The new athletics track at UCD was officially opened yesterday and it does look very special.
It is over ten years since the old track at Belfield was closed due to maintenance and insurance issues but this is a significant upgrade.
Fully floodlit and with new technology that allows for greater use for training as well as competition, the promise has already seen a doubling in size of the UCD Athletics club.
The fact that includes exciting athletes of the present and future like Sarah Healy and Israel Olatunde suggests that we are on the cusp of a new golden era for athletics in South Dublin.
That Mark English and Ciara Mageean both won medals at the recent European Championships keeps alive the strong tradition of the sport and its student population.
The construction was delayed by Covid but made possible by an anonymous philanthropic donation of €3 million back in 2018.
Now the fruits of that have been made physical, in a much better location as well at the Sports Centre end of the campus, adjacent to the pitches for Hockey, football and Gaelic Games, the Belfield Bowl and the Leinster Rugby facility.
