Mark English (800m) Maeve O’Neill (800m) and Bori Akinola (60m) all advanced to semi-finals of their respective events on the opening morning of the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland.
English (Finn Valley AC) who turned 33 this week, cruised through his heat of the Men’s 800m in 1:46.42. The Donegal man took control of the race in the closing 400m to seal his semi-final spot.
“I was looking around a bit on that final lap, I knew there was good guys in that race…I’m happy to come away with the win,” he said. “For me every championship I go to is the most important it doesn’t matter what level it’s at. I put the head down after Tokyo (World Championships) last year, I wanted to do my form justice.”
O’Neill (Doheny AC) learned that she had made the Women’s 800m semi-final in the mixed zone. Having initially finished third in her heat in 2:03.20 she was advanced to next round after Valery Tobias (USA) was disqualified. The 22-year-old who recently broke the Irish indoor record (2:00.33) will now prepare to race again tomorrow.
“I’m over the moon. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be disqualified, I didn’t see what happened. It’s a big shock but to try and make a semi-final was my aim. That’s huge for me,” she said.
Earlier in the session Akinola (UCD AC) had got the Irish off to a strong start at the championships. Despite a 6:30am alarm, his time of 6.59 seconds was enough to automatically advance to the semi-finals of the Men’s 60m later this evening.
“I’m happy the clock was sub-6.60, it’s my quickest round opener all season,” he told Athletics Ireland afterwards. “I’m happy out. This was early. We’ve the rest of the day to go back, rest, relax, eat, stay hydrated and come back for the semi-final. I’ve outperformed my best time from Apeldoorn (European Indoors) last year. I’m off to a great start, hopefully I can lower it again.”
Emma Moore (Galway City Harriers) made her senior international debut in the heats of the Women’s 800m, clocking 2:02.00 to finish fifth, missing out on a semi-final spot. The 21-year-old was optimistic about what the future holds.
“I stood there on the line and felt like I belonged,” she said. “I need to sharpen the elbows, get more confident taking positions. The team have been a huge help…I’m proud of my performance and proud of how I handled myself, huge experience gained.”
James Gormley (Carmen Runners) will race in the heats of the Men’s 1500m this evening at 6:04pm, before Bori Akinola returns to action for the semi-finals of the Men’s 60m at 7:30pm.
Bori Akinola (UCD AC) bowed out of the World Athletics Championships at the semi-final stage this evening, finishing sixth in his 60m semi-final in a time of 6.60 seconds, which was not enough to see him progress to this evening’s final (March 20th).
Speaking after his race, the UCD sprinter acknowledged his disappointment but also reflected on how the indoor season has marked a significant step forward for him. He said, “To be honest, I’m disappointed. I know I can do better. That was not the plan coming in here; that’s not how I felt in the warm-up. My PB would have made the final, and my goal was to make it through.
“Overall, it was a good season. I ran times I didn’t dream about at the start of the year, but the standard has gone up and so have my expectations. I finished the indoor season healthy, and I’ve got to be grateful for that.”
Akinola had clocked 6.59 seconds in this morning’s heats, with this evening’s performance rounding out a hugely impressive championship campaign as he now looks ahead to what promises to be an exciting outdoor season.
Earlier in the session, James Gormley (Carmen Runners) competed in the men’s 1500m heats, finishing ninth in his heat in a time of 3:50.71, which was not enough to progress.
Speaking after the race, Gormley – who had put himself in contention up until the final lap, said, “My plan was to get to the front and click off at a steady rhythm. I was happy with the execution up until the last lap, but when the move came, I had no legs. This is my first international championship experience in the 1500m at senior level, so I’ll learn a lot for sure. I can only try and come back better.”
Tomorrow morning will once again see the sprinters lead off proceedings for Team Ireland, with Lauren Roy (Fast Twitch AC) and Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) set to take to the 60m blocks from 10:05am Irish time.
Roy has been in sparkling form this season, recently recording a personal best of 7.19 seconds to move joint second on the Irish all-time list for the event. It is likely she will have to go even faster if she is to secure one of the top three automatic qualifying places in the second of tomorrow’s 60m heats (10:12am).
Neville, meanwhile, has lowered her personal best on three occasions this season and will have her sights set on repeating the feat in a stacked fifth heat (10:33am). The women’s 60m semi-finals and final are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Rounding out tomorrow’s morning session for Team Ireland will be the semi-finals of the women’s and men’s 800m. Maeve O’Neill (Doheny AC) looked at home on the world stage in today’s heats, and another bold showing can be expected in her semi-final, set for an 11:22am start.
Mark English (Finn Valley AC) cruised through his heat of the men’s 800m in 1:46.42 and will head into tomorrow’s semi-final full of confidence as he goes in search of his first world final (12:08pm).
The evening session will see the first of the Irish finalists in action this weekend, with Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) and Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) both heading into the 3000m final with strong rankings. The duo will line up in the 15-man final at 6:22pm Irish time.
*Subject to advancing
Full results from the championships are available HERE.
