Phil Healy and Ciara Mageean starred internationally with good early season form while there was a host of championship best performances at the Irish Life Health U20 & U23 Championships in Athlone over the weekend.

When it comes to the 400m, Ireland has never had an athlete quite like David Gillick, and during last weekend’s World Indoor Championships he was an interested spectator — though from afar — as Phil Healy ignited hope that the glory days may yet return.

They stayed in their lanes, didn’t get disqualified, and at an event that threatened to descend into farce at one point, there’s something to be said for that.

The success or failure of the Irish team at the World Indoor Championships was always going to be decided by one athlete, and given Phil Healy managed something no Irish athlete had done since 2010, it felt a lot like the former at the close of play in Birmingham last night.

Latest: Phil Healy has become the first Irish athlete for eight years to make progress at a World Indoor Athletics Championships, writes Will Downey.