It’s already been a record-breaking year for Irish athletes on the international stage. Now comes the chance to end it all on another medal-winning high at Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships in Portugal.
The course at Lagoa in the Algarve will be a long way from last month’s National Cross Country Championships in Derry. The Templemore Sports Complex soon turned into a muddy slog, whereas Parchal Urban Park is all gravel and grass. Rain is forecast for Friday, but it should be dry and sunny on Sunday.
Athletics Ireland have sent teams across all seven races: the men’s and women’s senior, under-23 and under-20, plus the mixed 4×1,500m relay.
The relay – added to the European Cross-Country in 2017 – was designed to attract more track specialists. Irish medal hopes certainly rocketed with the availability of Cian McPhillips, following his series of breakthrough runs over 800m this summer. McPhillips is joined by Irish 1,500m record holder Andrew Coscoran, plus two women’s 1,500m specialists, Laura Nicholson and Eimear Maher.
There was no mixed relay back in my day and I think it brings a little more intrigue to cross-country. Recently, the running order was woman-man-woman-man, alternating each year, but they’ve shaken that up completely and countries can now run their athletes in any order they want.
The way the course is laid out at Lagoa also means the lengths are slightly different. It will be 1,300m for the opening leg, then 1,510m, another 1,510m, before 1,640m for the last leg (which includes the home stretch). Countries need to declare their first-leg runner on Sunday morning, but they can still change the order of the next three runners after the race gets underway.
The nominated mixed relay head coach can declare the second, third and fourth legs within two minutes after the start of the previous leg. That makes it a lot more tactical and more of a gamble, too.
My understanding is most countries will run a woman first (the shortest leg) and then a man last (the longest leg). Athletics Ireland will discuss their order with the four athletes on Saturday evening, with the athletes likely to have some say themselves.
I would certainly keep Coscoran until the last leg, given he also has the 5,000m endurance, winning the national title this year. Nicholson (25) and Maher (22) are evenly matched and although Nicholson has run slightly faster (4:07.17 to Maher’s 4:08.67), Maher finished seven places ahead of her in Derry last month.
[ Fiona Everard longs for the muddy slog of an Irish track ahead of Algarve raceOpens in new window ]
Maher also ran well to win bronze in the 1,500m at the European Under-23 Championships in July, before Nicholson qualified for the women’s 1,500m at the World Championships in Tokyo. It looks like most teams will choose a female for the first leg as it is over 200m shorter and likely a more tactical leg. With that said, you could spring a surprise and put a male on the opening leg, to open up a big lead, then hold on for the middle legs. A risk for sure, but it could pay off on a twisting course.
We know McPhillips will close fast – his Irish 800m record of 1:42.15, when finishing fourth in Tokyo, was the fastest by any European in 2025. The Portuguese quartet are on their home course and spearheaded by world 1,500m champion Isaac Nader. They will certainly be gunning for gold. The Spanish have a strong team too, as do Great Britain, so a fascinating battle is in store for athletes and spectators.
The key for all teams is to not let any major gap open. If Coscoran is still in the mix going into the last leg, then a podium place should be within reach.
Ireland, remember, came agonisingly close in 2021, when the championships were staged in Abbotstown in Dublin. On that day, the quartet of Ciara Mageean, Luke McCann, Síofra Cléirigh Büttner and Coscoran were run out of bronze medals in the last few strides.
Ireland’s Nick Griggs celebrates winning a silver medal in the men’s under-23 race at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
We have, in recent years, still managed to come away from the European Cross-Country Championships with plenty of medals. An individual gold has eluded Nick Griggs, but he has picked up silver and bronze at under-20 level, then silver last year in Turkey at under-23.
Still only 20, Griggs returns this year at under-23 with a strong team that could match the under-20 gold medal-winning performance in Brussels two years ago. Scoring members of that team are also back in Jonas Stafford and Niall Murphy.
Griggs was outsprinted for gold last year by Britain’s Will Barnicoat, who is also back again, but Griggs looks a stronger athlete. He just needs to sit in again and have the confidence to kick for gold this time.
The senior men’s team looks as good as it could possibly be, and with that comes the opportunity to deliver a medal that has eluded this team over the past 25 years. National champion Brian Fay should have no hesitation in getting up the front early to get in a position for a top-five finish. He has the endurance at this level to keep up over 7.5km, and the speed to match anyone.
Equally speedy in the closing stages is Darragh McElhinney, who improved his best over 5,000m this summer to just outside 13 minutes. The key is to get two athletes in the top-10 positions. The team is backed up by Cormac Dalton (who has been in the top 10 at this level before), and Jack O’Leary also had some breakthrough performances this summer.
With Efrem Gidey also in the line-up, there is reason to believe this squad will end the senior men’s medal drought of the last 25 years. When you look back at previous editions of the European Cross-Country, it generally requires the three scoring athletes in the top 20 to pick up a medal.
The Irish senior women have been most successful at this level in the past. Last year’s 11th-place finisher Niamh Allen returns, but it will take strong runs from national champion Fiona Everard, Danielle Donegan and Mary Mulhare on this fast course to secure a medal this time.
I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting championships of recent years. The fast course in Lagoa is sure to create some fireworks and possibly some carnage in the relay. Hold on to that baton.