For an Olympic year there is something worryingly low key about this weekend’s National Track and Field Championships in Santry, some of the main contenders for Rio there not so much to prove their form but simply find it.
Events elsewhere, particularly Euro 2016, may be grabbing all the attention anyway, but it’s certainly worrying that neither Mark English or Thomas Barr have yet to race at all this summer.
Both athletes fell just a couple of places short of making their respective finals at last year’s World Championships in Beijing, English running 1:45.55 to finish fifth in his 800m semi-final.
At 23 he’s still only coming into his prime, and is definitely Olympic final material, the only problem being a stress fracture in his foot, sustained when he stepped into a pothole while training around UCD back in March.
That meant a two-month lay off and, while English has now resumed normal training, the lack of racing remains a concern. He’ll get a good test this weekend – Declan Murray from Clonliffe Harriers is sure to push him all the way – and English is also targeting next month’s European Championships in Amsterdam to help fast-track his preparations for Rio.
Likewise for Barr, also still 23 and at his best also a potential Olympic finalist in the 400m hurdles. The recurrence of a hip injury has hampered his training for the last 10 weeks, specifically the hurdle work and, while he too is back at full tilt now, only a race will reveal exactly where’s he at: Barr ran 48.71 seconds in his semi-final in Beijing last summer, not far off his Irish record of 48.65, and there’s still hope he can get back into that sort of territory before Rio. Good form Things have been going a lot smoother for Ciara Mageean, qualified for Rio in the 1,500, who has already shown good form in a couple of early races. Among those still knocking on the door of Rio qualification are Rose-Anne Galligan and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner in the women’s 800m, only two hundredths of a second separating them on the season’s list, 2:02.35 to 2:02.37.
Kerry O’Flaherty, Michelle Finn, and Sara Treacy – all Rio bound in the 3,000m steeplechase – will also fight it out for the national title, while the men’s 400m will help decide the relay team for Amsterdam and potentially Rio as well, with David Gillick hoping his decision to come out of retirement proves fruitful.
