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.

PAUL HESSION returned to the scene of his fastest run to claim his place in the 200m at next year’s Olympic Games in London.

LAST year Robert Heffernan had to watch from the stands as his Irish international team-mate, Jamie Costin (West Waterford), claimed the title and the national 3,000m record at Cork City Sports so it is hardly surprising that the Togher man wants to return and reclaim the limelight at the CIT Track on July 2.

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

FIONNUALA BRITTON will win the European cross-country championships this year and, if not, she will certainly win them next year, according to her new coach, Chris Jones.

AILIS McSWEENEY (Leevale AC) stormed to a new personal best performance with a sensational 7.32 sec victory in the women’s 60m — just two hundredths of a second off the national record — at the Woodies DIY Irish Indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena yesterday.

CATHERINE WAYLAND was the toast of the Irish team at the Paralympic Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand after taking a silver medal in the club throw in the F51 category.

DERVAL O’ROURKE, who has yet to win at Cork City Sports, again faces a huge assignment when she lines up alongside Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schlep from Canada in the 100m hurdles at the CIT Track on Saturday.

LAST year, Ciara Mageean (Assumption, Ballinahinch) took her career to a new level when she broke Sonia O’Sullivan’s long standing national junior 800m record at the Irish schools track and field championships.

PATRICK MAHER (Davis College, Mallow), who has the national junior 400m hurdles record and qualification for the world junior championships under his belt, will bid for a double in the 400m hurdles and 400m flat at the Munster Schools Championships at the CIT Track in Bishopstown on Saturday.

PATRICK MAHER (Davis College, Mallow) will compete in both the 400m and 400m Hurdles at the Munster schools championships in a week’s time after a one lap cruise at the second session of the South Munsters at the CIT Track in Bishopstown yesterday.

IRISH ATHLETICS legend Sonia O’Sullivan is set for an Olympic return – but not on the track.

SHANE QUINN is set to continue his amazing streak of victories when he contests the intermediate 3,000m at the Irish Schools Track and Field Championships in Tullamore this morning.

BRIAN GREGAN (St Mark’s, Tallaght) added his name to Patsy McGonagle’s 4 x 400m relay squad when he smashed the record with a run of 47.49 seconds at the Leinster Schools championships at Morton Stadium.

THE final of the intermediate boys’ hurdles will provide the closest and possibly the most exciting finish of the day at the KitKat Munster Schools track and field championships at the UL track in Limerick tomorrow when Patrick Maher (Davis College, Mallow) and Edmund O’Halloran (St Francis College, Rochestown) renew rivalry.

OLIVE LOUGHNANE can’t wait to toe the line at the 23rd IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Cheboksary, Russia, on Sunday for several reasons but mainly her recent good form.