English to lead Team of Five for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships

Mark English will lead the Irish team of five to compete at the IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships which takes place in Sopot, Poland from March 7th to the 9th. English will line up in the Men's 800m with Roseanne Gilligan (Newbridge AC) and Ciara Everard (UCD AC) lining up in the women's race. In the 1500m Ireland will be represented by David McCarthy (West Waterford AC) and Claire Tarplee (Dundrum South Dublin AC).

Mark English (UCD AC) who is coached by Teresa McDaid has been in exciting form this season setting a new Irish Men's Senior 800m Indoor Record of 1:46.82 at the Woodie's DIY AAI Open Games in AIT International Arena, Athlone. This time ranks him 12th in the IAAF top lists. This will be the Donegal man's debut at the World Indoor Championships, speaking about the championships he said: "If I make the final I would be over the moon but it would be remise of me not to say that this is a whole learning experience for me and over the next few years I want to master my event in preparation for what is the pinnacle of every athletes career - the Olympic Games "

Ciara Everard (UCD AC) has a seasonal best of 2.04.02 which she set when finishing fourth the Prague Indoor Grand Prix last Tuesday. The Kilkenny athlete, who is coached by James Nolan, last year set a National Indoor Record of 2:02.54 and reached the final at the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden finishing sixth.

800m outdoor record holder Roseanne Gilligan (Newbridge AC) has a season's best of 2:03.69 which she set when competing in Reykjavik, Iceland in January. The Kildare woman has a personal best of 2:02.84 which she set at the European Indoor Championships.

National champion Claire Tarplee (Dundrum South Dublin AC) will compete in the 1500m. At the Indoor Classic in Vienna in January Tarplee was third in a season's best time of 4:14.61, just outside her best for the distance of 4:13.16.

David McCarthy of West Waterford AC who had the qualification standard for both the 1500m and 3000m has opted to compete in the 1500m. At the AAI Open Games he set a personal best of 3:39.14 when finishing second to Jakub Ouolusa of Czech Republic.

High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom commented: "In this team we have four athletes who will make their debut at World Indoor Championships. These are the athletes who are on the performance pathway to being in the mix come Rio 2016. We are looking for the athletes to gain exposure to world class competition environment and to perform close to their best".

Amy Foster who had achieved the standard in the 60m has made the decision not to compete as she is targeting qualification for the Glasgow Commonwealth games which has a deadline in early June. Foster said "Regrettably I'm unable to take my place on the team to Poland as the qualification for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games is in early June and I need to be race ready for outdoor competition in mid-April. I wish my teammates every success in Poland."