Emma Moore surprised even herself eight days before Christmas when, at a low-key indoor athletics meet, she ran an outright personal best and set a new national U23 record of 2:02.39 for the 800m.
That time was just 0.19 seconds shy of the World Indoor Championship ‘B’ standard set by Athletics Ireland. It capped a hectic period for the 21-year-old, who was juggling training with a teaching degree placement at DCU.
Yet Moore explained that the 2:02 mark was simply a long-delayed goal finally realised.
“It was a surprise because we stepped out of a winter block and just decided, let’s see where the fitness is at. So, was I surprised? Yes,” Moore told Athletics Ireland.
“Surprised that it was a national record, as I actually didn’t know before I went out and raced, which is always a good thing.
Her progress over the past two years has been remarkable. Moore slashed her previous best of 2:10.05 (set in 2023 ) by eight seconds, but her talent was evident early on, winning Irish schools titles in the event.
Like many young athletes, injuries stalled her rise. A knee issue followed by bone injuries in 2023 and 2024 limited her ability to break into the senior ranks. But last July, Moore earned her first Ireland call-up for the European U23 Championships in Bergen, competing in both the 800m and 4x400m relay.
Now, her ambitions are even bigger – she has one eye on the World Indoor Championships in Poland this March.
Initially, that goal felt far-fetched when she sat down with coach Joe Ryan last October, but Moore now believes in the plan.
“When I sat down with Joe in October and we were throwing out these competitions, Worlds and Europeans, I was like, ‘OK, this is a bit far-fetched’, but I’m in the mix now.
“It’s all about trusting him, trusting his plan, and trusting myself, trusting my body, because that’s something I haven’t been able to do over the last few years, just with injury.”
Moore recently completed a 10-day training camp in Portugal to prepare for her indoor season.
On Saturday, she will race in Luxembourg, her first World Indoor Tour Silver meeting, before lining up at the Gold-level Belgrade event on 11 February.
Her late-2025 breakthrough has already caught the attention of European meet organisers.
“I’m racing the silver meet in Luxembourg next week, which I couldn’t have even imagined this happening so quickly after running that 2:02.
“It’s just about sitting, hanging on and trying to chip away at the time again and enjoy it. You hear Sarah (Healy ) and the M11 group are all about just enjoying racing and it’s obviously paying off for them. I think that’s the hack, we need to just jump on that bandwagon, and just enjoy training.
“I feel like that’s something I’ve had an issue with in the past, is going into nationals and just shying away from them and just not wanting to go in and prove where I’m at and that I can compete with these people.
“I think that’s really what the last race there with the 2:02 has given me, is just confidence to know I deserve to be here.
“When I stand on that start line next week at the silver meet, I’m not going to shy away, I hope. I hope I just go in and prove where my fitness is at.”
