James Dunne attains World Championship qualifying time

Offaly athlete James Dunne has broken the Athletics Ireland 1500m qualifying standards for both the World Championships and World University Games.

Dunne, from Ballycommon, smashed three seconds off his personal best with a sensational run at the Duke Twilight at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday night.

His time of 3:35.17 is inside the qualifying standards set by Athletics Ireland for both the World Championships (B standard of 3:35.75) and the World University Games (A standard 3:36.00) which take place in Japan and Germany respectively.

He crossed the finish line in fifth, having run a new PB of 3:35.17, which knocked almost three seconds off his previous best.

The time moves James to 10th on the Irish all-time list and relegates Eamon Coghlan to 13th.

It is also the fastest 1500m run by an Offaly man as it surpasses James Nolan’s best of 3:35.69.

The current Irish record of 3:30.42 was set by Andrew Coscoran in July 2023.

Beating the Athletics Ireland qualifying standard does not guarantee selection for Dunne as there are a number of other qualifying criteria, but after his race on Sunday night, Dunne was confident that he could meet those too.