Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Athletics Starts Friday
Olympic Athletics Starts on Friday July 30th
Olympic Schedule and TV Coverage
Tokyo 2020
Where to Watch
Coverage on RTE 2 and BBC 1 begins at Midnight most nights, while Eurosport 1 & 2 (Sky Channels 410 and 411) have round-the-clock coverage, including replays
Note: Tokyo is 8 hours ahead of Ireland
Click on any daily link below for full day's schedule, inc start lists (when available), results and other info
Day 1 - Friday July 30th
Irish In Action
1:55am (800m Heats): Síofra Cléirigh Buttner, Nadia Power, Louise Shanahan
2:55am (400m Hurdles Heats): Thomas Barr
12:00pm (Mixed 4 x 400m Relay): Cillin Greene, Chris O’Donnell, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Robert McDonnell, Cliodhna Manning
Day 2 - Saturday July 31st
Irish In Action
1:50am (800m Heats): Mark English
2:45am (100m Hurdles Heats): Sarah Lavin
Irish In Action
1:40am (3000m SC Heats): Michelle Finn, Eilish Flanagan
Irish In Action
1:35am (1500m Heats): Ciara Mageean, Sarah Healy
2:30am (200m Heats): Phil Healy
Irish In Action
1:05am (1500m Heats): Andrew Coscoran
1:45am (400m Heats): Phil Healy
3:05am (200m Heats): Marcus Lawler, Leon Reid
Irish In Action
Currently no Irish athletes are scheduled for Wednesday 4th Aug
Irish In Action
8:30am (20k Walk): David Kenny
Irish In Action
9:30pm (50k Walk): Alex Wright, Brendan Boyce
Irish In Action
11pm (Marathon): Aoife Cooke, Fionnuala McCormack
Irish In Action
11pm (Marathon): Stephen Scullion, Paul Pollock, Kevin Seaward
There are 25 athletes on the Irish athletics team for the Tokyo Olympics, including five Cork Athletes; Aoife Cooke (Eagle AC), Michelle Finn (Leevale AC), Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) and Alex Wright (Leevale AC)
 |  |  |
| Aoife Cooke, Eagle AC | Michelle Finn, Leevale AC | Phil Healy, Bandon AC |
 |  |
| Louise Shanahan, Leevale AC | Alex Wright, Leevale AC |
| Athlete | Club | Event(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aoife Cooke | Eagle AC | Marathon |
| Michelle Finn | Leevale AC | 3000m Steeplechase |
| Phil Healy | Bandon AC | 200m, 400m, 4x400m Mixed Relay |
| Louise Shanahan | Leevale AC | 800m |
| Alex Wright | Leevale AC | 20km Walk |
Paralympics
Paralympic Schedule
The Paralympics are scheduled to start in four weeks on Tuesday August 24th. While some of the Irish contingent have been named, most places still remain to be announced by Paralympics Ireland. Among those whose nomination is expected is Niamh McCarthy, Leevale AC
Cork Athletics Olympians Funding Support
Cork Athletics County Board is to provide each registered Athletics Ireland member of a Cork club, and who represents Ireland, and competes at the 2021 Olympics or Paralympics, with a grant of €2,000 each, to defray training expenses.
This continues the Board's Olympic support policy, which began with the 2012 Olympics
Total number on Team Ireland Athletics Squad in the Tokyo Olympics Reaches 25
Team Ireland has officially selected the Athletics Track and Field and 20km Race Walk team who will be competing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. There will now be twenty-five athletes competing across the athletics events, with today’s announcement confirming those athletes who were in events that had Olympic ranking open until the end of June. The athletics events occur in the second week of the Games, running from Friday 30 July – Sunday 8 August, with the events taking place in both Sapporo Odori Park and the Olympic Stadium.
Last month the Marathon and 50km Race Walk team was announced, with seven athletes competing in Sapporo, today’s announcement includes athletes who both achieved qualification standards in their respective events, or who finished within the rankings on the cut off day last week. It was a tense final few weeks for those competing, especially those on the cusp of the qualification cut off, with concurrent competitions taking place around the world right up until the final day. While some athletes like Rio Olympians Thomas Barr and Ciara Mageean secured qualifying times in advance of the cut off, others like Mark English and Sarah Lavin had a tense wait and tough competition decisions to make right up until the final few days, with English achieving his automatic qualifying time on the last day.
Fourth finisher in the Rio Olympics, Thomas Barr said,
“I am very proud to be representing Ireland at my second Olympic Games. The men’s 400m hurdles is one of the most competitive events on the track at the moment and I can’t wait to line up and compete against the best on the biggest stage in the world.”
Speaking on her selection Cork’s Phil Healy said,
“It is a real honour for any athlete to be selected to represent their country at the Olympic Games. To achieve qualification in one event is a dream for any athlete as the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of any athletes career. I am thrilled to be selected for two individual events in addition to the mixed 4x400m relay. Every athlete has worked so hard to get to this point and it’s made all the more special to have such a large and strong athletics team heading to the Games.”
Speaking ahead of the Olympic Games Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Tricia Heberle, said,
"We have here a talented team of athletes, who have been faced with a challenging season of competition. For some qualification was confirmed early on in 2019, but for other athletes like Mark English, were achieving standards right until the last day. We have a strong team travelling with us to Tokyo, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do on the world's biggest stage.”
Athletics Performance Director and Team Manager for the Team Ireland Athletics Squad, Paul McNamara said:
“The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport, and we must acknowledge the outstanding work athletes and coaches have put in to overcome the challenges of the last 15 months. The ‘end-game’ of the qualification period was excruciatingly difficult for many, but these athletes and their coaches expertly navigated the qualification system and have been rewarded with their place on the biggest stage. The resilience shown by these athletes has resulted in Ireland’s second biggest athletics team ever heading to a Games, and the highest ever number of individual qualifiers, all of whom are primed to take on the best in the world in just a few weeks’ time.”
Bios for Irish Olympic Athletes
Irish T&F Athletes
Individuals
Thomas Barr (400m Hurdles)
Síofra Cléirigh Büttner (800m)
Andrew Coscoran (1500m)
Mark English (800m)
Michelle Finn (3,000m Steeplechase)
Eilish Flanagan (3,000m Steeplechase)
Phil Healy (200m/400m/400m Relay)
Sarah Healy (1500m)
David Kenny (20K Walk)
Sarah Lavin (100H)
Marcus Lawler (200m)
Ciara Mageean (1500m)
Nadia Power (800m)
Leon Reid (200m)
Louise Shanahan (800m)
Mixed 4 x 400m Relay Team (4 athletes from the following 6):
Cillin Greene
Chris O’Donnell
Phil Healy
Sophie Becker
Robert McDonnell
Cliodhna Manning
Marathon
Aoife Cooke
Fionnuala McCormack
Paul Pollock
Stephen Scullion
Kevin Seaward
Walks
Alex Wright
Brendan Boyce
