Cork Olympian Nicola Tuthill to spearhead Irish U23 team in Bergen

A 36-strong Irish team is set to compete in Bergen, Norway, for the European Athletics U23 Championships, with competition getting underway Thursday morning.

Commencing proceedings on the field will be Paris Olympian and national U23 record holder Cork's Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC), who will begin her bid for her first international championship medal on Thursday morning in qualifying for the women’s hammer final.

Tuthill narrowly missed a podium finish in the 2023 edition of the championship, placing fourth. 

She is again ranked highly and will be hoping to add to the historic gold she claimed at the European Throwing Cup in March.

Another must-watch will be Nick Griggs (CNDR TC) as he wears the Irish vest for the first time since claiming silver in the U23 category at the European Cross Country Championships in December last year.

The Tyrone athlete will contest the 5000m at championship level for the first time and will be challenged by some familiar faces for what could be his seventh individual underage European medal. 

Griggs is rounding into fine form, breaking the long-standing U23 mile record at the Morton Games last week, clocking 3:54.42.

He will be joined in the 12.5-lap event by clubmate Callum Morgan and Donore's Abdel Laadjel.

The women’s 3000m steeplechase will see a full Irish complement led by fourth-ranked Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers). 

Ailish Hawkins (DCH) and Alexandra Joyce (Tuam AC) complete the lineup in the event that has seen a resurgence on the women’s side this year, with seven Irish women breaking 10:30.

O’Connor will also contest the 5000m in the final session of the championships on Sunday alongside Leevale’s Anika Thompson (Leevale AC), who like O’Connor is doubling up, and will have had a few days to recover from the 10,000m event, which is on Thursday evening.

2023 saw Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan battle to the finish for silver and bronze in the women’s 1500m, with O’Sullivan clinching the win by a fraction.

The strength in the event continues with in-form Eimear Maher (DSD AC) and Cara Laverty (Finn Valley AC), who will be hoping to take advantage of the wide-open field.

Maher is ranked fifth in Europe this year with a 4:08.67 clocking in last week’s Morton Games. 

This will be her first time in an Irish vest on the track, having previously donned green at the European Cross Country events in 2019 and 2023.

Abdel Laadjel (Donore Harriers) will compete in his first race outside of America since 2023 when he contests the first final of the four-day championship in the men’s 10,000m on Thursday.

The University of Oregon student finished fourth in the championships in 2023 and is ranked third of 28 entrants. 

He will be joined by Niall Murphy of Ennis Track.

The team is completed by three relay squads who will be aiming for final spots on Sunday evening to conclude the championships in style.

The men’s 4x100m squad is spearheaded by Tallaght’s Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght AC), who will also contest the individual sprint event.

Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m teams will be hoping to secure a final position in the heats of the event on Sunday morning.

Andrew Egan (GCH) will jump to the one-lap distance and senior squad regular Callum Baird (Ballymena and Antrim) will also be likely to get a run out.

On the women’s side, Jenna Breen (COLAC) makes her Irish debut and will be joined by Kate O’Connell (Lucan Harriers), Victoria Amiadamen (Dooneen AC) and Aoife Hernon (Bandon AC), with 800m athlete Emma Moore (GCH) also listed as part of the squad.