In the annals of European Athletics Championships, spread over nine decades since its inception in Turin in 1934, the Irish team had never harboured hopes of cracking the top ten nations in the final medals ranking, let alone surpass some of the continental titans like Germany and Sweden. Nevertheless, in Rome, that’s precisely where they stood, occupying the 10th spot among the 48 nations competing (only 27 bagged a medal of any hue) following six gruelling days and even more exhausting evenings of competition in the ancient Stadio Olimpico.
The four medals bagged by the Irish team, comprising two golds, two silvers, disbursed unevenly across two relay events and two solo competitions, carved a new niche in Ireland’s athletics history. This outdid the trio of medals grabbed in the 1998 Budapest event, which boasted two individual golds won by Sonia O’Sullivan in 5,000m-10,000m and a bronze snagged by Mark Carroll in 5,000m.
In essence, all four medals from Ireland did not astonish or cause a stir, since they were secured in line with the athletes’ personal anticipations. The honours from Ireland were grandly crowned with another national record on Wednesday evening when, following the women’s 4x400m relay’s frenzied laps, the squad featuring Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke, Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley clinched their phenomenal silver medal, slashing a significant 1.7 seconds off their past record.
The Dutch reigning world champions, with Femke Bol running the final leg, vanquished the Irish ensemble to bag gold in a top European time of 3:22.39. The Irish team, however, caught up, registering a time of 3:22.71, shattering their standing national record of 3:24.38. Adding to the team’s glory was the victorious score from the mixed relay on the opener night featuring Chris O’Donnell, Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Mawdsley, Ciara Mageean’s 1,500m gold on the subsequent Sunday evening, and Adeleke’s solo 400m silver the next day.
Benefitting from the home turf advantage, hosts Italy secured the highest position in the final medal standings, bagging a total of 24 medals, which included 11 gold medals, six higher compared to their previous high at Split in 1990. Ireland managed to outdo both Sweden and Germany, settling behind Poland and Spain. This indicates a noteworthy dip in performance for Germany, who had secured second place in the last championships held in Munich two years ago, trailing Great Britain.
Three Irish records were set in mixed relays, women’s relay, and Adeleke’s blistering 400m run, clocking in at 49.07 seconds. In addition, there were 12 seasonal bests and three personal bests throughout the championships. Sprinter Adeleke, at just 21 years old, took home three medals, marking a significant rise in her career since her first appearance on the scene, where she placed fifth in the 400m final.
Adeleke made it clear that she valued her relay medals as much, if not more, as her individual accolade. Notably, she was bested in the individual race by Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek, who smashed her personal best by more than half a second, breaching the 49-second threshold for the first time with a breathtaking 48.98 seconds victory.
Currently, Kaczmarek’s 48.98 seconds and Adeleke’s 49.07 seconds stand as the fastest two times in the European women’s 400m for this century, further highlighting the high level of competition.
Furthermore, experienced athlete Mageean demonstrated her skill and resilience by clinching 1,500m gold on Sunday night, a triumph two decades in the making dating back to her days as a budding athlete in Portaferry. As the first Irish athlete to achieve a gold (2024), silver (2022), and bronze (2016), this marked Mageean’s third European medal.
CIara Mageean exhibited impeccable tactics to seize the lead at the pivotal moment, finishing the race in 4:04.66 seconds, leading the UK’s Georgia Bell. A mere 48 hours after Ireland’s triumph in the mixed 4x400m relay, Mageean added another gold to the Irish tally, becoming the country’s second individual winner, following only Sullivan who had taken three golds: two in 1998 and another in the 3,000m in 1994.
Over the past ten years, few from the Irish contingent have been as committed, consistent, and remarkable on major athletic platforms as the 32-year-old Mageean. Those who saw her excel in her junior career had predicted she would follow Sullivan’s legacy.
Mageean, feeling deeply grateful, acknowledged the persistent Irish cheer that rang through the stadium over the six days of competition, commenting that seeing the national colours and knowing what their support meant to them filled her with glee.
Ireland’s upturn in European athletics, though sporadic throughout the years, meant that instead of questioning who would secure a medal, it was anticipated who would achieve it first. This answer was soon delivered through the triumph in the mixed 4x400m relay.
Significantly, the participation of both Adeleke and Mawdsley was motivated by their advance to the individual 400m semi-finals that Sunday evening, given their vital roles in securing the bronze medals and Olympic qualifications at the prior month’s World Relays in the Bahamas.
While the competitive landscape at the forthcoming Paris Olympics will undoubtedly differ, it would be thought of as a letdown if the following European Athletics Championships in Birmingham in 2026 yielded fewer than four Irish medals, offering some perspective of Ireland’s current standing within European athletics.
Irish Record Setters:
Gold – Mixed 4×400 (Christopher O’Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr, Sharlene Mawdsley)
Gold – 1500m Ciara Mageean
Silver – 400m Rhasidat Adeleke
Silver – Women’s 4×400 (Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke, Phil Healy, Sharlene Mawdsley)
In Rome, the performance of Irish athletes was laudable, setting an impressive tally of 3 personal bests and 12 season’s bests. Ciara Mageean emerged as the top athlete in the 1,500m race with a time of 4:04.66. The mixed relay team also came first, setting a national and competition record of 3:09.92. In the 400m race, Rhasidat Adeleke secured a commendable second position, clocking a national best time of 49.07. The Women’s Relay team also secured a national best time of 3:22.71, which led to them reaching the second overall ranking.
Sarah Lavin’s performance included a season’s best performance of 12.73 in the semi-finals of the 100mH event. Sarah Healy clocked an overall ranking of seventh in the 1500m with a time of 4:06.77, while Sharlene Mawdsley achieved the eighth spot in the 400m race, timing 51.59. Nicola Tuthill, in the Hammer Throw event, obtained ninth place with the throw distance being 69.09m.
Sophie Becker, who participated in the 400m race, finished with a ranking of tenth and her timing was 51.54. The Men’s Relay team also clinched the tenth spot with their season’s best timing of 3:04.41. In the 10,000m race, Efrem Gidey had an overall ranking of twelfth, secured by a time of 28:16.94.
With a time of 3:34.76, Andrew Coscoran achieved the thirteenth ranking in the 1500m race. The Men’s 4x100m Relay team also achieved thirteenth place, their fastest time of the season being 39.34.
Brian Fay secured the fourteenth ranking in the 5000m event with a timing of 13:29.48, while Eric Favors, in the Shot Put event, was fellow fourteenth place finisher with a distance of 19.60m. In the 200m race, Mark Smyth, with his season’s best timing of 20.86, earned the sixteenth position, which was the same ranking achieved by Thomas Barr in the 400m Hurdles event.
In the 5000m event, British participant Jodie McCann completed the course in a time of 15:29.25, setting a personal best and ranking 17th overall. Israel Olatunde, competing in the 100m event, finished with a time of 10.40 and an overall rank of 19.
In the 10,000m event, Anika Thompson took the 20th place with a time of 33:19.42. Meanwhile, Oisin Lane secured the 23rd spot in the 20km Walk, completing the walk in 1:25:02.
In the 3000mSC, Michelle Finn marked a season’s best of 9:46.93, gaining an overall rank of 24. Chris O’Donnell, who was disqualified in the semi-final of the 400m event, held a season’s best time of 45.69 and also overall ranked 24th.
Mark English ran the 800m race in a time of 1:46.73, earning the 25th spot overall. Laura Mooney and Brian Fay, competing in the 10,000m event, secured the 26th and 27th positions, with times of 34:13.15 and 28:40.53 respectively. Nick Griggs and Louise Shanahan represented in the 1500m and 800m events respectively, both scoring the 28th rank overall.
In the hurdles, Kelly McGrory achieved a personal best time of 57.10 in the 400mH, ranking 31st. Barry Keane and Peter Lynch, participating in the 10,000m event, achieved the 31st and 32nd place overall.
Shona Heaslip completed the Half Marathon in a time of 1:12:19, setting a season’s best and securing the 34th position. Cormac Dalton, representing in the 10,000m event, set a season’s best of 29:15.30 and acquired the 35th spot overall. Lastly, Hiko Tonosa participated in the Half Marathon event.
The half marathon event witnessed the participation of Emily Haggard Kearney who finished with an overall ranking of 64 and a timing record of 1 hour 17 minutes and 04 seconds. Another participant finished the half marathon with an overall standing of 43, completing the race in 1 hour 05 minutes and 42 seconds.