Irish Team Announced For European Athletics Championships

Athletics Ireland have announced an initial squad selection for the upcoming European Athletics Championships which take place in Rome from June 7th – 12th.

This announcement confirms the selection of those with A standards and the qualified relay teams, while athletes qualifying via ranking position and having achieved a B standard will be confirmed after European Athletics produces its final list of qualifiers on 29th May.

Previous championship medal winners Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC), Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC), and Mark English (Finn Valley AC) are all set to return to European action, while two-time world indoor finalist Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) will have sights set on making her second major championship final of the season.

Multiple national record holder, Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC), will spearhead a strong looking Irish challenge in the women’s 400m alongside the in-form pair Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) and Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock), with all three also selected in exciting 400m relays squads.

The Irish relay teams have enjoyed tremendous success in global competition over the past 12 months, capped off most recently with the mixed 4x400m team claiming a brilliant bronze at the World Relays in the Bahamas. Four relay teams have been selected with the mixed 4x400m once again looking particularly formidable.

Ireland also look to have a strong hand in the women’s 1500m with Sarah Healy (UCD AC) set to join Ciara Mageean on the start line, while Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) will lead the Irish charge in the men’s 1500m alongside Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) and Luck McCann (Dublin City Harriers AC).

Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) will head the Irish challenge in the endurance events, with fellow clubmate Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) returning from injury as he looks to post another big performance in the shot put.

Speaking at today’s team announcement, Athletics Ireland Director of High Performance, Paul McNamara said: “While the primary focus in 2024 firmly remains the Paris Olympic Games, the European Championships is a key event for us and one where we intend to further enhance our growing reputation as a nation at major championships, and make a statement of our performance intent. With four relay teams qualified and confirmed, and twenty-two individual athletes having achieved an A standard for this championship we will be competing for honours across multiple events. We anticipate a further ten or so athletes will be confirmed as qualified by European Athletics in the coming days. This would constitute the largest team we have ever sent to this championships, despite the increasingly demanding qualification standards, and is further evidence of the progress made by our sport”.

May 28^th Selections*:

*Athletes unavailable for selection - Fionnuala McCormack (not targeting Europeans), Sophie O’Sullivan (NCAA finals), and Cillín Greene (not targeting Europeans).

** European Athletics are set to publish the final list of qualifiers on Wednesday 29th May. An updated team selection will be published to include athletes who are awaiting confirmation of qualification by European Athletics. All athletes who have achieved a B standard, can potentially qualify by rank, and have been provisionally selected pending confirmation of qualification status by European Athletics are listed below.

Provisional Selections (pending confirmation from European Athletics)*:

*Athletes unavailable for selection - Kate O’Connor (not targeting Europeans), Reece Ademola (injured), David Kenny and Brendan Boyce (re-building post injury), and Darragh McElhinney (not targeting Europeans).