Darragh McElhinney produced an outstanding performance to smash the Irish U20 5000m record in Oordegem, Belgium on Saturday, the Glengariff 18-year-old becoming the first ever Irish junior to break 14 minutes with his clocking of 13:54.10.

When the dust has settled, the medals safely stowed away, the question is not so much about what Irish athletes achieved at last weekend’s European Indoor Championships, but how they did it.

The indoor 400m is renowned as a full-contact sport, with Thomas Barr feeling the full brunt of it yesterday in Abbotstown, as his bid for the Irish indoor title was shunted aside by rival Andrew Mellon.

Ciara Mageean and Kevin Dooney will lead the women's and men's sides.

Team Ireland have enjoyed an impressive fifth place finish in the men's relay event at the European Cross Country Championships in Slovakia.

Alex Wright sharpened up his preparations for the European Race Walking Cup by winning the 10k race walk as sprinters stole the show at the Leevale Sports in CIT on Saturday.

Ciara Mageean made it through to this evening’s European Indoor 1500m final but it was far from pretty.

Ireland has one realistic medal chance as 567 athletes from 49 countries line up for the 34th European Indoor Championships, which start tomorrow in Belgrade.

Ciara Mageean couldn’t hide her disappointment after a fifth place finish in the women’s 1500m in 4:12.46 on an exciting night of athletics at the Athlone International Grand Prix. Athletics

Rob Heffernan has claimed that the race-walking events at the Rio Olympics will not be the same given the absence of Russian athletes.

Cork City Sports meet director Joe Hartnett is extremely satisfied with the depth of talent assembled for the 65th edition of the event despite this year’s meet clashing with a number of national trials.

For Olympic hopefuls, Mark English and Thomas Barr, the last few months had been nothing short of a nightmare, but the two great hopes for Irish athletics are now daring to dream once again.

Leevale AC retained their women’s title at the Glohealth National Road Relays, in Dublin, yesterday, while hosts, Raheny, won the men’s race.

Fionnuala McCormack cruised to a facile win at the Spar Great Ireland Run in Dublin yesterday, the 31-year-old taking her first victory in the 10km race in 33:30 ahead of Deirdre Byrne and Maria McCambridge.

In terms of sport, it’s been a great year for John Travers, who finished seventh in the 1500m final at the European Indoor Championships in March. Off the track, though, the 24-year-old has endured a torrid time, with his father, Stephen, passing away after a long illness just a day before travers finished eighth in the 1500m final at the World University Games in July. He spoke to the ’Irish Examiner’ ahead of tomorrow’s Inter Clubs Cross Country Championships in Santry...

Thomas Barr etched his name into the history books yesterday morning when becoming the fourth Irish athlete to win gold at the World University Games.

Mark English went in to the European Indoor Championships in Prague as Ireland’s main medal hope and he proved he could handle the pressure by delivering a silver medal in the 800m in 1:47.20.

Mark English is through to tomorrow’s 800m final at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Prague.

Mark English advanced to the 800m semi-finals by running an impressive 1:48.10 at the European Indoor Championships in Prague yesterday.

Mark English is not shying away from the expectation that will rest squarely on his young shoulders when he leads a dozen-strong Irish challenge at next month’s European Indoor Athletics Championship. 

Mark English wrapped up his preparations for Prague 2015 by taking the Glo Health national indoor 800 meter title in Athlone I.T today.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird bids to become the first man to break four minutes for the mile indoors on Irish soil at the star-studded Athlone International this evening. 

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

Mark English has said he is aiming to get his 800 metre time down enough for a podium position at the Olympics.

Mark English delivered on his huge potential with a fearless finishing sprint down the home straight in the European Athletics Championships at a packed Letzigrund arena last night to capture bronze in the 800m in 1:45.03.

Mark English is Ireland’s latest sporting hero, winning bronze in the men’s 800m at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich.

World champion Rob Heffernan succumbed with 10 kilometres remaining of the men’s 50k walk at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich this morning.

World Champion Rob Heffernan is out of the 50km race walk at the European Championships in Zurich.

Sonia O’Sullivan believes Ireland’s athletes must grasp the opportunity to make their mark on the senior international stage at the European Track and Field Championships starting in Zurich this morning.

Rob Heffernan will lead an Irish team of 25 athlete’s to Zurich for next months Europeans, which take place from August 12 – 17.

Ciaran O’Lionard shot to victory at today’s Glo Health national senior track and field championships taking 1500-metre gold and a European championship slot.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird believes he has nothing to lose going into the 1500m showdown for a plane ticket to Zurich at the GloHealth National Track and Field Championships in Morton Stadium this weekend.

Thomas Barr beat world champion Jehue Gordon in the 400m hurdles in a new stadium record of 48.94 at a pulsating Morton Games in Dublin last night while the mile record for Morton was also shattered by American Will Leer in 3:51.82 as 10 men went under four minutes.

Thomas Barr and Mark English shattered stadium records at tonight’s Morton Games.

The expected cross-country debate never materialised at the Athletics Ireland General Congress which finished ahead of schedule at the Moran’s Silver Springs hotel in Cork on Saturday, where Ciarán Ó Catháin was re-elected as president for a further two years.

The Athletics Ireland biannual General Congress takes place this weekend in the Moran’s Silver Springs Hotel in Cork and there is expected to be some lively debate and arguments over a wide range of topics from cross-country to finance and high performance.

Fionnuala Britton had that familiar fourth feeling akin to the European cross country championships at a windswept Phoenix Park yesterday where Poland’s Iwona Lewandowska was a surprise winner at the Spar Great Ireland Run 10k in 33:39.

Olympic Decathlon champion Ashton Eaton has been confirmed among an impressive field for the inaugural Athlone International Grand Prix to be held later this month.

Three top-10 finishes for Ireland once upon a time may have been a cause for celebration coming out of a European Cross-Country Championships.

Paul Robinson finished in ninth position in the U-23 Men’s European Cross Country Championship.

By Will Downing