Ireland moved clear of Austria’s challenge in the Slaski Stadium on Thursday (22) to earn promotion as winners of the 3rd Division of the European Athletics Team Championships having been relegated to the bottom tier two years ago when coronavirus complications prevented them competing.
Full results here.
On a day when Albania’s Luiza Gega won the women’s 3000m steeplechase in a championship record of 9:17.31 to join Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova-Collio as the most successful athlete in competition history, the Irish earned six wins to finish on 494 points, 20.5 clear of their nearest rivals Austria.
Already confirmed as champions before the concluding mixed 4x400m relay - making its debut in this event - Ireland rounded off with victory in 3:17.16, 40 metres clear of Austria, with the final leg being run by the woman who had contributed the team’s first maximum points award in the opening day’s 400m, Sharlene Mawdsley.
Israel secured the third promotion place to the 2nd League in 2025, finishing on 434 points, well clear of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 363.
Gega creates even more history with distance double
Gega had needed to follow up her 5000m win on the opening day by securing victory in the event at which she is Albania’s first European champion to draw level with Lalova-Collio on 11 wins and two second places.
Having shadowed Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter until the final 100m of the longer race before bursting clear, the diminutive Albanian reverted to her preferred front-running mode from the start today, daring anyone to follow her.
At the halfway point Gega, intent and eager, was 50 metres clear of the only athlete who had attempted to stay near her, Israel’s Adva Cohen, and was heading inexorably towards eclipsing the 2010 mark of 9:23.00 set by Russia’s Yuliya Zaripova in 2010.
“My result today was not the best, but it wasn't bad at all,” she said. “It's hard to push and focus when you're running alone. I felt fresh in the end and it's my second win during the competition. I was thinking about my record related to the most wins in this event.
“Our athletes level goes up every year and we're on the right track. We've got a new President and he's very excited about what will come in the future. I hope Albania will have more top athletes. Why not greater than me?"
That will take some doing.
Ireland’s third day charge to the title
Ireland had begun the final session leading on 327 points, seven ahead of Austria, with Israel third on 290 and Malta the closest challengers to the three promotion places with 247.50.
Austria’s Susanne Gogl-Walli, a sub-51 400m runner, demonstrated her class as she dropped down to 200m in the first track event of the day, winning comfortably in a personal best of 23.09 a day after helping her team win the 4x100m in a national record.
“I'm really happy with my new PB and that here I could compete on the fast track,” Gogl-Walli said. “I ran my 400 m PB there a few weeks ago. It's so nice to be in this stadium again.”
Ireland’s Phil Healy reduced the potential points impact by taking second place in 23.79 ahead of Allessandra Gasparelli, who set a San Marino record of 24.30.
And there were cheers from the Irish contingent in the next track event as Mark Smyth was a jubilant winner of the men’s 200m in 20.66, spoiling the double ambitions of Austria’s 100m winner Markus Fuchs, who was third in 20.99 behind Georgia’s Mindia Endeladze, who set a personal best of 20.98.
Smyth, who had helped Ireland win the concluding men’s 4x100m the previous day, spoke afterwards about how he took up athletics aged 16 after taking part in what he called his “first sport” – Gaelic football.
“Football is very team- and community-oriented,” he said. “But I would advise everyone to try athletics. There's something for everyone in it. You can always find an event you're good at. And Gaelic football wouldn't get me to the European Games.”
That win extended Ireland’s leading margin to eight points and that became nine points as David Cussen earned his country’s 10th maximum points award as he won the men’s high jump on countback after he and Austria’s Lionel Strasser had cleared 2.11m.
Dragan Pesic, for whom these are effectively a multi-event championships, earned fourth-place points for Montenegro with 1.85m in the men’s high jump having already represented them in the 400, 400 hurdles and 4x100m.
Only the mixed 4x400m relay remained before the 29-year-old decathlete could take a well-earned rest.
Austria tipped the balance back through Victoria Hudson’s easy victory in the women’s javelin, where her best of 60.27m was more than 13 metres clear of the nearest challenger, Israel’s Margaryta Dorozhon, with Ireland’s Grace Casey fifth on 42.04m.
But then Ireland’s Eric Favors put in a heavyweight shift in the men’s shot put, which he won with 20.28m, with Austria’s Will Dibo back in ninth on 14.30m.
And after Fearghal Curtin had finished just one place behind Austria’s Andreas Vojta in a men’s 5000m won in 14:16.92 by Malta’s Jordan Gusman, Ruby Millet earned Ireland’s fourth win of the day in the women’s long jump with a best of 6.33m.
With four events remaining, Ireland had 438 points to Austria’s 422, with Israel third on 386.50 and Malta fourth on 323.50.
O’Sullivan excels on senior Irish debut with 1500m triumph
Sophie O’Sullivan, daughter of three-time European champion and 1995 world 5000m champion, Sonia O’Sullivan, marked her senior Irish debut in ideal fashion as she earned Ireland’s fifth win of the day in a competitive women’s 1500m.
O’Sullivan, 21, who has lowered her 1500m best this year from 4:17.54 to 4:08.06, had to work hard in a slower, tactical race, holding off the challenge of Malta’s Gina McNamara (4:28.28) and Sivan Auerbach (4:29.11). of Israel to win in 4:27.96.
O’Sullivan thus emulated her mother, who won the 1500m at the European Cup Second League three times between 1993 and 1995.
"It was a really tactical race," O’Sullivan said. "I just wanted to look at what I do on the last lap. I'm planning to attend the European U23 Championship this summer and I want to give my best."
Sommer Lecky kept up the Irish momentum with third place in the women’s high jump with 1.74m, two places ahead of Austria’s Sarah Lagger, in a competition won by Montenegro’s European silver medallist Marija Vukovic with 1.87m.
And Conor Cusack contributed another third place in a men’s javelin contest won with 71.81m by Dejan Mileusnic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Soon afterwards the jubilant Irish were gathered on the top podium singing and jumping and waving their flags after three days of memorable competition.
Mike Rowbottom for European Athletics