Joy for Olympic hopefuls Luke McCann and John Fitzsimons on mixed night for Irish

Ireland’s Nadia Power had to settle for sixth in the Women’s 800m at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic. But Olympic hopefuls Luke McCann and John Fitzsimons had a happier night. Picture: Inpho/Morgan Treacy

It was a breakthrough night for Irish Olympic hopefuls Luke McCann and John Fitzsimons at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic tonight, but there was heartache for national 1500m champion Paul Robinson who was a late withdrawal with injury.

McCann produced the race of his life in the men’s 1500m to catapult himself into contention for Olympic qualification, the 23-year-old Dubliner clocking 3:37.77 to finish 10th, a personal best by three seconds.

“I knew I was ready to run fast so I just committed at the start,” he said. “I told myself not to panic and to commit and I felt really good after 800. I knew the last 200 I had another gear and it felt like the other guys were in my way.”

McCann made his senior championship debut at the European Indoors in March and this was his first taste of the elite-level athletics circuit. “Two years ago I’d be opening up my season in Greystones at the Irish Milers Meet and now I’m coming here to a (Continental Tour) gold meet. Having your meals and sitting beside Mondo Duplantis, it’s a really good experience. I could get used to this.”

Paul Robinson had been due to run the same race but he withdrew shortly before following a flare-up in his Achilles tendon. There was contrasting fortunes for fellow Kildare man Fitzsimons, who took more than a second off his PB to finish seventh in the 800m in 1:46.62.

“The goal was top eight, I needed the bonus points for Tokyo,” he said. “It’s a season opener, a PB, I could not be happier. It’s mission accomplished.”

Fitzsimons’ run meant Mark English suffered a rare defeat by a fellow Irishman, with English coming home 11th in 1:47.85. The Donegal athlete had taken on the pace at the front of the chasing pack over the first 600m but ran out of gas in the home straight and faded from contention in a race where British teenager Max Burgin clocked an astonishing 1:44.14.

Nadia Power was another who walked away dissatisfied after finishing sixth in the women’s 800m in 2:02.72, a race in which British 19-year-old Keely Hodgkinson set a European U20 record of 1:58.89.

“I mis-judged the first 100 and I got so boxed in,” said Power. “I tried not to be too aggressive and I tried to ease my way out of it. I’m happy with how I manoeuvred it that way but I’m fairly disgusted with that time, to be honest. It’s not reflective of where I am at all. The rust is busted at least.”

Sean Tobin was the last of the Irish in action and the Clonmel athlete ran well to finish fourth in the 3000m in 7:49.37, a race where Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei fell well short of the world record he was chasing and clocked 7:33.24.

“It’s just not the night,” said Tobin. “It was a bit of a rust-buster at least, and hopefully it blows the cobwebs off.”