In her pursuit of a European Championship gold medal, Rhasidat Adeleke has chosen to focus on the one-lap event at the Stadio Olimpico. As the leader of the women’s 400-metre challenge, Adeleke is part of an expansive Irish team of 53 athletes geared up to compete in the championships happening in Rome next month.
Adeleke, who also qualifies for the 200m event, has fixed her focus on her key specialty – the one-lap sprint. The 21-year-old from Dublin is aiming to leave a significant impression ahead of the Paris Olympics that take place a little over six weeks later.
Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker, two athletes who are currently in top form, will be competing alongside her in Rome for the championships which are scheduled from the 7th to the 12th of June. The trio are also part of the exciting 400m relay teams.
The relay teams, along with 37 athletes who have met A standards, and the remaining 16 who have qualified through ranking system (having also achieved B standard) are on standby for final confirmation. This will be after the European Athletics provides its ultimate list of qualifiers, due to be released on Wednesday.
Returning to European action are previous championship medal winners such as Thomas Barr (400m hurdles), Ciara Mageean (1,500m), and Mark English (800m). Meanwhile, two-time world indoor finalist Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) is aiming to make her second major championship final of the season.
Over the past year, the Irish relay teams have experienced significant success in worldwide contests, a highlight being when the mixed 4x400m team bagged an impressive bronze at the World Relays in the Bahamas. Four relay teams, including the mixed 4x400m, will be sent.
Sarah Healy will join Mageean in the women’s 1500m in Rome, with Mageean recently winning the Ostrava event with a timing of 4:01.98 and Healy following closely at 4:02.12. The men’s 1500m will see Andrew Coscoran, Nick Griggs, and Luck McCann, who recently ran a personal best of 3:34.32 in Ostrava, represent Ireland.
Brian Fay, from Raheny club, is set to spearhead the endurance events for the Irish team in the upcoming European Athletics Championships. He will be joined by his fellow club member, Eric Favors, who is on the path of recovery from an injury and is targeting to make a significant impact with his shot put performance. The 2024 tournament will not feature marathons, but will hold a half-marathon instead.
The championship, taking place in Rome from 7th to 12th June, will also see participation from other noted Irish athletes. Rhasidat Adeleke will compete in the 400m, Mx 4x400m, and Women’s 4x400m races while Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy will be participating in the 1500m.
In the men’s category, Andrew Coscoran is set for the 1500m race. Sharlene Mawdsley will feature in the same set of events as Adeleke whilst Sophie Becker will take on the 400m and the 4x400m categories.
Additional Irish athletes such as Mark English, Thomas Barr, Michelle Finn will participate in the championship in the 800m, 400mH and 3000mSC categories respectively. There will also be multiple contenders for the 10,000m slot, including Brian Fay, Efrem Gidey, Peter Lynch, Cormac Dalton, Barry Keane and Anika Thompson.
The Men’s 4x100m relay, meanwhile, will see runners such as Israel Olatunde, Mark Smyth, Toluwabori Akinola, Marcus Lawler, Colin Doyle and Paul Costelloe. Joseph Ojewumi and Christopher Sibanda are named as the first and second reserves respectively for the run. Chris O’Donnell is enlisted for Mx 4x400m and Men’s 4x400m.
Phil Healy is also part of the team and will be serving as reserve for Women’s 4x400m and Mx 4x400m.
The following are the sportspeople who have been provisionally selected for various athletics events and the final selection is awaiting confirmation from European Athletics:
In the Half Marathon, we have Ryan Creech, Shona Heaslip, Hiko Tonosa, and Emily Kearney. For the 100m sprint, Israel Olatunde has been shortlisted. Mark Smyth is the choice for the 200m, while the 800m will see Louise Shanahan, Cian McPhillips, Jenna Bromell, and Cillian Kirwan competing. Nicola Tuthill has been picked for the Hammer throw.
In the 20km Walk, Oisin Lane and Joe Mooney are the selected athletes. Roisin Flanagan and Jodie McCann will compete in the 5000m race. Finley Daley has been chosen for the 3000mSC, and Laura Mooney will face the challenge of the 10,000m race. The Long Jump event will feature Elizabeth Ndudi, and Jack Raftery will run in the solitary 400m race.
For the Mixed 4x400m relay, Jack Raftery and Callum Baird have been chosen, with the latter also being the reserve for Men’s 4x400m. Other athletes selected for the Men’s 4x400m relay include Cillín Greene, Sean Doggett, and Joe Doody.
In the Women’s 4x400m relay, the selected athletes are Kelly McGrory, Lauren Cadden, and Cliodhna Manning serving as the reserve contestant.