROPER of Ferrybank AC, pictured, booked her place at the IAAF World Indoor championships after setting another national long jump record at the Vienna Indoor Gala on Saturday.

OLIVE LOUGHNANE, silver medallist in the 20k walk at the world championships in Berlin, was named Ireland’s ‘Athlete of the Year’ at an awards ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, on Saturday night.

PAUL HESSION may have lost his winning streak but he maintained his form in Lucerne last night where he finished fifth in the 200m in 20.75 secs.

JASON SMYTH yesterday became the first Irish Paralympic athlete to qualify for a major able-bodied championship.

SPRINTERS Paul Hession (Athenry AC) and Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC) will captain the Irish team to compete in the European Team championships in Slovakia this weekend.

Athletics Ireland has announced that double gold medallist David Gillick will defend his 400m European Indoor title in Italy next month.

Athletics Ireland has announced a 12-strong team to compete at the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Turin, Italy next month.

IRISH sprinting sensation Paul Hession revealed he his sights set on qualifying for a place in the 200 metres final at the Beijing Olympics.