The 38th edition of the European Indoor Athletics Championships starts today and Ireland's finest are primed to pound the boards in Apeldoorn over four days in the Dutch city, some 70 miles east of Amsterdam.
We are only seven months post-Paris and as expected, there are a few names choosing, or being forced to forgo these championships, which after the buzz or let-down of the Games, depending on who you are, is inevitable.
This championships will see seven Irish athletes make individual senior debuts and has a mix of experience and new faces that will keep fans interested. But athletics is not just about the home stars and there is plenty of excitement about international athletes as well. Jackob Ingebrigtsen and Femke Bol will surely be a draw for all audiences, with Ingebrigtsen going for his third double title. It is a quest not to be missed.
The Netherlands has been an athletics powerhouse for decades and this is the third time the country has hosted the indoor version of the European Championships. The last time Ireland went to the land of windmills and clogs for a track and field championships, Ciara Mageean was the only medallist, this time there will be some confidence in scooping a few more, such has been the progress in the sport.
This will also be the first outing for the Irish team in their newly minted Adidas vests. The first major kit sponsor to come on board with Athletics Ireland since New Balance moved away post-Rio 2016, and marks a new era of sponsor prosperity in the sport, with 123.ie also making contributions. There has yet to be a glimpse of the design, but with a short turnaround between the deal and this championship, it is reported there will be a second, more detailed style chosen for the 2025 outdoor season.
Where to tune in
TV Schedule
Who to watch
Healy in with a shout - women's 3000m
Sarah Healy looks poised to announce herself as an international medallist. Her form this season indicates she is well able to make the podium, but such is the way of championship racing that hanging a medal on her neck before she steps on the track is futile.
The withdrawal of Britain's Laura Muir with a soleus tear sustained in the British trials leaves Healy second on the entry list by season's best, with her national record of 8:30.79 this year just over a second behind Muir's countrywoman Melissa Courtney-Bryant.
Third on the rankings is home favourite Maureen Koster, who claimed a silver in this event ten years ago in Prague. Koster has been agonisingly close to the podium in the last editions of both the outdoor and indoor Europeans over 5000m and 3000m, and at 32 years old and in the form of her life so her experience will be hard to match.
After that there is a ten-second buffer between Healy and fifth-ranked athlete Hannah Nuttal, also from Britain, which bodes well for Healy as she is well ahead of those that will be battling for bronze.
If Healy can keep her head, and the media can resist talking her chances up too much, the final on Sunday evening may well put Ireland out on a high.
Mawdsley seeking revenge after World Indoor DQ - women's 400m
With Femke Bol choosing to contend only the relays at her opportunity for a home championships, this leaves Ireland's Sharlene Mawdsley with one less challenger for a spot in the final.
In last year's World Indoor Championships, Mawdsley secured her final qualification but was subsequently disqualified for 'jostling'. The decision was deemed to be harsh but will leave the Newport native wanting more from this year's European edition.
It is hard to overlook Bol's training partner Lieke Klaver as a favourite, where her well known fast first 200, whether smart or not, is an advantage in claiming the lucrative 'first to the bell' tactic of indoor 400m running.
Klaver will face a new challenge in Norway's Henriette Jaeger, who is the leader in the event for this year having run an impressive 50.44 on the short track this year. Jaeger made the final of the Paris Games and comes from a short sprint background, which will make the first lap of the two-lap race fast and furious.
You also can't forget about Britan's Amber Anning, who is just shy of her 50.43 indoor best from last year and went right to the line with Rhasidat Adeleke in last year's Olympic final, ending up fifth behind the Irish woman.
Mawdsley may be ranked 11th overall but has proved time and time again she can mix it with the big guns at a championship.
Lauren Cadden and Rachel McCann make their senior Irish individual debuts having been added to entries after the reallocation of quota places. It will be a busy schedule for McCann especially, who will contest the heats the morning after the mixed 4x400m relay final on the opening night of the championship.
Ireland's relay chances takes a hit - 4x400m mixed and women's relays
This is the inaugural 4x400m mixed relay at a European indoors and it will be kicking off the championships as the first final on Thursday evening.
Ireland are reigning champions in the outdoor mixed event and will be hoping to make an impact on the indoor version. However, they are fielding a different team to the quartet that won that historic gold in Rome last year.
The wider squad has been hit with injuries and along with Thomas Barr's retirement, the men's side is left to be shouldered by 17-year-old Conor Kelly.
Femke Bol's decision to forgo her individual title and focus on the relays means the Dutch will be hard to better. The pattern of holding the mixed 4x400m event on the first day of a championship may boost early viewership figures, but it does leave athletes with individual ambitions in a quandary. The heats of the women’s 400m are the morning after the mixed relay final but ever faithful Mawdsley has stated her intentions via her Instagram account. She will race, and surely must be hoping for an equally memorable start to this year’s European campaign.
The decisions made by athletes regarding relay responsibilities are personal, but on paper the mixed relay is where Ireland could have the bigger impact. Realistically without Mawdsley's relay prowess, the Irish would be left to challenge for bronze.
Looking at the depth of the women's 4x400m squads listed for Spain, Czech Republic and of course the Netherlands, may cause an intake of breath. All being well, Mawdsley will anchor the women's squad in the final event of the championship on Sunday evening. If Healy can manage a similar split to her exceptional 50-point exploit in Paris, the Irish women will be well in contention for a podium position.
The legacy of the success of the 4x400m relays can't be overstated and a medal at these championships for either squad would cement an already successful team's place in Irish sporting history. So expect to see the hair bows out in force on Thursday and Sunday to continue the impact these women have on the nation's aspiring sports stars.
Middle-distance men to make their mark - Men's 800m, 1500m and 3000m
Mark English already has four European medals to his name and has broken his own 800m national record this season. Joining him again in the event is Longford's Cian McPhillips. McPhillips made his first European indoor appearance back in 2021 aged just 19, and this is his only senior vest since then.
English and McPhillips are ranked third and fourth by season's best respectively and will be likely finalists, if not one of them sneaking onto the podium.
Andrew Coscoran has been reaping the rewards of a change of training set-up, breaking three national records this season so far. Like the 800m men Coscroan is ranked highly on season's best over the 3000m event, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen without a mark this year. Ingebrigtsen will not want to make it a last-lap burn up, which will suit the Irish national record holder. In the same event, James Gormley will be running in an Irish vest for the first time following his confirmed nationality transfer last month.
It is noteworthy that neither English, McPhillips or Coscoran contested the national championships last month, receiving dispensation for either injury or illness. This does place some doubt over their current form given none of the trio have competed since. With the short turnaround between nationals and the Europeans it may not have been compatbile with training plans, which is a debate for another day, but one Sonia O'Sullivan has commented on.
Cathal Doyle makes his European Indoor Championship debut in Apeldoorn, marking only his second major championship at the age of 27. Doyle has recently gone professional, signing a contract with Nike after a hard-fought 2024 season that saw him win the repechage at the Olympics and run a personal best in the semi-final on tired legs. Doyle will likely need to get close to his outdoor best of 3:33.15 to challenge in a stacked field that includes Ingebrigtsen, who is targeting his third 1500m-3000m double in a row at these championships.
Another final on the cards for ambitious Lavin - women's 60m hurdles
Limerick's Sarah Lavin has clearly stated her ambitions to claim a championship medal. Lavin has made three international indoor championship finals in the last three years, improving her position on each occasion, but is slightly off her best with a 7.97 to her name this year. Lavin is likely to also contest the World Indoor Championships at the end of the month in China.
The 31-year-old claimed her seventh indoor title at last month's nationals and despite clipping hurdle one, stayed on her feet and muscled her way to an 8.11 clocking.
The usual big hitters are entered, including home favourite Nadine Visser, fellow seasoned finalist Pia Skrzyszowska and the bronze medallist from the last edition of these championships in Ditaji Kambundji from Switzerland.
The European lead is held by Laeticia Bapte of France, who has run a significant 7.71 this year.
The short hurdles events on the women's side especially, have been going from strength to strength. What may have been enough for a medal is now just enough to make the final.
In the 2023 edition of the European indoors in Istanbul, 7.91 was enough for bronze, this season four athletes have already bettered that mark. With all the field stepping up their game, 7.80-something may be needed for a podium in this ever-evolving event.
O'Connor on the charge - women's pentathlon
Dundalk's Kate O'Connor made history in Paris becoming Ireland's first heptathlete to make an Olympic Games. Since her 14th place finish, O'Connor has been in fantastic form, breaking her own indoor pentathlon record in Tallinn, Estonia with a smattering of personal bests, and placing herself within the frame for a medal at these championships, which she says isn't a surprise.
"At no point did I look at my coaches - apart from the long jump - and say, 'I can't believe that just happened'.
"So afterwards when everyone was saying, 'Oh my goodness, all PBs', I knew that was going to happen anyway because I knew that's where I was."
The 24-year-old is right to be confident and is ranked second on season's best coming into the one-day event on Sunday.
O'Connor says the emotional rollercoaster is her biggest challenge but she enjoys the fast and furious indoor event: "I find personally pentathlon is not so bad (as heptathlon) as it's very go-go-go squished into one day. Overall, with multi-events the emotional drain is probably one of the toughest challenges."
Paralympic medallist Comerford to make historic appearance - women's para athletics 60-metres
Paralympic bronze medallist Orla Comerford will make an appearance on the track in Apeldoorn in a European indoor first. Para events haven't been included as part of a European or World Athletics Championship programme but a women's 60m and men's long jump have been added to the timetable.
