O'Connor, Adeleke and Co. to lead Irish Euro challenge

Athletics Ireland announced its provisional selection on Tuesday following the closing of the qualification window on Monday morning.

Kate O'Connor of Ireland during the Women's Heptathlon High Jump at the Scotstoun Stadium during day five of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Tue, 28 Jul, 2026 - 16:20

Cathal Dennehy

International medallists Kate O’Connor, Mark English, Rhasidat Adeleke, Fionnuala McCormack and Sarah Healy are among the star names on the Irish team for the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham (10-16 August).

Athletics Ireland announced its provisional selection on Tuesday following the closing of the qualification window on Monday morning.

Those confirmed have achieved the automatic A standard in their events, while many others will have to wait for the final list of qualifiers via the rankings system – the final team due to be announced on Thursday.

Kate O’Connor will have medal hopes in the heptathlon and the Dundalk athlete proved she’s in fine form with a strong start at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this morning.

O’Connor, who was born in Newry and is based in Belfast, clocked 13.54 (0.8m/s) in the 100m hurdles before clearing 1.82m in the high jump, putting her out front with five events left in the heptathlon on 2,047 points – four clear of England’s Jade O’Dowda.

She will be back in action in the shot put at 7pm this evening with the 200m to round out day one at 8.04pm. O’Connor has yet to win a medal at the European Championships outdoors, having missed the 2022 edition through injury and the 2024 edition in Rome while focused on Olympic qualification, but she did win European indoor bronze last year in the pentathlon.

English, who has won two European medals outdoors and three indoors, will aim to add to that tally in Birmingham and he will go into the men’s 800m at the top of the rankings with the 1:42.97 he ran in London recently.

He missed the nationals last weekend due to an Achilles issue but is expected to take his place at the Europeans, while teammate Cian McPhillips – who clocked a season’s best of 1:43.97 in London – will have his eyes on his first senior international medal.

Healy missed the nationals due to a setback but the Dubliner should be one of Ireland’s leading medal chances in Birmingham, and national 1500m champion Sophie O'Sullivan may also have her eyes on a podium finish.

Healy is entered for both the 1500m and 5000m and the longer race will be run as a straight final on day two, with the 1500m taking place on days six and seven.

Adeleke made a welcome return to Irish soil at the nationals last weekend and, in her final attempt, secured the 200m qualification standard of 22.85, clocking 22.80 into a stiff headwind. The Tallaght sprinter is also selected as part of the women’s 4x400m relay.

There is lingering doubt surrounding the participation of Sharlene Mawdsley, who pulled up sharply about 60 metres into the 200m final last weekend. The Tipperary sprinter was due to undergo an MRI scan on Monday to assess the damage.

Andrew Coscoran made the world final over 1500m last year and was highly impressive when kicking to victory at the nationals last weekend, and the Dubliner will have high hopes of his first major international medal when he lines up in Birmingham.

Defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen confirmed earlier this week that he will also compete at the Europeans, though the Norwegian may opt to focus on just the 5000m, where Darragh McElhinney will lead the Irish chances after a convincing display to win the national title.

Five-time Olympian Fionnuala McCormack will have high hopes in the women’s marathon. She has raced sparingly this year, clocking 32:56 for 10km on the roads in New York in June, though she can certainly contend for a medal if reproducing a similar run to last year’s World Championships, where she finished ninth in the marathon.

Nicola Tuthill will lead the Irish hopes in the field events. The 22-year-old is in the form of her life with a PB of 72.73m in Poznan, Poland last month and she can certainly improve on her ninth-place finish in the 2024 European final in Rome.

“We are excited about the prospects for this cohort of athletes at what is essentially a local championship for athletes and supporters,” said Paul McNamara, Athletics Ireland’s High Performance Director.

“The team includes many seasoned performers who have delivered medals at the highest level, and many others who are hungry to replicate that success. With a probable final team size of approximately 50 athletes, and no fewer than 20 athletes who have achieved A standards, this will be a week of non-stop action as Irish athletics continues to build on its upward trajectory.”

Irish Team – European Athletics Championships, Birmingham

Cian McPhillips (800m)

Mark English (800m)

Kate O'Connor (heptathlon)

Sarah Healy (1500m, 5000m)

Israel Olatunde (100m, men’s 4x100m)

Sean Aigboboh (200m, men’s 4x100m)

Sharlene Mawdsley (400m, women’s 4x400m)

Nicola Tuthill (hammer)

Darragh McElhinney (5000m)

Nick Griggs (5000m)

Andrew Coscoran (1500m)

Rhasidat Adeleke (200m, women’s 4x400m)

Lauren Roy (*100m, 200m, women’s 4x100m)

David Kenny (half marathon race walk)

Sophie O'Sullivan (1500m)

Jack O'Leary (10,000m)

Oisin Lane (marathon race walk)

Fionnuala McCormack (marathon)

Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles)

Paul O’Donnell (marathon)

Bori Akinola (*100m, men’s 4x100m)

Marcus Lawler (men’s 4x100m)

Ryan Mulholland (*200m, men’s 4x100m)

Lucas Fadden (women’s 4x100m)

Ciara Neville (*100m, women’s 4x100m)

Lucy-May Sleeman (*100m, women’s 4x100m)

Sarah Leahy (women’s 4x100m)

Mollie O'Reilly (women’s 4x100m)

Molly Scott (women’s 4x100m)

Jack Raftery (*400m, men’s 4x400m)

Andrew Egan (men’s 4x400m)

Sean Doggett (men’s 4x400m)

Joe Doody (men’s 4x400m)

Ciaran Carthy (men’s 4x400m)

Darragh Murphy (men’s 4x400m)

Sophie Becker (women’s 4x400m)

Rachel McCann (women’s 4x400m)

Cliodhna Manning (women’s 4x400m)

Arlene Crossan (women’s 4x400m)

*Pending allocation of quota place Provisional selections: athletes with a B standard who will be selected if allocated a quota place by European Athletics:

Ryan Creech (marathon)

David McGlynn (marathon)

Eric Favors (shot put)

Oisin Lane (half marathon race walk)

Brian Fay (5000m)

Cathal Doyle (1500m)

Abbie Sheridan (3000m steeplechase)

Emma Moore (800m)

Jodie McCann (1500m)

Niamh Allen (10,000m)

Cillian Kirwan (800m)

Fiona Everard (10,000m)