Erin Friel

Erin Friel is an Irish sprinter.

Early life

Friel is from Newtown Cunningham, in County Donegal. She was educated at Loreto Secondary School.

Friel is a member of Letterkenny Athletics Club. Shortly after her 17th birthday, Friel set a new Donegal record of 24.82 seconds for the 200 metres to beat the previous record set by Mary McLoone in 2009, before finishing sixth in the 200m final at the 2025 Irish Indoor Athletics Championships.
Friel won the Irish under-20 national title over 400 metres in July 2025. She was a bronze medalist over 400 metres at the 2025 European Youth Olympics in Skopje, North Macedonia. Later at the Games, she was a member of the Ireland girls medley relay team as they set a new Irish national under-18 record to finish in fourth place overall. Friel competed for Ireland at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Friel was named as a reserve for the senior Irish relay pool for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.