Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adeleke have been awarded joint Athlete of the Year at the 123.ie National Athletics Awards this evening.
The duo took top honours after record breaking seasons in their respective disciplines which resulted in 4th placed finishes at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
An outstanding season for Mageean now sees the Portaferry athlete hold national records at 800m, 1000m, 1500m and the Mile, while Adeleke also holds Irish national records including 60m, 200m, 300m and 400m.
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The Track Athlete of Year Award was also Mageean's, finishing ahead of Irish relay star Sharlene Mawdsley and fellow record breakers Sarah Lavin and Andrew Coscoran who all enjoyed a sensational 2023.
Tallaght's Adeleke also won the U23 athlete of the year prize, beating off competition from Sarah Healy, Sophie O'Sullivan and Nicola Tuthill.
Elizabeth Ndudi was named U20 Athlete of Year following her gold medal winning performance in Jerusalem back in August, when she won Ireland’s first field event gold medal at a European U20 championships.
The mixed relay team of Callum Baird, Chris O’Donnell, Jack Raftery, Roisin Harrison, Sharlene Mawdsley, and Sophie Becker picked up the Team of the Year Award on the back of their performance at the World Championships in Budapest.
Mark Carroll has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Carroll enjoyed a glittering career, winning the European Junior Men’s 5,000m title in 1991 before claiming bronze in the 5,000m at the European Championships in 1998. Carroll won the biggest title of his career in 200 when he achieved a gold medal in the 3,000m at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Arguably the greatest race of Carroll’s career was in Monaco a year earlier, when he set the Irish 3,000m record of 7.30.36 which still stands some 24 years later.
CEO of Athletics Ireland, Hamish Adams: “The 123.ie National Athletics Awards allow us celebrate the great performances of our athletes 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.
"We have enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2023 and we look forward to building on this year’s successes heading into an Olympic year in 2024 and beyond.”
President of Athletics Ireland, John Cronin, added: “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 Turin 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.”
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