Sarah Lavin won her eighth 60m hurdles title while Sophie Becker and Mark Smyth added national indoor crowns; Virgin Media provided live TV coverage on March 1st
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The 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena delivered a weekend of intense competition that mixed seasoned champions, rising stars and national personal bests. Held across February 28th and March 1st, the two-day meet combined fast sprint finals, technical field battles and a milestone broadcast that brought the action to a wider audience.
Among the standout moments were Sarah Lavin’s retention of the women’s 60m hurdles crown, Sophie Becker’s breakthrough in the women’s 200m, and Mark Smyth’s gritty victory in the men’s 200m. The championships also marked the first time Virgin Media carried a live two-hour television broadcast of the event on Sunday, giving viewers a front-row seat to several decisive finals.
Key track performances and decisive finals
The championships produced high-quality head-to-heads across the sprints and hurdles. In the women’s 60m hurdles, Emerald AC’s Sarah Lavin executed a composed race to win in 8.07 seconds, securing her eighth national indoor title at the distance.
Dundalk St Gerard’s Kate O’Connor ran a substantial personal best of 8.21 seconds, moving her up the Irish all-time list behind Derval O’Rourke and Lavin. Orlaith Mannion (South Galway AC) completed the podium in 8.45 seconds.
On the men’s side, Adam Nolan of St Laurence O’Toole AC successfully defended his national indoor 60m hurdles title with a winning time of 8.03 seconds. Seán Carmody (Leevale) and Ciarán Connolly (Le Chéile AC) took second and third with times of 8.19 and 8.45 seconds respectively.
Sprint breakthroughs: the 200m finals
Sophie Becker captured her first senior national indoor 200m title for Raheny Shamrock A.C., producing an indoor personal best of 23.43 seconds. Becker used strong early acceleration from lane six to separate from the pack; Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers) followed in 24.07, while Mollie O’Reilly (Dundrum South Dublin) took third in 24.14.
In the men’s 200m, Raheny Shamrock’s Mark Smyth claimed his third national indoor title in a closely fought final, edging out defending champion Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers) with a winning time of 21.11 seconds. Lawler finished second in 21.24, and Adam Murphy (Tinryland AC) completed the podium in 21.68.
Field events and other standout results
The field events offered their own drama. In the women’s high jump Aoife O’Sullivan (Liscarroll AC) and Sommer Lecky (Finn Valley AC) both cleared 1.75m, with O’Sullivan taking top honours. On the men’s side Mohammed Ibrahim Halil (Raheny Shamrock) won the high jump with a clearance of 1.93m, while Darragh Kelly (Craughwell AC) and Emmanuel Osas (Ratoath AC) matched 1.90m to round out the podium.
Throwing competitions saw new national-leading marks in the weight for distance events as Michael Healy (Leevale AC) posted a season-best of 9.11m and Kotryna Pacerinskaite (Fanahan Mc Sweeney AC) led the women’s WFD with 8.70m. The triple jumps were tightly contested: David Onwudiwe (Ennis Track AC) took the men’s title with 13.96m, while Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen (Raheny Shamrock AC) won the women’s triple with 12.54m.
Broadcast and spectator notes
For the first time the championships were carried live on Virgin Media 2, with a two-hour block of live coverage on Sunday, March 1st, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The weekend’s schedule saw full streaming of both days on the Athletics Ireland YouTube channel, while Sunday’s session was sold out at the arena. Organisers reminded spectators that Sunday tickets were unavailable at the door and that Saturday still held a limited supply of seating.
The broadcast highlighted several finals including the women’s 3000m, the 1500m showdowns and the high-profile 60m and 400m races. Athletes of note scheduled to compete across the weekend included Kate O’Connor, Sarah Lavin, Sharlene Mawdsley, Andrew Coscoran and record-breaker Bori Akinola, who had been in championship-winning form during the indoor season.
Full championship finals snapshot
Below are the headline podiums from the weekend finals, capturing the winners and key placings across the marquee events:
Women’s 200m: 1. Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock) 23.43; 2. Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers) 24.07; 3. Mollie O’Reilly (Dundrum South Dublin) 24.14.
Men’s 200m: 1. Mark Smyth (Raheny Shamrock) 21.11; 2. Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers) 21.24; 3. Adam Murphy (Tinryland AC) 21.68.
Women’s 60m hurdles: 1. Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) 8.07; 2. Kate O’Connor (Dundalk St. Gerards) 8.21; 3. Orlaith Mannion (South Galway AC) 8.45.
Men’s 60m hurdles: 1. Adam Nolan (St Laurence O’Toole AC) 8.03; 2. Seán Carmody (Leevale AC) 8.19; 3. Ciarán Connolly (Le Chéile AC) 8.45.
Additional medalists included Aoife O’Sullivan (women’s high jump 1.75m), Mohammed Ibrahim Halil (men’s high jump 1.93m), Michael Healy (men’s WFD 9.11m), and Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen (women’s triple jump 12.54m), among others who featured throughout the weekend.
The championships mark an important domestic stop on the road to the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Poland, with many athletes using the meet to sharpen form and stake selection claims. The mix of retained titles, breakthrough performances and live television coverage suggests Irish indoor athletics continues to grow in depth and national interest.
