THE Irish athletics team have arrived in the Netherlands as they aim to keep the momentum around their sport up back home.
Day one of the European Indoor Athletics Championships could immediately bring with it a medal too through the 4x400m mixed relay.
The Omnisport Apeldoorn in Apeldoorn will serve as the venue across the four-day meet[/caption]
The foursome are fancied to make the podium this evening, with the final at 8.50pm.
Sharlene Mawdsley and Phil Healy are both expected to line out for Team Ireland.
Conor Kelly, who set a new national Under-20 record in the 400m at the championships 12 days ago, is set to join them.
But the Dutch are favourites to claim gold on home soil.
Earlier in the evening Sarah Lavin — who won her seventh Irish national indoor title last month — will compete in the women’s 60m hurdles.
The race is live on RTÉ2 at 7.50pm. Should the Emerald AC star advance, she will run a semi-final and potential final tomorrow.
Joining them in action tonight is Cathal Doyle in the first round of the men’s 1500m.
The Clonliffe Harriers man, 27, claimed national glory at Abbotstown last month. The final takes place tomorrow.
The Championships coinciding with another mega weekend of rugby fare in the Six Nations has led to RTE announcing a ‘blockbuster’ schedule for the week.
Saturday’s slate is set to peak with the meeting of Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium, where Simon Easterby‘s side will look to take a massive stride towards the Grand Slam.
From today though, it will be all about the European Indoor Athletics Championships.
Team Ireland will be led by Mawdsley and bolstered by Sarah Healy, Jodie McCann, Lavin, Kate O’Connor, Andrew Coscoran, Cathal Doyle, and Paralympian Orla Comerford.
The national broadcaster will be televising the competition on RTE 2 and the RTE Player, with coverage starting at 6pm this evening.
Paul O’Flynn will be joined by Derval O’Rourke, Rob Heffernan and Sonia O’Sullivan with David Gillick reporting from trackside with Greg Allen and David Matthews on commentary.
Gillick, of course, gained acclaim for his popular and insightful trackside interviews during the Paris Olympics last summer.
The athletics will continue across the weekend on RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player with radio coverage across all news bulletins and on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
A jam-packed weekend of rugby starts on Friday night, when the Ireland U20s take on France in Cork in the Six Nations.
Daire O’Brien will be alongside Darren Cave and Hannah Tyrrell for live coverage on RTE 2 and RTE Player, starting at 7:35pm.
Commentary from Virgin Media Park comes from Connor Morris and Fiona Coghlan.
The RTE Player will have standalone coverage of England vs Italy from Bath.
LE CRUNCH CLASH
Saturday, however, is the main event, when defending champions Ireland continue their pursuit of a third successive title at the Aviva Stadium.
To do so, they will have to manoeuvre the formidable French, led by the mercurial Antoine Dupont.
Jacqui Hurley will be joined from 1:15pm on RTE 2 and RTE Player by Jamie Heaslip and Stephen Ferris with commentary from Hugh Cahill, Donal Lenihan and Bernard Jackman.
On RTE Radio 1, Des Cahill will be live from the Aviva with analysts Niamh Briggs and Shane Byrne.
Michael Corcoran, meanwhile, will bring listeners all the action along with co-commentator James Downey.
In GAA, the Allianz Leagues in football and hurling are heating up and Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTE Radio 1 will have live commentaries and reports across the weekend.
And on Sunday night at 9:30pm on RTE 2, Joanne Cantwell will be joined by Jackie Tyrrell and Liam Sheedy for highlights and analysis of a very busy weekend of hurling including Limerick vs Galway, Clare vs Cork and Kilkenny vs Tipperary.
In Camogie, RTE Sport Online will have the latest from the Very National League including Galway vs Tipperary, Dublin vs Waterford and Cork vs Kilkenny.
