Athletics 2021

Hearing of Ocotber 3rd in Raheny as a possible date for the Road Relays.....same weekend as the National Marathon Champs; a date clash would not surprise me based on AI being involved.

Would usually have been the date for Dublin Novice; not holding out much hope for Dublin XC this year.

I thought the racing on the track last night was very exciting. The obsession of pace makers and pacing lights makes things a little boring sometimes in my opinion. I wasn't a fan of the city based events on Thursday in general, but the women's high jump was great.

The women's 200,400h, 800, 1500 were very good. The men's 100, 200, 800, 1500 and steeplechase were all very good racers imho.

The field events weren't great, but that's often down to the coverage rather than competition itself. I thought Duplantis was going to do it....

Has anybody every travelled to Zurich for the finals? Are tickets hard to come by?

Not going to wade into the controversy around Niyonsaba. I’ll just say that I’m a little sad to see Sonia’s world best for 2K finally go. I know it’s a rarely run distance, but it’s a testament to her prowess, how long it actually lasted.

The Ethiopian who finished fourth in the 1500m in Tokyo was two seconds outside Sonia’s time. Makes me wonder how competitive she would be if she were at her peak today. My sense is that she would still be a potential medalist at 1500m and 5000m, and would surely win several diamond league races over 3000m.

Slightly off topic, but Sonia has been coaching Konstanze Klosterhalfen as she returns to racing around Europe this summer. I read an interview in the German media, in which KK mentioned that she really values Sonia’s input and that it’s been a tremendous help to her on her journey back from a serious stress fracture.

Absolutely nothing from aai on the road relays 3rd of Oct, which is barely over 2wks away. I'm gonna assume this isn't going to happen then either?

Finally confirmed today

The team will not be picked until the national championships are held, so nothing to do with the autumn International.

Agree 100% with Sonia. AI have been very slow about advertising the euros.

Ian O Riordan remarked this on twitter a while ago.

Does it not seem very late to make a selection decision?

Anyways, really looking forward to seeing how it goes- Stephanie Cotter still in u23. Sarah Healy and Efrem Gidey also in u23 category - both a year younger than the competition, not sure how much difference the extra year makes at that age, I wouldnt imagine its that significant.

Who are the other Irish athletes to look out for?

Or to be fair that a large cross country event absolutely destroyed the ground and that it wouldnt be ready in time for the Euros.

that would leave it perfect so. something like Belgium in 2001 would be nice.

https://youtu.be/g9zsKEukhCg

Nice little run from Gidey this morning. Sub 3 min/kms all the way. She must like Valencia!! I think men's and women's marathon records will go there in the next two or three years. Is it too late for Kipchoge and Bekele? New generation maybe.