Mayo man named Under 20 Athlete of the Year at 123.ie National Athletics Awards

Oisin Joyce of Lake District AC, based in Ballinrobe, has been named the Under 20 Athlete of the Year at the 123.ie National Athletics Awards, which took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, Dublin.

His honour comes on the back of securing Ireland’s first ever throws medal in the javelin at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Peru back in August.

The 19-year-old produced the performance of his life to win bronze, extending his own Irish Under 20 record out to 73.89m to claim what was Ireland’s fifth ever medal at the championships.

Joyce fought off stiff competition for the award, with Elizabeth Ndudi (Dundrum South Dublin AC), Fintan Dewhirst (Tir Chonaill AC) and European Under 18 hammer throw champion Thomas Williams (Shercock AC) all receiving worthy nominations on the back of brilliant seasons.

Elsewhere, Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) was crowned the 2024 Athlete of the Year on the back of another superb season which saw her smash Irish records over 60m, 200m and 300m indoors, and over 100m and 400m outdoors.

She also walked away with the Sprint & Hurdles Athlete of Year Award, fending off strong competition from Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC), Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) and Israel Olatunde (Tallaght AC), who all enjoyed exceptional years.

Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC) walked away with the Middle Distance Athlete of the Year Award ahead of fellow nominees Cathal Doyle, Mark English and Sarah Healy, while the Endurance Athlete of the Year Award went to Fionnuala McCormack (Kilcoole AC), who once again proved her class over cross country and the marathon over the past 12 months.

One of the rising stars of field events, Nicola Tuthill, walked away with the Field Athlete of the Year Award. Also represented as nominees in the category were Eric Favors, Reece Ademola and Kate O’Connor.

Irish relay enjoyed a year to remember, and it was fitting that the women’s 4 x 400m Olympic team of Kelly McGrory (Tir Chonaill AC), Lauren Cadden (Sligo AC), Rachel McCann (North Down AC), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC), Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) picked up the Team of the Year Award on the back of their historic fourth placed finish in Paris.

POPULAR

Gillian O’Sullivan was a very popular inductee into the Hall of Fame for 2024. The Kerry native began a glittering career in 1994 which would see her represent Ireland at European Championships, World Championships and an Olympic Games in the 20km race walk.

Arguably O’Sullivan’s best performance came in 2003 when she took silver in the 20km walk at the World Championships in Paris – the first time since 1995 that an Irish athlete had won a World Championship medal.

The feat sees O’Sullivan remain part of an exclusive club of only five Irish athletes – the others being Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O’Sullivan, Olive Loughnane and Rob Heffernan – who have podiumed at a World Athletics Outdoor Championship.

While the 123.ie National Athletics Awards are a celebration of the many successes of the international and national athletes, it also commemorates the association’s exceptional volunteer base. The Lifetime Services to Athletics Award was presented to Peter Hanlon (Crusaders AC), while Sligo’s Anne McHugh won Official of the Year.

Neil Cusack was the recipient of the Special Recognition Award, and Peter McDermott (Clonliffe Harriers AC) received the award for services to coaching.

Speaking at the awards, Elaine Robinson, managing director of 123.ie, said: “Our partnership with Athletics Ireland reflects our unwavering commitment to empowering athletes at every level. We thank the team at Athletics Ireland and the wider volunteer base for the tremendous work they put in to promote and grow athletics across Ireland.”

The CEO of Athletics Ireland, Hamish Adams, added: “The 123.ie National Athletics Awards allow us to celebrate the great performances of our athletes and organisation over the course of the last year, while also offering Athletics Ireland the opportunity to thank and acknowledge our coaches, officials, and clubs for their enormous contribution to the success of our sport.”

John Cronin, president of Athletics Ireland, commented: “We are very proud of how our athletes have represented us across a busy year of competition both domestically and internationally. We have enjoyed many highlights since last year’s European Cross Country Championships in Brussels and these awards give us the opportunity to acknowledge those performances. We also thank our coaches, clubs, volunteers, and long serving members of our athletic community who all play a hugely important role in the promotion, growth, and success of our sport.”

Other winners at the ceremony were as follows: Inspirational Performance on Irish Soil - Cathal Doyle (Morton Mile); Special recognition Award - Neil Cusack; Performance Club of the Year - Leevale AC; Development Club of the Year - Glenmore AC; Mountain Runner of the Year - Enda Cloake; Masters Athlete of the Year - John MacDermott; Ultra Runner of the Year - Sorcha Loughnane; Schools’ Athlete of the Year - Cian Crampton; University Athlete of the Year - Pierre Murchan; Member Federation Award - Amanda Hynes; Coaching Awards - Gary Ryan and Kay Bannon.