It was another weekend where Irish indoor records were sent tumbling, this time began by Sarah Healy on Saturday when she took over seven seconds off the 3,000 metres mark, which had stood for 15 years.
In her first indoor race of the season, Healy clocked a brilliant 8:36.06 at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Metz, France, finishing second behind Ethiopian Hirut Meshesha, who produced a world-leading time of 8:28.46.
The previous Irish record of 8:43.74 had stood to Mary Cullen since 2009, and Healy’s time improved her previous indoor best of 8:53.67, and also the 8:46.14 she previously ran outdoors. Only Sonia O’Sullivan’s long-standing Irish outdoor record of 8:21.64, set 30 years ago, is faster.
For Healy, who turns 23 later this month, it’s the ideal start to her Olympic season, her Paris qualification already safely secured after she broke four minutes for the first time last summer, running 3:59.68 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
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Not long after, Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs also ran lifetime bests in the men’s 3,000m in Metz. McElhinney nailed second in 7:39.92 to go second on the all-time list, behind Alistair Cragg’s 3,000m record of 7:38.59, which has stood since 2004.
Griggs finished sixth in 7:45.57, the 19-year-old improving the Irish under-23 record which had belonged to McElhinney.
Later on Saturday night, Rhasidat Adeleke cruised to victory in her first 400m of the season, winning the University of New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque in 51.12 seconds. Next up for her will be the Millrose Games in New York next Sunday, where Adeleke lines up over 300m looking to improve her own record at that distance.
Healy’s performance marks the fifth Irish senior indoor record to fall already this season, Adeleke breaking both her own indoor 60m and 200m marks in her first individual races of 2024. Andrew Coscoran also improved the Irish indoor 5,000m mark in Boston last weekend, and Eric Favors has also improved his Irish indoor shot put record.
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