European Athletics Championships – Birmingham – Day 1, August 10 

Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) produced a battling eighth-place finish in the men’s 5000m final to headline an action-packed opening day for Team Ireland at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

Griggs clocked 13:21.07 despite dramatically losing a shoe following a stumble in the closing stages of a race which also featured Darragh McElhinney (Bantry AC) and Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC). 

The 21-year-old did remarkably well to stay on his feet before battling on over the final three laps to secure a top-eight European finish.

All three Irish athletes were prominent from the gun, with Darragh McElhinney (Bantry AC) the first of the trio to make a significant move towards the front with five laps remaining.

McElhinney was also hampered by the incident which resulted in Griggs losing his shoe, disrupting his momentum at a crucial stage of the race. Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) started strongly before settling into the middle of the pack, battling bravely over the closing laps in his customary fashion.

An injection of pace led by eventual champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen ultimately stretched the field, with Griggs finishing eighth in 13:21.07, Fay 14th in 13:31.15 and McElhinney 18th in 13:37.62.

Norway’s Ingebrigtsen claimed gold in a season’s best 13:15.29, ahead of Germany’s Florian Bremm (13:15.60) and France’s Etienne Daguinos (13:16.09).

Reflecting on his remarkable finish, Griggs said: “Eighth is solid, but I lost my shoe about a mile out. You never expect yourself to be in that position in a European final.

“I was in the stumble and someone clipped my shoe from the back and it came off. It would have been easy for me to drop out and give up, but I tried to keep fighting with the Irish vest on.

“Eighth with one shoe on is not too bad, but it’s frustrating because I’m thinking about what I could have done if I was ready to go with two or three laps remaining rather than that happening. 

"No one is going to be happy coming eighth and losing a shoe, but it’s good progress and I know what I can do.” 

Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) also secured a top-ten European finish on an impressive day in the men’s shot put. 

Favors progressed from the morning qualification with a first-round effort of 19.54m before returning for the evening final, where he saved his best for last. A 19.59m effort with his final throw secured 10th place.

Mark English (Finn Valley AC) made light work of his opening 800m assignment, taking control of the first heat to win comfortably in 1:46.96 and book his place in the next round.

There was disappointment for Cian McPhillips (UCD AC), who finished seventh in heat four in 1:46.84 having battled illness in the build-up to the championships.

“I was sick all week, so that’s the first I ran in a week,” McPhillips told RTÉ Sport. 

“It was a virus, high temperature. I just couldn’t train and was in bed for a good bit of the week. I thought I’d be alright to give it a lash, which I did.

“I thought I went for it. I’m pretty disappointed, but it’s just what it is.” 

Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers) delivered another strong Irish performance in the men’s 400m, holding his form impressively from the inside lane to finish second in his opening-round heat in 45.81. 

Raftery advanced as the ninth fastest of the 12 athletes progressing.

Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) safely booked her place in Wednesday evening’s women’s hammer final. 

Tuthill produced a 70.09m effort with her second throw in qualification to secure her progression.

In the women’s 100m, Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) advanced from the opening round in 11.29, qualifying as the 10th fastest of the 12 athletes to progress. 

Making her second appearance of the day from lane nine, Neville clocked 11.57 to finish eighth in her semi-final.

“I’m disappointed because I know that I had a better performance in me,” said Neville. “I’ll have to watch it back and see where it went wrong.

“Getting to the semi-final at my first individual senior outdoor championships was the goal, but I wanted to put out a performance in the semi-final. 

"I’ll take from this experience and build on it next time.” 

Lauren Roy (Fast Twitch AC) came agonisingly close to joining Neville in the semi-finals. Roy clocked 11.32 for sixth in her opening-round heat, missing out on progression by just one place and one hundredth of a second.

Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) produced her fastest performance of the season in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 13.07 for sixth in her heat. 

The substantial season’s best left Lavin just six hundredths of a second short of advancing to the semi-finals.

“I really thought I could get out of the heat here,” said Lavin. 

“It’s a season’s best after a turbulent couple of months, and I’m proud I got to the line and delivered my best run of the season, but I want to be in finals.

“I knew I had to be sub-13 to qualify. I’ve gone under 13 seconds 52 times in my life, but my legs just didn’t lift to the same capacity over the last three hurdles. 

"To get back under 13 seconds by the end of the season will be the goal now, and that would be a fantastic building block going into next year and moving towards LA.” 

Abbie Sheridan (St Peter’s AC) also made her senior international track debut in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. 

Sheridan clocked 9:57.50 to finish 14th in her heat, but it was not enough to secure progression.

Away from the championships, Orla Comerford (Raheny Shamrock AC) produced a sensational performance in Stratford yesterday evening, clocking 11.56 seconds for the 100m – the fastest time ever recorded by a T13 athlete.

Comerford’s performance was inside the current T13 world record of 11.66, set by Brazil’s Paralympic champion Rayane Soares da Silva in São Paulo on July 31, 2025, as well as Comerford’s own European record of 11.72.

As the performance was achieved outside of a designated para race, it will not replace her official European T13 record, but the 11.56 performance moves Comerford to joint 22nd on the Irish all-time 100m list.

Day 1 Results Summary:

Mark English – Men’s 800m – Round One Heat 1 – 1:46.96 Q (1st, advanced to SF) Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m – Round One Heat 4 – 1:46.84 (7th, does not advance) Ciara Neville – Women’s 100m – Round One Heat 1 – 11.29 q (5th, advanced to SF) Lauren Roy – Women’s 100m – Round One Heat 3 – 11.32 (6th, does not advance) Jack Raftery – Men’s 400m – Round One Heat 2 – 45.81 q (2nd, advanced to SF) Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – Qualification - 19.54m q (advanced to final) Nicola Tuthill – Women's Hammer Throw – Qualification - 70.09m q (advanced to final) Sarah Lavin - 100m Hurdles - Round One Heat 2 – 13.07 SB (6th, does not advance) Ciara Neville – Women’s 100m – SF 2 – 11.57 (8th, does not advance) Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – Final – 19.59m (10th) Nick Griggs – Men’s 5000m - Final – 13:21.07 (8th) Brian Fay – Men’s 5000m - Final – 13:31.15 (14th) Darragh McElhinney – Men’s 5000m - Final – 13:37.62 (18th) Abbie Sheridan – Women's 3000m SC – Round One Heat 2 – 9:57.50 (14th, does not advance) 

HERE Irish Athlete Schedule:

Day Two – Morning Session – Tuesday August 11th 

Bori Akinola – Men’s 100m – Round One – 11:15 

Day Two – Evening Session – Tuesday August 11th 

Sarah Healy – Women’s 5000m – Final – 19:25 Israel Olatunde – Men’s 100m – SF – 20:32 Bori Akinola – Men’s 100m – SF – 20:32 * Jack Raftery – Men’s 400m – SF – 21:00 Israel Olatunde – Men’s 100m - Final – 21:47 * Bori Akinola – Men’s 100m – Final – 21:47 *