STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State senior sprinter Lauren Roy will once again run for her country of Ireland at the international level, this time competing in the 2026 World Indoor Championships at on Friday to Sunday.
The World Indoor Championships will be held in Toruń, Poland, at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena. The world indoors are only held every two years. Fans can watch Roy as well as any other competitors on a live stream via World Athletics+, where all that is needed is creating a free account. Live results will also be provided by World Athletics. A total of 674 athletes from 118 member federations are entered for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 from 20-22 March. It’s the conclusion of the global indoor season, with 81 medals up for grabs.
The Ballymena, Northern Ireland, native will compete in the 60 meters on Saturday. She will race in the field of 54women in the first round at 11:05 am local time, 5:05 am CT. She will need a top 24 time to reach the semifinals later that afternoon with the finals that evening. She posted the qualifying mark of 7.19 seconds in the prelims of the WAC Championships just a few weeks ago. She has the second fastest time in Irish history in the event.
The only two women this year to have run sub-7.00 seconds this year are among those in the 54-woman group. Roy is tied for 22nd best time this year in the group heading into the championships. She is one of two Irish women in the field, joined by fellow countrywoman, Ciara Neville, who is just one year older than Roy.
Roy has competed for Ireland on the international outdoor stage multiple times before, but this will be the first time she represents her country at an indoor championship. Last summer she competed for Ireland outdoors in the 100, 200 and 4×100 meter relay at the 2025 World University Games and the 2025 European Team National Championships. Last summer, she also won the 100 and 200 at the Irish Championships. She also placed third in the 100 meters in the 2023 European Team National Championships. In 2022, she competed at the 2022 World Athletics Outdoor Championships, placing eighth in the 4×100 meter relay.
The senior earned a pair of Second-Team All-American honors in her final NCAA indoor Track and Field Championships as a Texan this past weekend. In the 60 meters she placed 16th in 7.29 seconds on Friday. Less than two hours later she placed 11th in the 200 meters in 23.03 seconds. The senior tallied her first individual All-American honors and her first in the indoor season. She totals three, with one Second Team All-American recognition from the outdoor championships last year in the 4×100 meter relay.
Roy would have broken the new All-time WAC record and championship meet record if it had not been for her teammate, Victoria Cameron. Roy clocked in at 7.19 seconds in the prelims, the third fastest mark ever in the WAC Championships, with Cameron holding the top two. She also ranks fifth in the WAC all-time in 7.19 seconds, with Cameron holding the top four marks. Roy was the 200-meter WAC champion with the new meet record of 24.94 seconds.
Tarleton State Track and Field will begin outdoor season, while Roy finishes up her indoor slate. The Texans will head to ACU for the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational this Friday and Saturday. Roy will return to the US after the weekend to continue with the Texans’ outdoor season.
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