McElhinney looking to pick his battles in Istanbul

The young West Cork native takes on a top-tier field on Saturday.

BREAKING THROUGH: 3000m runner Darragh McElhinney stands for a portrait during a 2023 European Indoor Championships Team Ireland media morning at the Sport Ireland Conference Centre in Dublin. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Major championships can be cruel, callousing places to hone your craft – something that takes time, patience and typically a whole lot of pain before things tend to click. Granted, there’s the occasional freak like Jakob Ingebrigtsen or Usain Bolt, athletes so replete with physical gifts and big-stage bravado that they can set the Olympic stage alight at 20 or 21, but usually, that’s not how it works. 

Usually, you have to take a few beatings before you know how to handle yourself.