An special two days of athletics came to a close in fitting fashion as the stars of Irish track and field delivered a dramatic finale at the 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships in front of a sold-out Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena on Sunday.
Day two showcased the very best of domestic athletics, with dramatic track finals dominating an afternoon session broadcast live for the first time on Virgin Media 2.
Earlier in the day, however, it was Kate O’Connor who set the tone with one of the standout performances of the championships in the women’s long jump.
O’Connor produced a stunning opening-round leap of 6.50m — a personal best and a new championship record — to bring the thousands in attendance to their feet. The mark moves her to third on the Irish all-time list and capped a remarkable weekend following her personal best of 8.21 seconds in Saturday’s 60m hurdles.
“I’ve been training well and I was never going to enter myself into something I’m not training well in,” she said. “It’s one thing doing well in training, but another thing to come out and do it when you’re under the pressure of competition. You’ve three chances to put in a good attempt as a multi-eventer, so I’m delighted I put that jump in on my first attempt.”
Reflecting on her progress, O’Connor added: “Last year I made leaps and bounds forward, but I ended last year knowing I had so much more potential. I didn’t feel in any way that I had maxed out any of the events and that’s what we’ve been working on all winter. This is my job now and I’m working towards my goals for 2026.”
The afternoon session was headlined by gripping 3000m finals which saw Nick Griggs and Louise Shanahan claim gold.
Griggs secured his first senior indoor title in 8:14.52 following a dramatic final lap duel with Darragh McElhinney (8:15.08), after Andrew Coscoran fell on the final bend in a race that had been finely poised.
“It’s special to win my first senior title in the circumstances where it was basically a race-off,” Griggs said. “Who knows what the selectors will do but I’ve secured my auto qualification for the World indoors. There was a lot more pressure on nationals this year — usually you can go out and enjoy it a bit more — so I’m delighted I was able to deliver on my race plan.”
Shanahan timed her finish to perfection in the women’s race, surging through in the closing metres to win in 9:22.47 and add the 3,000m indoor title to last year’s 800m crown. She edged Zoe Toland (9:22.59) and Michelle Finn (9:23.03) in a blanket finish.
The 1500m finals continued the theme of tactical racing and late surges. Lucy Holmes captured her first senior indoor title in 4:31.10 in the women’s race, while Lughaidh Mallon produced one of the finishes of the day in the men’s event, launching a decisive move to pass Luke McCann in the final strides to take gold in 3:43.45.
In the sprints, Sharlene Mawdsley underlined her consistency by claiming a third consecutive national indoor 400m title in 51.89. The men’s 400m saw Sean Doggett withstand immense pressure from Fintan Dewhirst to secure his first senior indoor crown in 47.33.
The short sprints also delivered quality performances. Ciara Neville (7.27) returned to the top of the podium in the women’s 60m, capturing her third national indoor title and her first since 2020. In the men’s equivalent, Bori Akinola (6.60) was in imperious form as he successfully defended his title and maintained his strong early-season momentum ahead of the upcoming World Indoor Championships.
The 800m finals were similarly competitive. Hannah Seagrave claimed her first senior indoor title in the women’s race, while the men’s contest produced another championship highlight as Cillian Kirwan stormed to victory in a new championship record time of 1:47.68.
The day began with the race walks, where Kate Veale secured an extraordinary tenth consecutive national indoor title. Oisín Lane impressed in the men’s event, claiming his first senior indoor crown.
In the field events, Eric Favors broke the championship record in the men’s shot put with 19.57m, while Michaela Walsh claimed her ninth indoor title in succession. Michael Kent retained his men’s pole vault crown with a best clearance of 4.50m.
Image Credit: Athletics Ireland
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