The Irish athletics team returned to Dublin this afternoon following their record-breaking exploits in Munich at the European Athletics Championships in Munich over the previous 7-days.
Munich will be remembered for some time by Irish athletics fans, with this edition providing Ireland’s most successful ever European Athletics Championships.
The medals marked the many high points this week, adding to the record-breaking performances of Rhasidat Adeleke in the 400m, and the 4x400m team of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke, and Sharlene Mawdsley in the relay final.
Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
In all, this Irish team secured a record-breaking ELEVEN top-8 finishes, with a further 3 top 10 placings also secured across the course of the week. Ireland’s previous best total of top-8 placings at a European Championships was 6, which was achieved in 1998 & 2002.
Speaking earlier today as the team departed Munich, Paul McNamara - Athletics Ireland Director of High Performance, detailed how the signs that Munich could deliver something tangible were there, and that team management "were not surprised" by what unfolded.
He said "This has been growing for championship after championship. We had a World Championships in Eugene earlier this year, time zones and lack of television coverage meant it didn't get the same shop window but, if you look at the numbers, there was significant improvement on previous championships in Doha and London.”
"Prior to that, you look at other key events. We hosted the European Cross-Country Championships at the Sport Ireland Campus in December last. We finished third in the points table behind Great Britain and France - the superpowers of European Athletics.”
"It was the most successful champs we've ever had - incremental improvement over the last number of champs. This has been growing for some time. Team management were not surprised at all by the success this week. We were expecting a really comprehensive result throughout the entire team. We had 25 athletes with an A standard - the toughest A standard ever imposed by European Athletics.”
"Thirty individual athletes had the B standard which we imposed, the toughest standard that we've ever had. There is comprehensive, systemic progress throughout the sport at the elite level."
Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Athletics Ireland CEO, Hamish Adams also spoke of his pride in the athletes who represented Ireland over the last 7-days, as well as the work that is being done by the Athletics Ireland High-Performance team to consistently deliver finalists and medals. He said: “We are very proud of the excellence shown by all our team in Munich, these results are genuinely special and illustrate the rising standards being delivered across all areas of our sport. We have a mission to consistently deliver finalists and medals at international level and we have a clear strategy to achieve this mission. This Championship reflects the excellence that Paul McNamara our High Performance Director and his team are delivering together with all our coaches, members, officials, and staff. Our team mix of youth and experienced athletes has contributed to the fearless racing we have witnessed throughout this week.”
Some more of our #Munich2022 stars arriving back at @DublinAirport this afternoon 🤩🇮🇪
Well done to you all 👏🤩#IrishAthletics pic.twitter.com/P1mktYvRTW— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 22, 2022
Munich 2022 Medal Summary:
- Silver Ciara Mageean 1500m (Time - 4.02.56)
Irish National Record Summary (Broken in Munich):
- Rhasidat Adeleke 400m (Time 50.53)
- Women’s 4x400m Relay – Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley (Time - 3.26.06)
Munich 2022 Top 8 Summary:
- Fionnuala McCormack – Marathon – 7th
- Women’s Marathon Team – 5th
- Rhasidat Adeleke – 400m – 5th
- Women’s 4x400m Team – 6th
- Ciara Mageean – 1500m – 2nd
- Louise Shanahan – 800m – 8th
- Sarah Lavin 100mH – 5th
TEAM IRELAND RESULTS SUMMARY
- Fionnuala McCormack – Marathon – 7th
- Ann Marie McGlynn – Marathon – 29th
- Aoife Cooke – Marathon – 34th
- Women’s Marathon Team – 5th
- Rhasidat Adeleke – 400m – 5th
- Phil Healy – 400m – 31st
- Sharlene Mawdsley – 400m – 27th
- Women’s 4x400m Team – 6th
- Ciara Mageean – 1500m – 2nd
- Sarah Healy – 1500m – 22nd
- Michelle Finn – 3000m SC – 14th
- Eilish Flanagan – 3000m SC – 24th
- Roisin Flanagan – 5000m – 14th
- Louise Shanahan – 800m – 8th
- Sarah Lavin 100mH – 5th
