Athletics 2023

It is fast. He should definitely be targeting a place in the final in Istanbul.

Other highlights from day 2 for me were Jack Raftery winning the 400m in 46.37, a new PB. He’s only 21 and shows a lot of promise. Sarah Leahy won the women’s 60m in 7.30. She seems to have a lot of upside.

Big disappointment for me was the women’s 400m. Rhasidat Adeleke is clearly on fire in the US. Sharlene Mawdsley is also having a good season. However, Sophie Becker and in particular, Phil Healy seem to have regressed. Becker won the race in 53.11 from Healy who ran high 53.xx. This time last year, both of them were well capable of sub-52. Maybe, they aren’t taking indoors seriously and will come good in the summer. Little disappointing all the same.

Thanks for that. Yeah, I thought she looked very out-of-sorts at the national indoors. Hopefully, she can run a good leg in Istanbul and set herself up for the summer.

Looking at the team for European indoors, I feel like the stalwart Mark English, is our best chance of a medal in the 800m. I can't see any other medals unfortunately. However, I hope to see good performances and finals for Israel Olutunde (60m), Sarah Lavin (60mH), Sharlene Mawdsley (400m), Andrew Coscoran and Luke McCann (1500m), and Darragh McElhinny (3000m).

Great running by the 3 Irish boys. Coscoran and McCann are improving every year. It’s clear that Nick Griggs will be hanging with them in a year or two with more training volume and strength in his legs. Cool to see Ireland becoming a power again in the middle distances.

Jack Raftery acquitted himself very well in the 400m. Shame he wasn’t selected for Istanbul. He would surely have made the semi finals at least.

Youtube vidd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Pi-IxyUq0

Raftery didn’t qualify. It wasn’t that he wasn’t selected

Athletics Ireland have had enough issues like this over the last few years so think it’s worth pointing out this wasn’t down to them

The European indoors clashes with her college commitments of course - but she'll have much bigger fish to fry later in the year.

Do we think she can go under 50 seconds this year? You couldn't rule it out for a moment.

There’s two streams of qualifying. You can get the A standard. Neither did. Or qualify through rankings, Manning did, Raftery didn’t. When athletes pull out, they move down the rankings

The ranking system is rubbish IMO but it’s been in place for a few years now

Agreed. It’s clearly broken when an athlete 0.02 seconds off the ‘A’ standard is frozen out, but an athlete with little realistic prospect of progressing beyond the heats, qualifies.

I think she'll go sub 50 very early in the outdoor season. It's where she might go after that that's going to be really exciting to watch.

WTF are you on about? Nobody claimed it was personal.

What channel(s) showing the championships?

Interviews with Phil Healy and Rhasidat Adeleke on Off the ball podcast feed.

Just listening to the Phil interview and she has opened up about having an auto immune disease and undiagnosed health concerns they are still trying to get to the bottom of. Really had a tough few months

RTE news had them yesterday too. RTE 2 today. They used the international feed comms yesterday but David gillick is over there for them so may have comms too

Poor run from Mawdlesley. She looked devastated at the end

womens 60m semis set up a great final. Neita looked so strong and then Kambundji equalled her time slowing down.

I have to say that was my initial thought as well, but then you look at West and see how much he faded. Hard to argue with a personal best in a final.