ACCORDING to the statistics Ireland could win maybe three medals at the European Athletics Championships, which start in Rome on Wednesday and continue until next Tuesday.
Those same statistics suggest that there is a reasonable hope of at another two.
The championships go ahead after basic administrative errors by one of the leading federations which have created havoc with the start lists in many of the events.
The national organisation in question failed to enter two qualified athletes and did not withdraw 12 others included on the provisional lists but who would not be competing in Rome. C’est la vie!
European Athletics stated: “After a very thorough analysis of the situation, considering the number of athletes impacted by the above and the consequences such mistakes can have on the athletes’ careers and their future in our sport, European Athletics has decided to allow for the penalised (those whose athletes were initially excluded because the 12 were not withdrawn) Member Federations to enter the subsequent qualified athletes to the 12 free places.”
This meant that last-minute invitations had to be sent out to fill the gaps. One beneficiary is Donegal athlete Kelly McGrory, who now runs the heats of the 400m hurdles on Sunday morning. Fortunately, McGrory was already included in the Irish team as a member of the women’s 4x400m relay squad.
One of Ireland’s two gold medal hopes, Ciara Mageean, makes an early entry into the fray with a heat of the 1500m on Friday morning, the final of which is scheduled for Sunday night.
In the absence of Britain’s Laura Muir, who is concentrating on the Olympics, the Portaferry woman is currently top-ranked of the entrants and favourite to win Ireland’s first gold at these championships since Sonia O’Sullivan claimed titles over both 5000m and 10,000m in Stuttgart 26 years ago.
Ireland’s other potential golden girl, Rhasidat Adeleke, will almost certainly run the mixed relay on Friday night in advance of the heats of the women’s 400m on Saturday morning.
The Tallaght athlete heads the rankings for the event but faces stern opposition from former champion Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland and Netherlands relay specialist Lieke Klaver. The semi-finals follow on Sunday with the medal decider on Monday night.
The mixed relay team could give the Ireland team a huge boost on Friday night with a podium place. Third in the recent World Athletics Relays, the foursome is likely to comprise Thomas Barr, Sharlene Mawdsley, Chris O’Donnell and Adeleke.
Netherlands, in silver medal position, were the only European team to finish in front of the Irish quartet in the Bahamas, while France (sixth), Belgium (DQ) and Poland (DNS) were the only other continental teams to make the final eight.
Other Irish athletes enjoying a top-eight listing going into the championships include Sarah Lavin (5th/100mH), Sarah Healy (4th/1500m) and Andrew Coscoran (4th/1500m), while the women’s 4x400m relay team is fifth-ranked.
At the last edition of the championships, held two years ago in Munich, Irish athletes won two medals. Mageean was runner-up in the 1500m, while Mark English was third in the 800m.
Ireland has only won three medals on one previous occasion, in 1998, when Mark Carroll added a bronze to Sonia’s double gold.
