Northern Ireland Athletes Depart for Manchester International

Despite the absence of several of our senior international athletes who competed at the European Athletics Championships in Berlin, the team will benefit from the experience of Commonwealth Games athlete, Adam Kirk-Smith (3000m Steeplechase) and junior/U23 internationals, Craig Newell (400m, 4 X 100m, 4 X 400m), Davicia Patterson (4 X 400m) and Lauren Roy (100m, 200m, 4 X 100m). 

Eleven NI & Ulster athletes will make their senior track & field debut tonight. Local athletes, Conall Kirk (800m) and Ellie McCartney (Pole Vault) should be very competitive in the international fields after their breakthrough year.

The Manchester International will be a regular fixture for Northern Ireland athletes as we look towards strengthening the Athlete Development Pathway and increasing the numbers of athletes successfully transitioning from through to major championships.

Along with other new competition opportunities for NI & Ulster athletes including the Welsh U20 International and English Combined Events Championships, tonight's competition is an opportunity for athletes to improve performance behaviours including interacting effectively with team coaches, self-management and preparation at championship events.

An educational team meeting was delivered by Athletics NI Development Staff in Manchester last night, which covered a number of these areas. Athletics NI plan to continue this education by making it a theme of future camps and competitions now that the Commonwealth Games 2022 cycle is underway.

Team List: 

Start lists and results:

http://results.welshathletics.org/

Streaming:

http://vinco.elasticbeanstalk.com/videos/live

*The action begins tonight at 1630