July was a bumper month for Irish athletics, particularly for the underage and college athletes, who managed to scoop 11 medals at championships, including Kate O'Connor's third medal of the year at the World University Games.
Now it is time for the senior athletes to continue the tally, but it remains to be seen whether September’s World Championships will be quite as fruitful as the indoor season that saw Mark English, Sarah Healy and O’Connor all medalling.
Global championships are understandably tricky to medal in, with Rob Heffernan's 2013 gold the last time Amhrán na bhFiann rang out a World Athletics Championships, will this be the year we hear it again?
The first hurdle for those aiming for this year’s only major in Tokyo is the national championships taking place on 2 and 3 August at the Morton Stadium in Santry.
Participation is one of the clauses for selection, although history tells us that isn't always the case and every year the absence of a big name causes a stir.
Rhasidat Adeleke's decision to forgo this weekend's nationals with injury trouble doesn't necessarily spell disaster for the rest of her season, and taking time away from the track could well be critical in making the start line in Tokyo.
O'Connor on Friday confirmed she would not be competing as she recovered from her huge heptathlon personal best last month, while Sophie O'Sullivan has also withdrawn to "sort out a pesky niggle".
Nine individuals, including Adeleke, and two relays have automatic qualification standards for Tokyo, with three marathoners already selected.
Admittedly, there is slightly less at stake than in 2024, where Olympic qualification hung in the balance for the likes of Sophie Becker and Jodie McCann, on what was the final opportunity for securing points towards their rank, but it still promises to be a drama-filled weekend.
The qualification period will remain open for three weeks after nationals and fewer athletes are on the cusp, but there will be a few chasing points to make the start line at the worlds in the weeks following the national championships.
Darragh McElhinney is the closest of those on that cusp, currently sitting in 48th place on the global rankings, just six spots outside qualifying for the 5000m.
The Bandon native isn’t entered in the 12.5-lap event and instead will drop down to the metric mile which looks like it could be the highest quality race of the championship, provided everyone turns up that is, which may be the running theme of the weekend.
Men’s 1500m
Two men have all but booked their tickets for worlds in the 1500m, Cathal Doyle and Andrew Coscoran, both have the automatic qualifying time of 3:33.00 ticked off this year already.
The absence of Luke McCann following knee surgery and Nick Griggs’ delayed start to the season, means for the first time since 2021 there won’t be three Irish men in the 1500m at an international outdoor championship.
The event still promises to be the track must-watch of the nationals, with McElhinney and Griggs, who seem to be focusing on the 5k event this year, dropping down to join Doyle and Coscoran in the fight for the title.
Both Griggs and McElhinney are entered in a fast 5000m next weekend in Belgium and the 1500m at nationals will be a suitable tune-up.
Shane Bracken is one to keep an eye on, having claimed his first Irish vest this year at the European Team Championships in June where he finished an impressive third.
The 27-year-old may be hoping to avenge his fourth-place finish in last year’s final so look out for the red and black vest of Swinford down the home straight.
Coscoran was also entered in the 5000m but subtly stated his intention to run in the 1500m in an Instagram post yesterday, and could be feeling confident after beating Doyle earlier this month.
With five or six men in the frame for the medals and Doyle fresh from an 800m personal best in Luxembourg it could be a cagey affair.
Doyle will be determined to settle the score against the national record holder who beat him in the famous Morton Mile earlier this month, and a determined Doyle is hard to beat.
Women’s 400m
With potentially six places on offer for the women’s side of the relays in Tokyo, tensions will be high for the one-lap sprint final on Sunday evening, as head-to-heads are critical in team selection decisions.
Sharlene Mawdsley is entered in both the 200m and 400m for the two-day championship, and based on previous patterns the 26-year-old will choose which one rather than double-up.
Mawdsley will be hoping to claim her third national title with possibly some inspiration drawn from Tipp's All-Ireland heroics two weeks ago, she is ranked second in the nation this year with her 50.93 season's best from the European Team Championships.
Three out of four from last year’s Olympic 4x400m squad are entered, and with Rhasidat Adeleke absent from the national championships with "additional lingering setbacks" according to a statement she made on X yesterday, it leaves Becker, Mawdsley and Phil Healy in the fight for the title.
Becker is reigning champion in the event and after battling back from injury over the winter had an impressive early showing with an individual clocking of 51.69 as well as a strong leg at the World Relays.
She has since revealed a subsequent injury set-back, but has returned to racing and will require a tough challenger to take her title on the track she trains on with the Dublin Sprint training group.
Healy is a bit of an unknown entity, and Saturday's heats will be her first individual outdoor 400m race of the year, but she has recently tested her speed over the 100m and 200m at the Cork City Sports event.
There could be stiff competition for the minor places from young stars breaking through.
Erin Friel will be riding high from a bronze medal and personal best in the European Youth Olympic Festival in North Macedonia last week and along with Jenna Breen, who is ranked sixth in the country this year, they could both be underrated potential medallists.
Women's 800m
Sarah Healy will be hopeful of retaining her 800m national title and there is a possibility of the same exhibition display that she did indoors, where she broke the championship record in the heats.
The European indoor champion explained why she has chosen the two-lap event for her first home race since wining the title: "I have raced so many 1500s this year and it's very rare I get a chance to run an 800 and it will probably be a good quality field at nationals and it's a good chance for me to challenge myself in a different way," Healy told RTÉ Sport.
Healy currently leads the Diamond League and won the Rome event in June.
"I've been really lucky to do all the Diamond Leagues this year but I've just raced a lot of times, a lot of 1500ms.
"I've a few more Diamond Leagues coming up so it just seemed like a good opportunity and I'm just lucky I am able to come and do it at home. Normally, running an 800 brings me on a lot in the 1500m."
Jenna Bromell from Emerald AC, who has been knocking on the door of the two-minute barrier, could be Healy's main challenger and is the national lead in the event this year, along with Maeve O'Neill and Alex O'Neill who both have personal bests well under 2:03.
Hannah Seagrave makes her debut at an Irish national championship in the Clonliffe colours. She won a bronze medal with Great Britain at the European U23 Championships in 2017 and broke two minutes for the first time last year.
Seagrave has begun the process of transferring allegiance to Ireland through World Athletics but is waiting on approval from the global governing body.
A notable omission from the entries this year, is seven-time national champion Louise Shanahan who hasn't missed an outdoor nationals since 2020, but the field in the women's 800m is undoubtedly the strongest since the 2021 season.
Men’s 800m
Mark English looks well on his way to 18th national title. The five-time European medallist hasn't been beaten at a national championship since 2013, when he entered the 400m, and has broken his own national record twice this year already.
The event he will choose isn't clear cut, as English is listed for both the 400m and 800m.
In the two-lap race there could be pressure from Cian McPhillips who has recovered from injury to be among those that have the automatic mark for Tokyo, running 1:44.19 at the Morton games earlier this month.
McPhillips and English have a gap on the rest of the field but one to watch is Carrickfergus-born Andrew Thompson, who like Seagrave is running in his first Irish National Championships.
Thompson has had an unusual journey to the track, from essentially a fun runner, to becoming a 1:46 800m runner in the span of two years.
The 25-year-old ran his first ever track race last year after being spotted by an athletics coach in his local park, and a medal at these championships would round off his impressive initial step into competitive running.
Men’s 100m
The fastest race of the championship once again promises to bring a host of in-form athletes head-to-head.
The 4x100m national record has been broken on two occasions already this year, showing the current depth in men's sprinting in Ireland.
Israel Olatunde will be eyeing his fifth-straight outdoor championship title and will want to re-affirm his sprint crown having missed out on the indoor title earlier this year to the ever-improving Bori Akinola.
Last year's battle between the two was one to remember, with Olatunde just edging Akinola by 0.02 of a second.
Olatunde does have the edge in the 100m event this season, having run 10.23 to Akinola's 10.25.
Others to watch include last year's bronze medallist Sean Agiboboh and Michael Farrelly who have both played a role in the record-breaking 4x100m squad this year.
Women’s 200m
If Mawdsley opts for the 200m there is the possibility of a rare match-up with 100m hurdle record holder Sarah Lavin on Saturday afternoon.
Lavin usually goes for a 100m, 100m hurdle double but is entered in the 200m as well, which is more favourable with this year's timetable.
Lauren Roy is fresh from the World University Championships where she made the semi-finals and will be hoping to return to the podium at a national championship for the first time since 2022.
The Antrim-born athlete has been in fine form this year taking 0.27 of a second off her previous best this season.
With three of the top four in this year's Irish rankings entered the women's 200m could be an exciting watch on the first day of the championship.
Field events
The field events can't be missed with Nicola Tuthill the headline act away from the track action.
Tuthill has claimed two silver medals in the space of ten days at the European U23 Championships and the University Games and depending on how well recovery has gone, will cap off an impressive few weeks at the national championships.
There is further interest in the women's long throws in new discus national record holder Niamh Fogarty and European U23 finalist Anna Gavigan.
On the men's side Eric Favours will be searching for the B standard set by Athletics Ireland of 20.40m in the men's shot put.
The Paris Olympian is just inside the quota, but will need to find another 20 centimetres to be considered for selection for the World Championships.
Watch the National Athletics Championships on Saturday and Sunday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
