Lauren Cadden
Athletics
BIOGRAPHY
Lauren Cadden represented Ireland in the women’s 4×400 metres relay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, running in the heats as Ireland qualified for the final. The team went on to finish fourth in the final, missing bronze by 0.18 seconds in a national record of 3:19.90, though Cadden did not run that leg.
She grew up in Skreen and played Gaelic football alongside athletics before committing fully to sprinting in 2020. She attended Ursuline College Sligo and studied Health Science and Physical Activity at ATU Sligo on a sports scholarship, graduating in 2022. A member of Sligo Athletics Club, she won her first senior national title in the women’s 200m in 2022 before transitioning to the 400m. Her breakthrough in the relay programme came in 2024: she ran her first ever relay leg at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau in May, helping Ireland qualify for the Paris Olympics, and then ran in the heats of the European Championships in Rome where Ireland won silver in the women’s 4x400m final.
OTHER ATHLETICS ATHLETES
ATHLETICS NEWS
IN THE NEWS – MAY 25TH 2026
In the News – Team Ireland Round‑Up 25th May 2026 Irish athletes delivered standout performances across multiple sports this week, with personal bests, podium finishes and major milestones on the international stage. Sailing A superb week in Croatia saw Eve McMahon win U23 gold and finish fourth overall at the ILCA European Championships. In the [...]
In The News – May 18th 2026
Athletics Mark English made history with a landmark performance in the 800m, surging to victory in a meeting record time of 1:43.85 at the Shanghai Diamond League. The Donegal athlete becomes the first Irish male to win a Diamond League race, adding his name to a growing list of Irish winners on the circuit alongside [...]
Dan Kennedy RIP
Today, a man whose guidance helped shape generations of Irish athletes, including several Olympians, was laid to rest. Dan Kennedy, known to most simply as “DK”, was far more than a PE teacher. He was a mentor, innovator, coach and trusted voice whose influence stretched quietly but profoundly across Irish sport for more than five [...]
Events coming up in May 2026
Athletics 2-3 May: World Athletics Relays, Gaborone, Botswana Boxing 3-10 May: Feliks Stamm Tournament, Warsaw, Poland Canoeing 29-31 May: Canoe Slalom World Cup 1, Ljubljana, Slovenia Cycling 1-3 May: Downhill & Cross-country Olympic World Series round 1, South Korea 22-24 May: Rás Tailteann, Ireland 22-24 May: Cross Country World Series, Czech Republic [...]
In The News – May 5th 2026
Athletics Irish Women’s 4x400m Team Qualify for 2027 World Athletics Championships The Irish Women’s 4x400m relay team produced a hugely impressive performance on Day Two of the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, securing qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. The quartet of Rachel McCann (North Down AC), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock [...]
SONIA O’SULLIVAN INSPIRES AT WESTPORT AC EVENT SUPPORTED BY DARE TO BELIEVE
Team Ireland Olympic silver medallist Sonia O'Sullivan joined almost 500 schoolchildren at a special event hosted by Westport Athletics Club, supported by the Dare to Believe Programme, the Olympic Federation of Ireland schools programme sponsored by Allianz Ireland. Set against the stunning backdrop of Croagh Patrick and under bright blue skies, the newly opened track [...]