Such is the relentless pace of world indoor records being broken in recent weeks that it’s hard to keep up. Some marks have been broken twice in the same week, and who else but Jakob Ingebrigtsen to come out in his first appearance of the season and broke two world records in the same race.
Starting at the Millrose Games in New York earlier this month, Grant Fisher and Yared Nuguse from the US broke the indoor 3,000m and mile records respectively, within the space of two hours. It had been more than two decades since a US distance runner had broke a world record.
Five days later in Lievin, France, Ingebrigtsen broke Nuguse’s mile record, plus his own 1,500m record, and two days after that in Boston, Fisher also broke the indoor 5,000m record. Worth mentioning too is Jacob Kiplimo’s world half marathon of 56:42 set in Barcelona on Sunday morning, which makes an official sub two-hour marathon a lot more possible.
Irish athletes have also been busy setting national indoor records, Sarah Healy improving her 1,500m mark last Saturday, having broken her 3,000m record twice over the previous weekends. Mark English took almost a second off his 800m mark, and Andrew Coscoran broke the men’s indoor 3,000m and then mile records.
The Irish indoor mile record had stood to Eamonn Coghlan for over 40 years, the period when he was known as the Chairman of the Boards. Indoor running tracks have improved significantly since then, in design and surface, and there’s no disputing that carbon-plated spikes are also improving performances. More athletes, particularly in the US, are also realising the controlled environment of “short track” indoor races are more favourable for fast times, and pushing beyond the mythical barriers and limits athletes often set themselves.
However, fast times and world records can count for little when it comes to championship running and there will be evidence of that this weekend at the various national indoor championships across the globe. The Sport Ireland Arena will again host the Irish indoor championships, and Sunday is already a sell-out, another reflection of the growing popularity of the sport
The championships also act as a trial for the European Indoor Championships taking place in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands from March 6th to 9th, and the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China two weeks later. Unlike all the carefully orchestrated and paced races of recent weeks, Apeldoorn and Nanjing will be all about race tactics.
That’s something the top Irish athletes should be keen to practice this weekend, although it appears they won’t all be there, English unlikely to race the 800m due to a minor muscle strain, while Coscoran is nursing a minor illness. Athletes training and competing at this high level are often operating on a knife edge and never too far away from a potential injury or illness, but there is the opportunity to see some of our biggest stars in action.
This weekend will also be the first track and field event in Ireland since the heroics of many athletes last summer, although some have chosen to forego the indoor season and keep working on their winter strength and conditioning before what will be an intense and long season culminating at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
We know Rhasidat Adeleke is focused on outdoors, so not available for indoor selection. For those competing now, the championships are where you really find out about where you stand, what changes, if any, need to be made.
Some countries don’t have the dispensation loophole that is so often used by Irish athletes, right when they should be maintaining the momentum by using the Irish championships to connect with the fans. I think one way to encourage the best athletes to compete at the Irish championships would be to allow a top 10 world-ranked athlete a bye into the final. They have achieved this level of respect and in return are more likely to respect the championships if they are encouraged to compete.
Another area that could be changed is to set an entry standard for athletes competing. As it stands, any athlete that is a member of a club in Ireland can just sign up for the national championships. This is not a road race, and there is just simply not space on the track for the numbers entered. The risk of falling is certainly a deterrent for the best athletes turning up, especially if having to go through rounds.
An event such as the 3,000m should be limited to a straight final. As it is, there are 60 men’s entries, and while it is a positive to see so many people taking part in our sport there needs to be a line drawn on the high-performance stage.
Some athletes also leave it to the last minute to decide which event they will race in, or if they will race at all, and this doesn’t help in the promotion of the championships. There certainly could have been a couple of mouth-watering clashes on the track had English lined up against the young Cian McPhillips, who last weekend posted a time just .15 of a second slower than English’s national record over 800m.
And likewise with Olympic semi-finalist Cathal Doyle lining up against newly crowned national record holder Coscoran. Which is also why it was refreshing to hear Sharlene Mawdsley this week talking excitedly about her new training group, and looking forward to racing in Abbotstown this weekend.
Still fresh from her record-breaking runs, Healy will probably race the 1,500m, and should have it all her own way as Ciara Mageean is still recovering from surgery, and Sophie O’Sullivan is also focused on the outdoor season. Healy has shown she is on another level this year, and she may just sit in and practice race tactics as she looks forward to racing the 3,000m at the European and World Indoor Championships.
Sarah Lavin in the 60m hurdles and Kate O’Connor in the heptathlon are both qualified for Apeldoorn, and know that value of competing on the national stage and inspiring the next generation of young athlete.
Israel Olatunde has never shied away from the national championships, and back from his training in Florida with Noah Lyles, will probably face another sprint showdown with Bori Akinola in the 60m. It’s certainly hard to predict the outcome there, which is what championship racing is all about.
