Adam McMullen (Crusaders AC) has announced his retirement from competitive athletics.
McMullen represented both Ireland and Northern Ireland at several major championships and has been the most successful long jumper in Ireland for years.
He competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast for Northern Ireland. He also made multiple appearances in the green vest of Ireland including the European Championships in 2018 in Berlin, 3 European Team Championships, the World University Games in 2015 in Gwangju, South Korea and the European Indoor Championships in 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic.
In 2019 he suffered an Achilles rupture but returned to competitive action in 2021 to win the Irish National Senior title at Morton Stadium in Santry with a best jump of 7.51m. His first national senior title was won in 2011.
McMullen remains second on the Irish All-Time list for the event behind Ciaran McDonagh, who is the only Irishman ever to jump over eight metres when he did so in 2005. McMullen’s best of 7.99 was achieved at the National Indoor Arena, Abbottstown when he won the national title in February 2018.
He holds the most Irish senior Long Jump titles with 14, seven Indoors (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018) and seven outdoors (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021).
McMullen is now a full-time coach to some top up and coming sprinters. One of the athletes he coaches Oliver Swinney recently ran a World Junior Championships qualifying standard of 10.47s for 100m. This takes Swinney to second on the Irish and Northern Irish All-Time list for U20 100m and moved the 18-year-old inside the top 20 on the Irish Senior All-Time list.
In an Instagram post yesterday, McMullen said he was feeling excited for what is to come.
“I used to think when I retired, I would be sad or upset, but I’ve had such a great career, my body is 100% healthy and it’s so nice to just end things on my own terms. When I think about my future coaching athletics, I feel nothing but excitement. I know this is the right choice and right time to finish this chapter of my life.”
