The announcement last month that Rhasidat Adeleke would not be contesting the World Athletics Championships was a blow to Ireland's hopes in the biggest competition of the year.
With more eyes on the sport than ever and the most successful indoor season on record at the start of the year, ambitions were high going into the 2025 outdoor season but Adeleke’s below-par start and the devastating reason behind Ciara Mageean’s non-involvement this year meant morale took a dip.
All however is not lost. Indoor medallists Mark English, Sarah Healy and Kate O’Connor look set to make their mark on the global stage in what is one of the most challenging championships for athletes to come away with silverware.
It’s important to put into perspective the challenge the 28-strong squad face travelling to Tokyo.
Ireland have only won six medals in the 49-year history of these championships, with Rob Heffernan the last to make a global outdoor podium in 2013.
There are also the weather conditions to consider. Temperatures look set to increase just as the action kicks off. Humidity of 87% will make it feel like 37C on Sunday afternoon but by the time Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker hit the track for their individual 400m heats, it will almost feel mild at 30C.
The road events at the championships have already been affected by the sweltering conditions and the men's 35k racewalk and women's marathon have been pushed 30 minutes earlier, but whether that will have any real impact remains to be seen.
It’s just 12 months on from Paris and back to the city that saw one of the strangest Olympics on record. No crowds, mask wearing, daily testing and everything in between, but it could be time for some to make amends or provide a stark reminder of the challenges of that year.
With elevated expectations, it will take more than one or two finalists to set the nation alight but it is certain this is among one of the strongest teams sent to a World Championships in modern history.
Men’s 800m
Mark English has been subject to many a fine wine joke this year, and for good reason.
The Donegal man is in fantastic form and shows no signs of slowing down. Running six of the fastest times of his career in the last 12 months is no mean feat for someone who ran in their first world championships 12 years ago.
The 32-year-old has broken his own national record three times this season, lowering it to 1:43.37 in Hungary last month, and seems be in a new era of his career under new coach Justin Rinaldi but enters these World Championships ranked 14th on season's best, which may be a surprise to some.
The men’s 800m has always been among the events with the most depth, but English has proved himself in championship scenarios on so many occasions that despite his ranking, an English-free final in Tokyo seems unlikely.
For context, this is the first year in history that 15 men have run sub 1:43 for the two-lap event, a club English may need to join to get that coveted final spot.
A 1:42 man English won't have to worry about is his training partner and second-ranked in the world this year, Josh Hoey.
The American athlete missed out on making his first outdoor championship having finished fourth in the notoriously tough US trials.
Cian McPhillips will be competing in his first global championships in Tokyo and qualification to the semi-final is a realistic target.
Two 1:44 clockings this year indicate the Longford native is on his way to launching his senior outdoor career after winning gold at the European Junior Championships in 2021 and representing Ireland twice at indoor championships.
Women’s heptathlon
Kate O’Connor is the best ranked of the Irish in Tokyo in fifth, but there could be strong performances from those who are unranked or yet to compete this year in the women's multi-event.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson was due to compete in her first heptathlon since winning silver in Paris at the famed multi-event meeting in Gotzis but she was forced to withdraw with injury. The defending world champion has a wildcard entry.
There will be stiff competition for podium places in a fast-improving event. American Anna Hall overcame a broken foot and knee surgery to compete in Paris, where she finished fifth and another year of training under her belt makes her a dangerous threat to long-time podium toppers Johnson-Thompson and Belgian Nafi Thiam.
Hall has an impressive 800m personal best of 2:01.23 and could likely make it as a world class 400m hurdler with a sub 54-second clocking, which she ran in 2023.
The diversity of Hall will make her difficult to overcome in Tokyo and O’Connor will need to be on her game to contend by maximising the events she excels in like the javelin, where Hall is five metres off O'Connor's best of 52.92m.
The Dundalk woman already has a full complement of medals in 2025 and a top-five finish would be an impressive way to end her breakout season. O'Connor may have loftier ambitions but she is keeping those under wraps for now.
Women’s 1500m
Sarah Healy is well placed to make her first outdoor global final in Tokyo. The European Indoor 3000m champion is ranked tenth in the world this year and is fresh from a 800m personal best as well as an eighth-place finish in the Diamond League final last month.
Healy has had a consistent season after winning her first title, running 3:57 on three occasions and looks poised to take another large chunk off that which could challenge Mageean’s Irish record of 3:55.87 set in 2023.
However, she is ranked lower than Mageean was in the same year when she finished an agonising fourth at the last Worlds in Budapest and possibly Healy's 10th place ranking coming in may be indicative of her final position.
Sophie O’Sullivan is the other Irish entry. It was revealed in the Irish Times that the 23-year-old was dealing with a bone stress reaction, which may explain the mere three races between her history-making NCAA title in June and now.
On her last outing, the NCAA 1500m champion ran 2:11.77 for the two-lap event, which may indicate she still has to find fitness.
O'Sullivan is a gutsy competitor, running a personal best in the heats of the Olympics last year and finishing fourth in her repechage, but her form coming into Paris last year was significantly better. The 23-year-old ran 11 seconds quicker over 800m at the same point pre-championships in 2024 and entering the global stage not at your best can be a difficult prospect.
The women's 1500m field is stacked as usual with Faith Kipyegon leading the charge having run a world record for the event of 3:48.68 in July.
There is also a question mark whether Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji will participate, as the third ranked athlete in the world this year is facing an appeal from the Athletics Integrity Unit. An Ethiopian panel cleared her of a violation relating to failure or refusal to submit and anti-doping sample but the AIU has filed a case with CAS and a decision is expected before the heats on Saturday.
Women's hammer throw
Throwers in Ireland have been having a bit of a moment and Nicola Tuthill has been leading the charge.
The 21-year-old made her first senior championships last year, where she made the final of the European Championships and secured Olympic qualification. This season has been even better with two silver medals coming in the European Under-23 Championships and World University Games in July.
Tuthill is ranked 20th, and while it may seem an impossible feat to make the final, she wasn't too far off the mark in Paris last year.
The Bandon native's best mark of 71.75m from this season would have secured the top-12 placing in qualifying in Paris to make the final.
This year Brooke Anderson of the USA is returning to the 2022 form that saw her take the world title on home soil and has the leading throw this year of 79.29m.
It is important to note that in the last four global championships, 74-75m has been enough for bronze, throws pushing 80m aren't always needed to get on the podium.
4x400m Relays
The loss of Adeleke aside, there are a few other absentees from the Irish relay squad this year. Chris O'Donnell, Phil Healy and Kelly McGrory, who all played roles in last year's relay success, aren't included in the squad travelling to Tokyo.
The mixed 4x400m relay heats and final take place on the opening day of the championships. Ireland have posted two times outdoors this season at the World Relays, where they finished second in their heat to qualify automatically for these championships and are well down the rankings, but given last year's heroics that could well mean nothing.
The squad that posted the nation's 3:12.56 best this year in China could see Becker and Jack Raftery replace Adeleke and Cillín Greene in the line-up.
European Junior champion Conor Kelly and Mawdsley will likely remain in the squad but the latter's participation could be dependent upon her individual 400m hopes, which begin less than 24 hours later. Reviewing Mawdsley's previous championship pattern, running in the mixed relay is likely but not a given.
Becker has also been a later addition to the individual entries after receiving a World Athletics invite following quota reallocation, meaning a busy schedule for both individual runners.
The women's 4x400m sees some new faces. Rachel McCann was a fast finisher behind Becker at the National Championships and looks poised to get a run at a global level.
Clíodhna Manning returns to the squad and is also a likely first choice runner having clocked 52.88 this season. Manning returns to Tokyo having been a reserve for the Olympics in 2021.
Provided they make the final, the women's relay will conclude Ireland's innings at the World Championships on Sunday week, where the success of the team could well be determined.
Watch the World Athletics Championships with RTÉ Sport, beginning at 11.55pm on Friday on RTÉ Player, with television coverage on RTÉ2 every day starting on Saturday from 9.45am
