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Ireland 4x400m women's team sixth at European Athletics Championships as Louise Shanahan finishes eighth in 800m

Updated / Sunday, 21 Aug 2022 08:00
The Ireland team of Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker, Phil Healy and Rhasidat Adeleke have enjoyed a memorable championships
The Ireland team of Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker, Phil Healy and Rhasidat Adeleke have enjoyed a memorable championships

The Ireland women's 4x400m relay team have finished in sixth place at the European Championship in Munich.

Having qualified for the final with a second-place finish in their semi-final and a new Irish record, hopes were high that the Irish team could possibly challenge for a medal.

However, it was not to be as the week’s exertions appeared to take a toll on the team as they clocked three minutes 26.63 seconds, 0.6 of a second off their Irish record.

Keeping to the same running order that saw them qualify for the final, Sophie Becker was first off the blocks and made a steady start, improving from sixth place at the stagger to fifth at the handover.

Phil Healy was next but already there was a breakaway group of four as Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium left the others behind them and Healy struggled to make up any ground.

Healy dropped to seventh for the handover to Rhasidat Adeleke, who had announced herself on the international stage in the individual 400m final earlier in the week.

Adeleke showed the blistering form that has marked her out as a medal threat and set about clawing back some of the lost ground. She overtook runners from Germany and Switzerland to make the handover to Sharlene Mawdsley in fifth place.

Mawdsley ran gamely in the final leg but there was no catching the top four, who had opened up an unassailable lead over the chasing pack, and the Irish women eventually crossed the line in sixth.

At the business end of the race, Dutch superstar Femke Bol ensured that she would add the 4x400m relay gold to her 400m and 400m hurdles titles with another powerful display of running, leaving the others fighting for the silver and bronze.

Poland secured that silver medal, with Great Britain finishing third.

Becker said that the team's stunning exploits yesterday had left her feeling a bit fatigued.

"I gave it my all," she told RTÉ Sport. "I really emptied the tank. I really tried to push in the last 100, tried to keep my gap from the Netherlands girl in front of me, she was kind of my target for the full thing.

"I don’t know what my split was like but I emptied the tank. It’s our second day in a row, in the legs, felt it a little bit."

Healy, meanwhile, said that she was disappointed with her own performance but delighted overall with their exploits in Munich.

"I probably did fade a bit too much in the last 100 metres and let the team down a little, but I gave it my all there today."

It was Adeleke’s 50th race in a gruelling year, and she felt the strain, saying: "When I was warming up, I could feel the last three runs in my legs but I just wanted to make sure I could do my best for the team and run my best.

"There was a bit of traffic coming out and coming back in, I had to run into lane seven and I wasn't used to having to run so wide.

"It was definitely a good team effort, we did our best and that’s all you can ask for."

Mawdsley was left with a mountain to climb in the final leg, but she was proud of her efforts even if she was pipped for fifth at the finish.

"I could see the girls so far and I was just trying to close, trying to close but I know these girls are world class.

"Femke Bol was on that leg, Natalia Kaczmarek was on that leg, but I gave it my best shot."

Meanwhile, Louise Shanahan recorded an eighth-place finish in a testing 800m final.

The Irish record holder over the distance entered the decider as the fourth-fastest woman in the field this season, but was up against formidable opposition, with favourite Keely Hodgkinson winning in a time of 1:59.04. French athlete Renelle Lamote was second, with Poland's Anna Wielgosz claiming bronze.

The Leevale athlete crossed the line in 2:01.64.

Similar to the semi-final, the 25-year-old had Hodgkinson outside her in lane four and made an encouraging start to sit on the shoulders of the pre-race favourite and her Great Britain team-mate Jemma Reekie.

Germany's Christina Hering took to the front to force the pace as Shanahan was placed in fifth at the bell, but from there on in it was a struggle to keep tabs with the leaders as Hodgkinson took control of proceedings, followed by Lamote.

The Cork woman battled to the end in her first senior championships final, improving on her heat and semi-final time and finishing .8 of a second outside her personal best.

Shanahan had no regrets over her strategy to push hard from the off.

"I wanted to make sure in that first lap I went out hard and put myself in a position where I was competing for a medal," she said.

"Unfortunately, I didn't really have the strength from 4-600, and I wasn’t there when it came to the final sprint at the end.

"Maybe if I had played it a bit safer in the opening lap I could have been there picking off a few people, but I didn't come here today to play it safe, I wanted a medal.

"I’m happy with my race plan, obviously it didn’t go as I hoped but I just ran in a European senior final so it’s a pretty good day."

Shanahan also insisted that she was determined to ensure that the Munich event would not prove to be the pinnacle of her career.

"Eighth in Europe, I’ll take that but also I’ll go into the winter and I’ll train pretty hard," she added.

"Next time, hopefully I’ll be coming her not just hoping to make it through the rounds and see what I can do, but actually ticking the boxes, going through the rounds, turning up in the final and fighting for a medal."

In the final race of the day with Irish involvement, Michelle Finn finished 14th in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:47.57.

Albania's Luiza Gega grabbed gold in a championship record 9:11.31, with Germany's Lea Meyer and Elizabeth Bird of Britain joining her on the podium.

Finn admitted afterwards to being slightly disappointed by her performance, but she still held her own following a season blighted by injury issues.

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