Rhasidat Adeleke is only 21, competes in the 400m race as well as the women’s and mixed 4x400m relay, and represents Tallaght AC. This is her first time participating in the Games. Despite being controversially sidelined from the mixed relay squad for the deferred Tokyo Olympics, Adeleke’s fame has only escalated. She opted to leave her University of Texas and turn professional after claiming the NCAA 400m champion title with an Irish record of 49.20. Her commendable performance at the 2023 World Championships resulted in her finishing fourth. She has kicked off 2024 on an even higher note, clinching three medals at the European Championships held in Rome a month ago. She holds an impressive collection of 52 national sprint records across all age sectors. Before signing off for the Paris event, she triumphantly won at the Monaco Diamond League with the second quickest time of her career, 49.17 seconds.
Meanwhile, Ciara Mageean, 32, represents the City of Lisburn AC in the 1,500m event, having partaken in the 2016 and 2020 Games. Just a week before the Tokyo event, she was unfortunately injured. Nevertheless, the tough County Down athlete immediately bounced back the following year, securing silver at the European Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games in the 1,500m event. She then accomplished a stunning gold medal win in Rome, becoming the second individual to win a gold after Sonia O’Sullivan. This year, she reclaimed the Irish 800m record with a time of 1.58.51, after enhancing her own Irish 1,500m record last summer to 3:55.87. With the experience and self-assurance gained, she eagerly sets her sights on a podium finish again in Paris.
Mark English, aged 31, participates in the 800m domaine and races for Finn Valley AC. This is his third time competing in the Games, having previously participated in the 2016 and 2020 events.
Mark English, a four-time European 800m medalist, notably claimed two indoor and two outdoor titles, has honed his running skill in time for the Paris race. He set a new record twice in Irish 800m race within a mere four days, marking a stunning time of 1:44.53 in Madrid, which ranks within the Olympic qualifying time. Feidhlim Kelly, the coach at Dublin Track Club, has been training this accomplished athlete from Donegal, who is also a practicing doctor. English temporarily put aside his medical practice to fully focus on his forthcoming Olympic performance, after clinching his ninth Irish 800m championship the previous month. His experience and a quiet sense of self belief places him in good stead for the unforgivingly competitive 800m event in Paris. His 400m best of 46.19 is a testament to his state of readiness.
Andrew Coscoran, a 28-year-old athlete, will be participating in the 1,500m race at the Second Games in 2020. A member of the Star of the Sea AC, Coscoran hails from Balbriggan in the northern side of county Dublin. He proved his potential in 2021 by shattering the national outdoor and indoor records in the 1,500m, a record the outdoor mark had been held by Ray Flynn since 1982. Coscoran’s astounding time of 3:30.42 solidified his position on the global stage. His endurance was proven when he competed in the European Championships finals in Rome, although his season best stood at 3:32.68. Known to be coach Kelly’s protégé, he was the 2021 champion of the Irish 1,500m. Despite battling sickness this year, Coscoran’s past experience of two World Championships gives him the knowledge and determination to venture into the fiercely competitive Paris races.
Sharlene Mawdsley, aged 25, will make her debut at the games. She will participate in the 400m/women’s and mixed 4x400m relay. Mawdsley represents the Newport AC club.
The ranks of Ireland’s most rapidly progressing athletes undoubtedly include Mawdsley, who unfortunately did not get chosen for the mixed relay for Tokyo. Nevertheless, she remained resolute and showed her potential by running 51.70 seconds later that same season, after briefly stepping away from athletics during her time at the University of Limerick. Since then, she’s received training from Gary Ryan, fellow Tipperary resident and two-time Olympian. He guided her consistent upward trajectory. After anchoring at the World Championships’ mixed and women’s 4x400m relay in the final last year, she did the same in Rome the following month, clinching both gold and silver. After besting her record in Chorzow, Poland with a timing of 50.72 seconds in May, she also secured her solo place in Paris.
Sarah Lavin
Age: 30
Event: 100m hurdles
Club: Emerald AC
Attending her Second Games in 2020
In recent years, the Limerick sprinter has demonstrated remarkable reliability, having bounced back from a period marked by sickness and injuries. Last summer, she achieved an exceptional feat by breaking Derval O’Rourke’s 13-year standing Irish 100m hurdles record with a 12.62 timing in her World Championships semi-final in Budapest. She went on to break the 100m flat record by clocking 11.27. Even though Rhasidat Adekele broke this record when she won the National title last month, Lavin had already won her ninth hurdles title, in addition to six indoor titles. Having made it to the finals at the European Championships in Rome last month and securing bronze at the 2023 European Games, Lavin, under coach Noelle Morrissey, also managed to finish in fifth place at the World Indoor 60m hurdles earlier this year.
Sarah Healy
Age: 23
Event: 1,500m
Club: UCD AC
First Games.
After an impressive junior career that quickly escalated to the senior level, Healy achieved new heights last summer when she broke the under-four-minute mark for the 1,500m. Her record time of 3:59.68 at the World Championships won her a spot in the tournament in Paris. Currently residing in Leeds, she trains with mentors Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, and is part of the same group as Keely Hodgkinson, Britain’s 800m gold medal contender. In the last month, she took the national title in the 800m category. She further improved her personal best to 3:57.46, securing seventh place at the Paris Diamond League, and made it to second place in the all-time Irish list, surpassing Sonia O’Sullivan and only trailing Ciara Mageean.
Brian Fay
Age: 25
Event: 5,000m
Club: Raheny Shamrock AC
First Games
Despite starting later than most in his athletic journey, Fay exhibited potential from an early age. He pursued his studies at DCU before moving to the University of Washington in Seattle, where his progress in sport was immediately noticeable. In 2022, he improved his 5,000m best to 13:16.52, and astonishingly ran 13:01.40 the following summer, shattering the Irish record set by Alistair Craig in 2011. With Feidhlim Kelly guiding him in the Dublin track club, he is truly immersed in the sport. He clinched a second sequential National 5,000m victory this summer with an impressive 53-second final lap. Famously known for his determination and spirit, he is looking forward to performing on the Olympic stage.
Sophie O’Sullivan
Age: 22
Event: 1,500m
Club: Ballymore Cobh AC
First Games
Following the athletic legacy of her mother Sonia, an Olympian four times over and a Sydney 2000 5,000m silver medalist, an Irish athlete made history in Paris. It was just the third time in Olympic athletics history that a mother and daughter had competed. Raised in Melbourne, her talent emerged when she secured a silver medal in the 800m at the 2018 European Under-18 Championships, coming second behind British favourite Keely Hodgkinson. She went on to claim the Under-23 1,500m title last summer. After four years spent at Washington University in Seattle under the guidance of Maurica Powell, she made two NCAA 1,500m finals. Her performance at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, a 4:02.15, met the automatic entry standard for Paris. Ahead of Paris, she achieved her premier senior 1,500m title in June, with a season best 4:05.77 time at the Morton Games. Later, she ran 2:00.28 for 800m in Italy, surpassing her mother’s record.
Sophie Becker, aged 27, is set to participate in the 400m/women’s and mixed 4x400m relay event in her second Olympic games. As a member of Raheny Shamrocks AC, she will be making her debut in the individual event, having previously been part of the mixed relay team that reached the final in Tokyo Olympics. Becker is one of three Irish women in the 400m event – a first in Olympic history. She managed to qualify in 46th place out of 48 athletes, having bettered her personal record from 51.83 seconds to 51.13 in May. Trained by Jeremy Lyons and Gerard O’Donnell, she has previously been in two World Championship finals as a mixed relay participant. Moreover, Becker ran the first leg of the women’s 4x400m relay that secured a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome, narrowly missing out on the individual final.
The Clonliffe Harriers’ Cathal Doyle, 26, is set to compete in the 1,500m event at his first Olympic games.
Doyle, originating from Swords, initiated his alliance with Clonliffe at the mere age of thirteen. Now, 13 years later, his growth has been considerable. Significantly, this year he dramatically enhanced his record from 3:36.85 to 3:34:09. Using the event quota to qualify (41 of 44), Doyle savoured victory in the national 1,500m race for a remarkable third consecutive time. This sits alongside his victory in the indoor race where he beat Nick Griggs by diving to the finish line. He dovetailed university years at the University of Portland with an illustrious athletics career, following graduation from DCU. He spectacularly concluded preparations for Paris with a groundbreaking 3:52:06 victory in the Morton Mile on his local track. His winning calibre is becoming increasingly evident.
Kate O’Connor, 23.
Sport: Heptathlon
Affiliated club: Dundalk St Gerald’s AC
A first-time competitor.
Born in Newry, but brought up in Dundalk, O’Connor’s adoption of the seven-event discipline commenced during her school years at St Gerard’s in Dundalk, where her father, Michael, served as her coach. A milestone for O’Connor came in 2019 when she secured Ireland’s first-ever heptathlon international medal, securing silver at the European Under-20 Championships in Boras, Sweden. After achieving a national record with 6,297 points in 2021, she procured a Commonwealth silver medal in 2022. England’s residing champ, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, was the only winner above her. Her last year’s World Championships performance placed her 13th and most recently, her score of 6,244 points in Germany ensured her qualification as the 23rd athletes out of merely 24 for Paris.
Nicola Tuthill.
Age: 20.
Event: Hammer Throw.
Club: UCD AC.
An upcoming contender in her first games.
In 2020, at only 16 years of age, Tuthill clinched her first senior hammer title. Her success was aided by the hammer-training cage on their diary farm in Bandon, constructed by her father, Norman. Following that, she bagged silver in the European Throwing Cup in March. In June, she joined the ranks of Eileen O’Keefe, a 2008 Olympian, and became the second Irish woman to throw over 70m, achieving a brilliant 70.32m. Tuthill then showcased her abilities on the international stage, securing an impressive ninth place at the European Championships in Rome. This was her first significant senior international accomplishment. Tuthill, who is coached by Killian Barry, Kevin Warner, and Roland Korom, also managed to finish fourth in the European Under-23 Championships the previous year. She is only just beginning her career, already qualifying for the Paris meet as the 29th entry out of 32.
Eric Favors, 27 years old, will be representing Raheny Shamrocks AC in the shot put event at his debut games. Favors, born in Rockland County just outside of New York City, claims his Irish eligibility through his grandmother Margaret Kerr, who hailed from Ballina in Mayo and lived in New York for over half a century. His development in high school was supervised by Paddy McGrath, a Dubliner who participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Favors has broken the Irish shot put record multiple times, advancing it from 20.66m to 20.93m in April this year. After graduating from the University of South Carolina, he triumphed at the Division Three European Team Championships last year and won his third national senior title in June. Having qualified for the last two World Athletics Championships, Favors is going to participate in the Paris event, where he is ranked 30th out of the 32 athletes selected.
Finally, 39-year-old Fionnuala McCormack of Kilcoole AC is preparing for her fifth marathon event, having previously competed in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.
In a spectacular feat, a female athlete from Wicklow, Ireland has stamped her name in the annals of the Olympic Games. Setting a record by taking part in four varied events spread across five different Olympics, she has become the first woman from Ireland to achieve this. Her first game was the 3,000m steeplechase at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, followed by the 5,000m and 10,000m races in London 2012, later participating in the marathon in 2016’s Rio Olympics and most recently, the delayed 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Also praiseworthy is her extravagant performance as the consecutive winner of the European cross country championship in the years 2011-2012. Last December, she finished fourth in the same event, despite running a 2:26:19 in Valencia merely a week prior – a record well within the required 2:26:50 for Paris. Most impressive perhaps, was her return to form five months post the birth of her third daughter. This Wicklow sportsperson, of unrivalled consistency, holds the distinction of boasting 44 senior international appearances, outranking any other Irish woman. Clocking her best-ever at 2:23.58 four short months following Tokyo, she’s eager to challenge the exemplary distance once again on Parisian streets.
24-year-old Jodie McCann from Dublin City Harriers club, who is participating in her first Games event of 5,000m, fostered an interest in running from nine years and clinched a slew of underage cross-country titles in Ireland. However, her passion took a dip due to her teaching studies in Dublin. Resurrecting her career, McCann relocated to Australia recently, gaining grounds with On Athletics Club Oceania. She achieved impressive results due to her co-operation with Craig Mottram, the Australian Olympian who coached her. Her best scores in the 1,500m, mile and 3,000m races were soon surpassed under his guidance. Her 2023’s best 5,000m record of 16:18.23 improved dramatically to 15:20.93, and she qualified for Rome’s European Championships, making it her first senior track appearance. Her father Clark, a one-time international swimmer, continues coaching her. Currently, she ranks 39th in the quota of 42 athletes for her event, with her elder brother, Luke McCann, also qualifying for the 1,500m event.
26-year-old Luke McCann, a member of the UCD AC club, will be participating in his first Games’ event, the 1,500m.
McCann, a self-acclaimed late developer, tried his hand at cross-country and rugby momentarily during his time at Blackrock College. He started studying engineering at UCD in 2016, with his best 1,500m time being significantly beyond the four-minute mark. However, he managed to reduce his time from 3:53.72 to 3:36.81 in 2021, and subsequently focused on the Paris Olympics. He joined On Athletics Club Europe in 2022, located in the Swiss Alps and directed by former German national coach Thomas Dreissigacker. By then, he had already qualified for the Budapest World Championships. Nevertheless, a sacrum stress fracture in December nearly jeopardised his Paris ambition, but McCann remained steadfast, posting a time of 3:33.60 in Stockholm in June and qualifying 35th out of 45 athletes. Together with his sister Jodie, they make up the second set of Irish siblings to qualify for the Olympics in athletics, following Thomas and Jessie Barr in 2012.
Thomas Barr, now 31, competes in the 4x400m Mixed Relay and is representing the Ferrybank AC club. This is his third Olympics run after 2016 and 2020. He nearly qualified for a third time eight years on since finishing the 400m hurdles in Rio fourth, where he set the still-held Irish record of 47.97 seconds. Indeed, he fell short by just .09 after running 48.79 in June and missed out on the ranking quota by a single position. Now, he has a chance with the mixed relay, where he ran an impressive third leg (with a 44.90-second split) as the Irish quartet secured the European Championships gold medal in Rome. Barr also belonged to the team that clinched a World Relay bronze medal earlier in May. Since securing a bronze in the 400m hurdles in the 2018 Berlin European Championships, Barr has been one of the most consistent and beloved Irish international stage performances.
Phil Healy, 29, competes in both the Women’s and Mixed 4x400m relay and is a member of the Bandon AC club. This is her second Olympic participation following the Tokyo Games.
Philomena Healy, previously known as the quickest female runner in Ireland, was on the brink of ending her career last year due to Hashimoto’s disease, a condition affecting the thyroid gland, which undermined her ability to perform to her maximum ability in training and competitions. Nevertheless, spurred on by her long-standing coach, Shane McCormack, she gradually regained footing this year, contributing to both the women’s and mixed 4x400m teams that secured a place for the Paris World Relays in May, following a competition in the Bahamas. Furthermore, Healy made a notable contribution to the mixed relay team that made it to the final round in Tokyo, and ran an outstanding third leg with the women’s 4x400m team that clinched a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome in June. This was followed by another victory in the National 200m in Santry, her 17th across various sprint distances, indoors and outdoors. She also participated in the women’s 200m and 400m races in Tokyo, making her the first Irish woman to compete in three Olympic events during one Games.
Another athlete, Chris O’Donnell aged 26, also features in the 4x400m Mixed Relay event. A member of the North Sligo AC, this is his second time at the Games, having participated in Tokyo 2020. Despite falling just short of winning his 6th National 400m title in seven years due to a recent illness with Jack Raftery narrowly surpassing him, O’Donnell will get another chance to compete in the Olympics due to his steadiness in the mixed relay. O’Donnell, who originates from the small Sligo village of Grange and was formerly a youth footballer, competently ran the first leg of the gold medal-winning mixed relay squad at the European Championships, held in Rome in June. Under the guidance of his coach Stewart Marshall at Loughborough University, his 400m best time of 45.26 is second only to David Gillick in the history of Irish athletics.
Jack Raftery, aged 23, is a partaker in the 4x400m Mixed Relay event. Representing the club Donore Harriers, this is his debut Games.
In 2023, Raftery clinched his first national 400m indoor title before clocking his best time of 45.89 seconds at the European Under-23 Championships the subsequent summer. Serving as a member of the mixed relay team in the finals of the World Athletic Championships for two years, 2022 and 2023, selection for the Paris games was assured after his victory in the national senior outdoor championships in June, where he clocked 45.95 seconds. Raftery, under the tutelage of Jeremy Lyons and Gerard O’Donnell and pursuing Mechanical Engineering at DCU, is the first sprinter since 1956 from Donore to represent their club at the Olympics.
Loara Cadden, 24 years old and a member of the Sligo AC, participates in the Women’s and Mixed 4x400m relay for her first games. Her significant progress started in the year prior, in 2022, when she triumphed over 200m to get her first national senior title. Cadden broke records at the Inter-varsity championships in April of the current year, where she set a new championship record of 53.38 seconds, surpassing Karen Shinkins’ previous record from 1999. With a degree in Health Science from Athlone TU and training under Dermot McDermott in Sligo, Cadden then broke the 53 seconds mark for the first time, recording 52.87 in Salamanca in June and then achieving runner-up status with the women’s 4x400m relay team at the European Championships in Rome. Despite her gains, she had to settle for third place at this year’s National Championships in the 400m, falling short of Sophie Becker.
Rachel McCann, aged 22, competes in the Women’s and Mixed 4x400m relay for North Down AC in her first games.
McCann, a prodigious Irish sprinter who has secured multiple titles in the 200m and 400m under-20 and under-23 categories, notably improved her one-lap event record this year. Her new record of 53.60 seconds was achieved during the National Championships held in Santry in June, where she came second to Sophie Becker. Earlier in the year, in April, she claimed second place in the Inter-Varsity Championships, representing Queen’s University Belfast. Her 200m record was bolstered to 24.92 seconds during an event in Brussels in May. McCann is counted among Ireland’s new generation of 400m runners and is preparing to participate in her first senior international event in Paris.
Kelly McGrory, 27, is another notable figure in the Women’s and Mixed 4x400m relay event. Representing the Tir Chonaill AC club in Donegal, she’s preparing for her inaugural Games. McGrory, a five-time Irish champion in the 400 metres hurdles and girlfriend of Paris-bound sprinter Thomas Barr, trains under Drew and Hayley Harrison, a coaching duo based in Limerick. Originally from Laghy in Donegal, she managed to reduce her flat 400m time to a respectable 52.62 seconds during the May event in Brussels, making her a strong candidate for the relay selections. Despite suffering an injury that ruled her out of the 4x400m relay, she still delivered a personal best of 57.10 in the 400m hurdles at the European Championships in Rome. She was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team in the World Championships’ final in Budapest and secured her spot in Paris after finishing fifth in the 400m at the National Championships and setting a time of 54.39.