Paul Robinson chasing a PB with Tokyo target in mind for Irish sextet at famed Czech event

Paul Robinson of Ireland, centre, competes in the men's 1,500m heats during the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Poland in March. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Cathal Dennehy

May 19 2021 02:30 AM

For six Irish Olympic hopefuls, the race to Tokyo starts here.

At the famed Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic this evening, Paul Robinson, Seán Tobin, Nadia Power, Luke McCann, Mark English and John Fitzsimons will all hope to lay down a key marker with six weeks until the qualification deadline closes.

“It’s a great opportunity, it’s absolutely loaded,” said Robinson, the reigning Irish 1,500m champion, who will race that distance tonight. “It’s a bit strange going into a race this high calibre as my first race but I’ve come off a good camp and a good indoor season. I’m looking to go under 3:37 and go close to running a PB. These chances don’t come along too often.”

Robinson’s best is the 3:35.22 he ran in 2013, just outside the automatic Olympic standard of 3:35.00, and he feels his fitness has progressed after making the European indoor final in March.

“You get to a stage where you don’t want to train any more, you just want to race. This season is strange, usually competitions are a little later so you have May, June, July (to qualify) but now you have a month. You have to come out firing on all cylinders.”

Power is looking for similar in the women’s 800m after a recent three-week training camp in Switzerland.

“I’m definitely hoping for my fastest ever opener and to go in around my PB (2:00.98),” she said. “I’m happy with the training I’ve done, the camp pushed me on.”

She is currently 41st on the Road to Tokyo world rankings list, with 48 places available in the 800m, while English is also in good standing at 33rd.

The Donegal athlete opens his outdoor season against a world-class field and will be looking to start as he did indoors, having set a national record of 1:46.10 back in February. Kildare’s Fitzsimons is also in the field.

Irish 10,000m champion Tobin can move into contention in the Olympic 5,000m rankings by posting a fast time over 3,000m tonight in a race where Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei is going after Daniel Komen’s world record of 7:20.67, which has stood for 25 years.

“I know I’m in good nick and I know I can PB,” said Tobin, who just wrapped up a five-week training camp in Portugal. He will race the 5,000m in the Diamond League in Gateshead on Sunday before another 5,000m in Gothenburg on June 2.

“We’ve only got a six-week window now for races, and my work is done. The next three races will give me a very good indicator whether I’m on track to make the Olympics.”

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