Akinola, English and O’Neill Shine at World Indoor Championships
Toruń, Poland – A strong showing from Irish athletes marked the opening session of the World Indoor Championships, with Bori Akinola, Mark English, and Maeve O’Neill all advancing to their respective semi-finals. The trio delivered impressive performances on Friday, March 20, 2026, setting the stage for a promising weekend for Ireland.
Akinola Qualifies for 60m Semi-Finals
Bori Akinola kicked off the Irish campaign with a solid performance in the 60m heats, clocking a time of 6.59 seconds to secure third place in his heat and 11th fastest overall qualification for the semi-finals. MSN reports this is Akinola’s second-fastest time ever.
Jamaica’s Bryan Levell won the heat in 6.53 seconds, with Hungary’s Dominik Illovszky finishing second in 6.58 seconds. Akinola’s time was just shy of his Irish record of 6.54 seconds, set in 2026.
“Not too bad, sub 6.60 in my quickest round opener all season, so I’m happy out,” Akinola said. He added that he believes a time of 6.50 or 6.51 seconds will be needed to reach the final. Irish Examiner
Akinola will return to the track for the semi-final shortly after 7pm Irish time.
English Dominates 800m Heat
Mark English showcased his strength in the men’s 800m heats, winning his race in a time of 1:46.62. Irish Examiner English positioned himself strategically, sitting just off the leader before taking control on the final lap and securing a comfortable victory.
Eliott Crestan posted the fastest time across all heats at 1:45.51.
O’Neill Advances in 800m on Senior Debut
Maeve O’Neill made a memorable senior debut, progressing to the semi-finals of the women’s 800m after a disqualification of Valery Tobias of the United States. O’Neill finished third in her heat with a time of 2:03.20, just three hundredths of a second behind the heat winner, Nigist Getachew. Irish Examiner
“I’m shocked, I didn’t realize anything was after going on behind me,” O’Neill said upon learning of the disqualification.
Other Irish Performances
Emma Moore, also making her senior debut, finished fifth in her 800m heat with a time of 2:02.00, but did not qualify for the semi-finals. James Gormley is scheduled to compete in the heats of the men’s 1500m later this evening.
Mahuchik Wins First Gold
The first gold medal of the championships was awarded to Yaroslava Mahuchik in the women’s high jump with a best of 2.01m. A unique situation arose where Nicola Olyslagers, Angelina Topic and Yuliia Levchenko all cleared 1.99m, resulting in three silver medals being awarded due to a tie.
Live updates from the World Athletics Championships are available on RTÉ Radio 1.