Cathal Dennehy: Irish athletics can’t be allowed to slide backwards again after roaring success in Tokyo

Dire showing at London 2017 shows how far we have come

Kate O’Connor poses for a portrait with her women’s heptathlon silver medal during day nine of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Photo: Barnes/Sportsfile

There are many ways to break down what unfolded in Tokyo over the last nine days, but one of the best is to go back in time – to a World Championships that was much closer to home.

London 2017 was a great edition of the sport’s showpiece event. Just not for the Irish. And a flick back through the results shows the gargantuan distance Irish athletics has travelled in the last eight years.