Fionnuala McCormack finished ninth in the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
It was McCormack's best run in an international marathon, finishing in 2:30:16.
McCormack had no idea of of her ninth place finish until she crossed the line and saw the board.
"I was pleasantly surprised," said McCormack, speaking after the race.
"Usually I feel like I have to come back to redeem myself but this time I don't really feel like that."
In the evening session in Sharlene Mawdsley finished fourth in her heat of the 400m in a time of 51.04secs, qualified for the semi-finals as one of the fastest qualifiers.
Sophie Becker, running in a later heat in the same event, finished sixth in a time of 52.19 but failed to progress.
Sarah Healy enjoyed a late reprieve to secure a place in the 1500m final. The Dubliner finished seventh but was subsequently bumped up to sixth place due to the disqualification of Italy's Marta Zenoni and as a result, qualifies. The final will take place on Tuesday.
There was no joy, however, for compatriot Sophie O'Sullivan who finished 12th in her race.
Efrem Gidey finished 19th in the men's 10,000 final in a time of 29:30.37. France's Jimmy Gressier won gold in very tough, humid conditions.
Earlier, Nicola Tuthill threw an impressive 70.70m to progress to the women’s hammer throw to qualify for the final.
And on the track, Andrew Coscoran finished sixth in his 1500m heat in a time of 3:37.32 to progress to the semi-finals, while Sarah Lavin took third in the 100m hurdles Heat in a time of 12.94, and also advances to the penultimate stage.
"Luckily, I stayed clear of the carnage and scraped through in sixth," said Coscoran. "Hopefully I'll come into my own in the semis."
No such joy for Cathal Doyle in his 1500m heat, finishing 12th in 3:42.60.
Oblique Seville was crowned the first Jamaican world 100m champion since Usain Bolt after blazing to a personal-best 9.77 seconds in Tokyo.
World record holder Bolt, who last won gold at a world championships a decade ago, was the guest of honour at the Japan National Stadium and he was treated to a Jamaican one-two on the second night of the World Athletics Championships after Kishane Thompson claimed silver in 9.82secs.
Olympic and defending world champion Noah Lyles collected bronze in a season's best of 9.89s, in a race that required a restart after the Olympic 200m champion, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, was disqualified for a false start.
Five time world champion Shelly Ann Fraser Price watches fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville be crowned the fastest man in the world 💨
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 14, 2025
Scenes 🇯🇲 #RTEWorldAthletics pic.twitter.com/346fWAmUT6
The United States' Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the women's 100m in a championship record 10.61s.
Jamaica’s Tina Clayton took silver in a personal best of 10.76s and Olympic champion Julien Alfred collected bronze in 10.84s.
"This year has been nothing short of a dream," said Jefferson-Wooden after running the the fourth-fastest women's 100m in history.
"To be able to put together the perfect race at the right time just means so much to me."
Josh Kerr's storied rivalry with Jakob Ingebrigtsen will not be renewed in the 1500m final after the Norwegian failed to qualify from his heat.
Ingebrigtsen, who has sat out the entire outdoor season with an Achilles issue, was not among the top six, however, the reigning world and Olympic 5000m champion, insisted his worlds were not over after finishing eighth in his heat.
"It’s a first-time experience that I haven’t got to the next round," he said. "Of course, it’s very disappointing, but at the same time it is a reality check. This is an event that’s very competitive.
"You need to prepare your best and of course, I’m not there. I think I’m probably closer for the 5,000m race right now. I’ll recover and have a couple of good days until I go again. I was trying to do my best to advance to the semi-final but it was terrible. You have to start and you have to try."
Meanwhile, Youghal man Fearghal Curtin set a new Irish half-marathon record, clocking 1:00:22 to finish eighth at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in Denmark.
