World Masters T&F Championships 2026 (22nd & 29th Aug)
Among over 6,000 athletes from 105 Countries at the World Masters T&F Championships in Daegu, South Korea is a team of 28 master athletes from Ireland, including Sean McMullin who competed in the 10k Race Walk on Saturday morning 22nd August. Despite the early 9am start, it was already over 30degC and the humidity was a sticky 90%. Sean’s race included athletes from seven age categories, so a very big field of 72 athletes toed the line. Unfazed, and drawing on his vast experience in International competition, Sean knew to focus on his own race and only those in his own age category and he set about the task with his usual determination. The judges were busy, with four disqualifications, and as a measure of how tough the hot and humid conditions were, fifteen couldn’t finish the race, many a lot younger than Sean, but Sean is made of stern stuff and after a terrific well-paced race he crossed the finish line in 1:15:17 to win his master age category by over 16 minutes, a truly dominant performance, adding yet another World Masters title to his very large collection of titles.
It was raining heavily on music fans at Electric Picnic in Laois on Friday night 28th August, but at the same time on the far side of the World in Daegu (South Korea) it was early on Saturday morning 29th August and it was absolutely lashing rain, definitely no picnic for the 83 men who took to the start line for the 20k Race Walk. As well as the rain, the men had to endure hot 28degC temperatures and high humidity, very tough conditions for a 20k endurance event.
Sean McMullin was looking to add to his gold medal from the 10k race walk the previous Saturday and set about the task with his customary grit and determination. Sticking to his race plan, always under the vigilant eyes of the judges, he carefully controlled his pace and using all the water stations to keep well hydrated, he battled on and crossed the finish line 2:41:51 later to win his age category by over 10 minutes and add his second World Masters title of these Championships. This is a great result for a dedicated Mullingar Harrier on the World stage [GD].
