Luke McCann survives 1,500m barge-fest in Istanbul as Andrew Coscoran misses out

Championship running has always been a game of confidence and nerve. Over 1,500 metres and especially indoors it’s also a game of risk, as Andrew Coscoran and Luke McCann discovered with utterly mixed fortunes inside the Ataköy Arena on the opening session of the European Indoor Championships.

Coscoran and McCann had arrived with confidence soaring and progressing through their 1,500m heats was the least of their ambitions. Instead only McCann made it, as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers, both heats decided with elbows and arms as much as the legs.

With defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway redrawn into heat one, coolly qualifying in third with minimal fuss and even less effort, heat two and three were suddenly wide open. It felt like anyone could progress, barging or otherwise,

Coscoran was up first, the 26-year-old from north Dublin still oozing confidence after improving both the Irish indoor and outdoor 1,500m with a stunning time of 3:33.49 in a superfast race in Birmingham last Saturday.

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Coscoran repeatedly found himself boxed for space in the closing three laps after taking the risk to run at the back early on. Third with 400m to go, he got pushed down to fourth around the final bend. Only the top three progressed automatically, his 3:44.11 was at that point the best of the three non-automatic qualifiers – that race won by Italy’s Pietro Arese in 3:43.97, one of the proverbial outsiders.

Then came McCann, the 24-year-old from south Dublin, who took the opposite risk of running at the front. He was still leading at the bell lap, and although he dropped to fifth into the home stretch, breaking stride in the process, his 3:41.51 was enough to progress. All six from that race, won by Britain’s Neil Gourley in 3:41.08, will be out again in Friday’s final.

Rarely have two successive heats featured so many elements of mixed martial arts, but that’s championship running. McCann will be one of the least experienced finalists, still his recent best of 3:34.76 means he won’t be out of depth. It is blow for Coscoran and he’ll know it, especially after making the European outdoor final last August. Germany’s Amos Bartelsmeyer, another medal contender, also exited in that race after running with similarly risky tactics.

Ingebrigtsen, meanwhile, is out to attempt another 1,500m-3,000m double here, and unless he falls will surely succeed. Still only 22, with two European outdoor doubles over 1,500m-5,000m, two European cross-country titles, two European Indoor 3,000m titles and another over 1,500m, his only senior loss came in 2019, when he won silver in Glasgow over 1,500m.

Two gold medals here would bring his European senior tally to 11 and he has the confidence and nerve to pull it off, no matter what the risk.

Mark English also arrived in Istanbul with confidence soaring, the 29-year-old looking to win a third European Indoor medal over 800m to add to his two outdoors – only he didn’t get to race at all, the Donegal doctor withdrawing earlier on Thursday due to illness.

“I came here in great shape, but unfortunately I’m not in a position to do myself justice,” he said, his heat won in 1:49.88 by Poland’s Mateusz Borkowski, a time which wouldn’t have bothered English in the slightest, having clocked 1:46.57 in Madrid last week.

John Fitzsimons faced a far more challenging field in heat three, the Kildare runner moving from fifth to fourth over the last lap, but short of qualifying with his 1:49.36 ranked 16th best overall.

Israel Olatunde, now undisputed as Ireland’s fastest man after lowering the 60m indoor mark to 6.57 when defending his national title, also has the Olympic champion to contend with, the Italian Marcell Jacobs, who has a best of 6.54.

Olatunde is ranked eighth, a final spot clearly within reach if he can go the rounds, his heat taking place early on Saturday morning. After making the eight-man 100m final in the European Championship last summer he’s gunning for more.

“In Munich, the atmosphere really was what spurred us on to the great performances,” he said “Seeing other people put on some great indoor performances this season inspires me to push on and do whatever I can to push the boundaries.”

Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker and Cliodhna Manning all go in the women’s 400m heats, Becker certainly in form to progress, while Kate O’Connor faces a long day of action in the pentathlon, the Commonwealth Games heptathlon silver medallist out in the 60m hurdles, before taking to the high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m.

Friday: Irish in Action

6.0-6.07 – Pentathlon 60mH heats: Kate O’Connor

6.45 – Pentathlon High Jump: Kate O’Connor

7.40-9.12 – 400m heats: Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker, Cliodhna Manning

9.05-12.33 – 60m heats: Joan Healy

9.30 – Pentathlon Shot Put: Kate O’Connor

4.10 – Pentathlon Long Jump: Kate O’Connor

5.40 – Men’s 1,500m final: Luke McCann

6.05-6.13 – Pentathlon 800m heats: Kate O’Connor