2024 – Looking back at our exceptional year

by Perri Williams

The Italian crowds were screaming in excitement at the feats of their national hero Gianmarco Tamberi, at the accomplishments of Nadia Battocletti, at the speed of Marcell Jacobs and the relay team – the deafening noise of the Italian euphoria. Beneath this Italian bubble the European Track and Field Championships in Rome in some small way marked a turning point for the 2024 Irish athletics scene. Athletics enthusiasts will always follow the Irish team; however the general public seem to be awakened from under a shroud of oblivion to what was actually happening in the world of Irish athletics. The gold medal from our mixed relay team with that look of shock on Sharlene Mawdsley’s face as she realized that even the might of Femke Bol was not able to surpass her as she crossed the line to take the team to victory. The women’s 4x400 silver. Then of course there was Ciara Mageean her long arms outstretched as wide as they could go as if to invite the crowd to come into her world of joy and achievement – her first European Gold. The silver medal from Rhasidat Adeleke, a new national record – while she would have loved to have had the gold, the Irish audiences whole heartedly embraced the silver. Irish people rediscovered an interest in the hammer as young Nicola Tuthill made the European final. Yes, Rome was a turning point. From those, early June days right through to the Olympics in August and beyond, our nation was turning its interests towards Athletics.

The Start
But the athletics year had unfolded many months before. Rhasidat Adeleke kickstarted 2024 back in January with a new Irish Indoor 60m and 200m record. Before long there was a 13.12 min national record over 5000m from Andrew Coscoran and a 20.18m national record in the shot putt from Eric Favours. Reece Ademola leaped 7.93 in Ostrava. Then fourteen more records tumbled, all before February had a chance to wave goodbye. A hint of the 2024 that was.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow unveiled further progress. Coveted beneath the subsequent success lay a number of potentials. Our ladies 4x400m relay team finished fifth in the final, without our fastest athlete. Sarah Lavin was 5th in the 60m hurdles final. While Sarah Healy may have wobbled towards the 1500m finishing line and Sharlene Mawdsley may have received a DQ that put her out of the 400m final – the signs were there. Then came the Bahamas. That wonderful bronze medal from the Mixed 4x400m team of Rhasidat Adeleke, Tomas Barr, Sharlene Mawdsley and Cillian Green. Plus our future championship qualification for our men and ladies 4x400m was secured. 
Irish racewalking was getting legs of its own too. The largest ever field turned up in the National Junior Indoors with the volume replicated at the National Seniors. It was not just quantity, there was quality too. Kate Veale (West Waterford) was performing like never before, Oisin Lane (Mullingar) aiming for a major qualification and the younger athletes like Seamus Clarke, Matthew Newell and Savannah O’Callaghan started the new year with u18 standards within their reach. Five Irish racewalkers competed in the World Team Racewalking Championships in Anatalya in Turkey in April; Brendan Boyce, Kate Veale, Oisin Lane, Joe Mooney, and Seamus Clarke. The mixed relay Olympic qualification was not to be for Kate and Brendan, but they did get another opportunity later in June. A 1:24.12 from Oisin Lane looked promising in the 20km. A month later his 1:23.14 in La Coruna, Spain sealed his European Championship qualification. Seamus Clarke (Moy Valley) had already achieved his European u18 standards. In fact a trip to the Andalusian Championships in Guadix in February saw both Savannah O’Callaghan and Matthew Newell (Tuam) grab their u18 European qualifications – ensuring three walkers their spot for the Slovakian venue in July.

The Middle
At home the IMC meets were jam packed with personal bests and those achieving standards. Cillian Gleeson and Noah Harris along, Sean Doggett, Pia Langton, Saoirse Fitzgerald and Jennifer O’Leary all taking their u18 standards. Then in Belfast Sophie Becker gave a glance to her left as she crossed the line and looked in disbelief at the clock. She had made the individual 400m standard for Rome. Conor Penny (Craughwell) never stopped raising the bar it seemed. The Tailteann Games saw him rise further and further to take the gold medal, records and qualification spots for various internationals. At the same venue Thomas Williams was rewriting history books over and over again. Each of his hammer throws surpassed the old record and put him firmly in the World and European number 1 spot for the u18 Hammer. 
Irish athletes were racing all over Europe and gaining qualification standards, setting personal bests. All the time raising the bar and profile of our athletics scene back here at home. The general public followed with interest. By the time the national championships were held at the end of June, Santry Stadium was filled to capacity – the largest crowd ever. They came to see the unsung heroes of our sport, to pay homage to the success they had achieved and see a little bit of what was happening on the global stage for themselves. True to form Sarah Lavin won the hurdles, Nicola Tuthill the Hammer, Adeleke the 100m and in record time too. Cathal Doyle took the gold in a thrilling 1500m, and it looked like he would be joining Andrew Corcoran at the Olympics. Mark English was crowned the 800m champion while Joe Burke managed to squeeze in some qualification standards in the 200m. Sarah Healy stepped down to the 800m, beating Louise Shanahan to the line. This left Sophie O’Sullivan to take the 1500m title. The ever-improving Jodie McCann was crowned the 5000m champion for the first time. Brian Fay retained his 5000m men’s title. Elizabeth Ndudi and Reece Ademola took the Long Jump honours. Kate Veale and Oisin Lane won the walking golds. 
The u18s excelled themselves at the European u18 Championships in Slovakia. Every day brought new success stories with the public interest moving focus from the seniors to these rising stars in tandem. Cian Crampton set the wheels in motion with a bronze in the discus. After a scare in the qualification rounds Thomas Williams was crowned European Champion in the hammer. His was just one of three medals won by Irish athletes that day; Accompanying Williams on that winning roster was Conor Kelly and Joe Burke who took bronze in the 400m and 200m respectively. A fifth medal was added as Seamus Clarke secured silver in the racewalking. Five medals – the athletics fraternity was watching in glee.

The Second part of the Middle
The juveniles had their success stories too. While not under the same national gaze as their more senior counterparts, the talent at juvenile level was obvious. Names like Freya Renton and Darragh Whelan, runaway success stories at 1,500m. Theo Hanlon, Lavr Malejevr and Kieran Kane in the shot putt. Jamie Hyland in the pole vault and our sprinting stars from Tallaght AC. Along with the u18s who had already taken part in the Europeans; all contributed to the rising standards of our juveniles. Conor Penny, Enya Silkena, Caoimhe Gallen, Sophie Maher, Pia Langton, Eimear Purtill, Kieran Brosnan, Georgia Mysercough, Sean Doggett, Meabh Caffery, Mattias Quaglia – so many more that could be mentioned. 
The Cork City Sports, morphed into the Morton Games. Athletes signed endless hours of autographs. Sarah Lavin, Sharlene Mawdsley, Louise Shanahan, Thomas Barr – just how many selfies did they pose for? The home crowds loved them. The crowds of supporters engulfing the athletes for selfies and autographs after the domestic races are one of my enduring memories of 2024. “Give me your number” was no longer a proposition – but an actual request for a relic of the occasion. The athlete’s race number serving as a reminder of the encounters with their hero’s.
The u20 and u23 championships also gave the nation a taste of rising standards. The u20s especially had the World Championships in mind. Double victory for Sean Quinn in the 5,000m and Steeplechase heralded his arrival on the distance scene. Daisy Walker booked her place for Peru as she finished runner up to Niamh Murray in the 400m. While the men’s u20 400m was a battle of the giants. Sean Doggett who had performed so brilliantly at the IMC in Belfast earlier this summer and managed to bag a place on the men’s 4x400m senior relay for Rome, ceded victory to European u18 bronze medallist Conor Kelly. Fintan Dewhurst was superb in the 400m hurdles. Oisin Joyce set a new Championship record of 70.56 in the Javelin ahead of his World Championships u20 bronze.
As the u20s were preparing for the World Championships the Olympic Games took center stage. They eyes of five million Irish people and the diaspora were glued to the games. Rowing, boxing, swimming, gymnastics – an eclectic mix of sports amassed the medals. While Track and Field did not obtain any medals – that does not mean it was without its glory. Rashidat Adeleke finished 4th in a very fast 400m, with a time that in any other Olympics would have meant a medal. The ladies 4x400m team finished fourth in the final. They came away with a new Irish record and while the ladies may have been heartbroken at not securing a medal – their performance was probably above expectations. Elsewhere Cathal Doyle must have been the only non-sponsored athlete that toed the line in the 1500m – something that surely has changed since. And Sophie O’Sullivan salvaged a mediocre early season into a peak performance when it was needed – securing the 2025 World Championships standard in the process. For others there will be reflections, changes and in some cases increased motivation for the next few years. 
Oisin Joyce provided the perfect curtain drop to an amazing track and field season for Ireland. His bronze medal was the icing on the cake for not only his consistent performances over the last three years but Ireland’s summer 2024 accomplishments.

The End
Then began Cross-Country. The now short season, sped by with the blink of an eye. Numbers were high in the Nationals this year. 205 Junior men finished their 4,500m race in Enniskillen. The senior men had similar numbers. It has been a while since we saw these kinds of numbers The junior men was a competitive race – showcasing the depth of talent that exists at u20 at the moment. Jonas Stafford outsprinted the man of the season Sean Quinn to re-ignite the form and present he had in 2023.  It was what earned him a top ten Euro-cross performance in 2023. Frank McGrath surprised many with his silver medal. Keelin Kilrehill was magnificent as he left his opponents behind to take his first ever national cross-country title. Equally magnificent was 20-year-old Niall Murphy in second place. Anne Marie McGlynn was shocked as she found herself leading the field towards the latter stages of the race. The 44-year-old Letterkenny AC athlete had just weeks before won the National Marathon. Behind her Niamh Allen – 2 months after giving birth to her baby was another athlete who surprised many. Then we had Lucy Foster who left such big margins between herself and the rest of the field in the Junior ladies – it was easy to think the main race was behind. In the US Waterford’s Ray Treacy and Kilkenny’s Sinead Delahunty coached the Providence College team of mostly Irish athletes to NCAA bronze.
While everything looks highly optimistic for the European Cross-Country Championships – often things just do not go to plan. These athletes had put so much into their racing. Nicholas Griggs, despite his performance in Enniskillen finished second in the u23 European Cross-Country. Shutting up the nay-sayers and giving the nod to those who believed in him. And no – the u20s and u23s did not get the medals that many expected of them in  Turkey. For various reasons their races did not go according to plan. It does not mean you can write them off. It does not mean that they do not have high-performance mentalities. It just means it was not a good day. For many it was their first big major and that can produce all sorts of effects and emotions. Give them time. I for one, believe the best will be to come.
The final national event of the year; The World Athletics Racewalking Tour and National Championships came to Raheny. Over 250 racewalkers, from 30 countries and 4 continents, including two Olympic medallists took part. David Kenny was back. Injury, changes the lot – he got over them and walked to 20km World Tour victory. 
As 2024 chases down its final hours and 2025 is fast closing in, ready to overtake – we can reflect proudly on our athletes and their 2024 accomplishments. We can certainly say we enjoyed their many adventures. We were with them for the highs and indeed the lows too. We felt their disappointment. We felt their joy. 78 national records, the most medals ever at the u18s and European Seniors along with increased spectators. Roll on 2025 we await you.