ATHLETICS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, BIRMINGHAM 2026

AddicksAddict said:

Raith_C_Chattonell said:

se9addick said:

Why do we compete as GB & NI rather than U.K.?

Irish athletes can choose who they represent - it is rather complex.

E.G Kate O'Connor the Heptathlon gold medalist competes for Ireland at all major global meets, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, and European Championships (where she just won Heptathlon gold in Birmingham). 

For Northern Ireland: Because the Republic of Ireland does not participate in the Commonwealth Games, she utilizes her Newry birthright to represent Team Northern Ireland at that specific event, where she recently won gold in Glasgow.

TBF all her training and upbringing in the sport has been under the Irish system.  There are NI athletes who choose GB for cultural reasons 

Still doesn’t explain why we compete as GB & NI rather than UK, seeing as UK means “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.