Patsy McGonagle will lead an eleven-strong Irish team to the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade next week.
The Ballybofey man, who has been Irish team manager at four Olympic Games, has been selected as the manager for what is the first Championships in the next four-year Olympic cycle, the start of the journey towards Tokyo in 2020.
The European Indoor Championships take place in Serbia from March 3-5.
McGonagle said: “This is the first step out into the next Olympic cycle having acquitted ourselves extremely well in Rio.
“We will be building from that and we look forward to the year ahead. This will be the highlight of the indoor season at elite level.”
European outdoor 1500m bronze medallist Ciara Mageean is one of the leading names on the team.
The UCD athlete will be looking for another strong showing in Belgrade. She will be joined by fellow Rio Olympian Kerry O’Flaherty. The Newcastle athlete competed at the Rio Olympics in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Brian Gregan (Clonliffe Harriers) is currently ranked 10th on the European indoor list in the 400m and will be looking to take it round by round in the two lap event.
17-year-old Ciara Neville (Emerald) makes her first major senior championship and should provide an excellent platform to gain some experience against Europe’s best athletes.
Irish team: Phil Healy (Bandon) 60m, 400m; Ciara Neville (Emerald) 60m; Amy Foster (City of Lisburn) 60m; Sinead Denny (DSD) 400m; Ciara Mageean (UCD) 1500m; Kerry O’Flaherty (Newcastle) 1500m; Brian Gregan (Clonliffe Harriers) 400m; Zak Curran (DSD) 800m; John Travers (Donore Harriers) 1500m; Tomas Cotter (Dunleer) 3,000m; Ben Reynolds (North Down) 60m hurdles; Team manager: Patsy McGonagle.
