Domestic rivalries to ignite at this weekends National Senior Championships

DOMESTIC RIVALRIES: Mark English, Sarah Healy, Sharlene Mawdsley, Isreal Olatunde, Kate O'Connor, Sophie O'Sullivan, Nicola Tuthill and Phil Healy will be part of a star studded National Senior Championships which promises to ignite domestic rivalries.

With just six weeks left until the World Championships in Tokyo, this is the time of the season when Ireland’s best athletes will be keen to hit full stride. But before they take on the world’s best, it’s time to reignite some domestic rivalries, with several mouthwatering clashes in store at this weekend’s 123.ie National Senior Championships in Santry.

Chief among them is the men’s 800m, where Mark English could face the biggest challenge of his career in this setting. The 32-year-old has entered the 400m and 800m and if he lines up for the latter event, he will square off with Cian McPhillips, the 23-year-old Longford native who, after a decorated underage career, is now flourishing as a senior.

McPhillips, the 2021 European U20 1500m champion, smashed his personal best to clock 1:44.19 and win at the Morton Games recently, going second on the Irish all-time list behind the 1:43.92 English ran in June. English has won eight Irish senior outdoor titles at 800m, and nine indoors, while McPhillips – whose early senior career was hampered by injury – has never won the national outdoor title and has one senior indoor title from 2024.

The men’s 100m will throw up an intriguing duel between Irish record holder Israel Olatunde and Bori Akinola, who ran the fastest all-conditions 100m by an Irishman in June, clocking 10.10 with a 2.9m/s tailwind. Olatunde, who ran the national record of 10.12 last year, has won this title for the last four years and has a season’s best of 10.23, while Akinola’s wind-legal best this year is 10.25. There should be very little between them.

Multi-event star Kate O’Connor has entered the javelin, shot put and long jump, fresh off her victory at the World University Games, while fellow Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley has entries in the 200m and 400m, with longtime relay teammates Phil Healy and Sophie Becker both focused on the 400m.

Sarah Lavin will look to win her 10th national title in the 100m hurdles and should prove untouchable in that on Sunday, while on Saturday she’s likely to also race the 200m.

The in-form Sarah Healy will drop down to 800m, where she’s the defending champion, and if Sophie O’Sullivan chooses that over the 1500m, it should be another riveting duel between the duo who went 1-2 over 1500m at the European U23 Championships two years ago, although Emerald’s Jenna Bromell will also have a huge say.

“I’ve raced so many 1500's this year and it's very rare I get a chance to run an 800,” said Healy. “It will probably be a good quality field and it's just a good chance for me to challenge myself in a different way. Normally, running an 800 brings me on a lot in the 1500 so that was my thought process.” 

Recent European U23 medallists Nicola Tuthill (hammer), Anika Thompson (5000m), Eimear Maher (1500m) and Nick Griggs (1500m) will all be in action, while the men’s 1500m is shaping up as a cracker. If Andrew Coscoran and Cathal Doyle, the two quickest Irishmen in history, both toe the line, fans will get a rematch of their thrilling duel at last month’s Morton Games where Coscoran edged victory. Griggs, Shane Bracken and Darragh McElhinney should also be in the medal hunt.

Both days of action will be streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube Channel, with live coverage on RTÉ Two from 5-7.30pm on Sunday. Day tickets cost €15 with a special two-day ticket available for €25, while U-16s go free.