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Paris 2024: Irish 4x400m relay team miss out on final

Updated / Friday, 2 Aug 2024 20:14
Christopher O'Donnell, Sophie Becker, Sharlene Mawdsley and Thomas Barr react after missing out on the 4x400m final
Christopher O'Donnell, Sophie Becker, Sharlene Mawdsley and Thomas Barr react after missing out on the 4x400m final

Ireland's mixed 4x400m relay team failed to qualify from their semi-final in the Stade de France.

The team of Chris O'Donnell, Sophie Becker, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley finished fifth in the second semi-final, clocking 3:12.67.

The top three finishers in each semi-final and the next two fastest countries advanced to the final, however Ireland's time wasn't enough to see them through.

Ireland missed the speed of Rhasidat Adeleke, who is concentrating on the individual 400 heats, which begin on Monday.

With Adeleke on board, Ireland ran over two and a half seconds faster to win the European title in June, in a time that would have been enough for second overall tonight, though still 2.5 seconds slower than the new world record of 3:07.41 set by the USA in the first semi-final.

Great Britain were first to cross the line in Ireland's heat with a time of 3:10.61, followed by the Netherlands (3:10.81) and Italy (3:11.59).

They were joined by the USA, France (3:10.60) and Belgium (3:74.10) as automatic qualifiers, while both Jamaica (3:11.06) and Poland (3:11.43), who finished in fourth and fifth in that heat, went through as fastest qualifiers, Nigeria (3:11.99) and Ireland missing out.

O'Donnell kicked off the race for Ireland and put himself right into the mix, passing on the baton to Becker positioned in third.

However, a gap opened up and Ireland fell behind Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and Nigeria before Mawdsley could take off for the final stretch.

She put in an impressive effort in making up ground, however, the Tipperary woman ultimately fell short.

Speaking after the race, Mawdsley said she felt she had been a little slow in the first 100m of her leg.

She told RTÉ Sport: "It was really hard on the back straight, there was a massive gap and I didn't know if I tried close now or try keep it for the home straight.

"I think I was a little bit too slow on the first 200 because I had so much to give on the last 100 which is really disappointing.

"But I said to the guys today to get that baton around because I want to call myself an Olympian and I did that today."

"We always have higher expectations, today we probably finished where we expected to finish on paper but we always want to do better than the paper suggests, this time it just went to the form," O'Donnell said.

"We were so close, we ran faster than our national record before this year so we actually still ran really well.

"We gave it absolutely everything and we can come off this track knowing we gave it our all," he added.

Becker said it was a "credit to the team and what we've built over the last three years" that they were left disappointed by missing out on the final.

"Not to say we take it for granted, but we know that's where we belong.

"The standard is just through the roof, even compared to Tokyo it just gets bigger and bigger every year, harder and harder," she told RTÉ Sport.

Barr added: "We did everything we possibly could. There's no lying we are disappointed, we were aiming for that final and I think we’re good enough to be there...just on the day it didn’t come together."

Jodie McCann's Olympic debut saw her finish in 20th position in her 5000m semi-final in 15:55.08.

With the top eight in each heat advancing, McCann was unable to get close to her PB of 15:20.93.

McCann, who came into the Games ranked 61st in the world, began to drift at the back of the field in a race won by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet 15:00.73, ahead of Ethiopia’s Median Eisa and Australia’s Rose Davies.

McCann was keeping her head held high after the race, saying she was looking forward to the future.

She told RTÉ Sport: "It's mixed emotions - I thought the race was going to go a bit slower. But I was looking at the clock and it was faster than my PB pace so I just had to be a bit careful.

"It's a bit tough coming into a race like this when most girl's PBs are 40 seconds faster than yours, so this is all about experience and learning.

"To get as far as I have, I've been racing all year so it's been a very long one. I'm just really proud of myself, what I've achieved and looking forward to the future."

In the men's shot put, Eric Favors finished 27th on his Olympic debut, throwing a best of 19.02m in his first effort before following up with 18.38m and 18.86m

It wasn't enough to advance to tomorrow's final, however, where the qualification standard was 21.35m or the best 12 performers across the two groups.

Eric Favors threw a best of 19.02m in the men's shot put qualifiers

Earlier, Ireland's athletics campaign got off to a slow start as the trio of 1500m runners all failed to qualify out of their heats at the Stade de France.

With the top six qualifying for the semi-finals from each heat, Andrew Coscoran, Luke McCann and Cathal Doyle all missed out and as a result must now race in the repechage, which offers a back-door route into the next round.

Luke McCann provided the best finish of the three as he finished in eighth place, however, they all struggled to stay with the leaders in their respective heats.

"This track is fast, it's a massive stadium, blocks out the wind and the crowd as well lifts everybody," McCann said.

"I kind of did what I wanted to do, really tried to stick to the rail and not get involved in all the hustle and bustle midrace and I think I did that pretty well.

"I finished strong, I knew I had that finish in me, I took a couple of guys on the home straight. I thought that would be enough, I wasn't trying to win the race just get top six.

"I just didn’t get it done, I was close," he told RTÉ Sport.

The repechage for the 1500m will take place tomorrow evening, with a 6.15pm start time set.

He said: "To be honest I think if anybody was looking forward to that they shouldn't really be here.

"I don’t think anybody I’ve spoken to has really thought about the repechage, everybody goes in with the mindset of making the semi, you’re not here to lose.

"I’ll go back and regroup ... that’s what we’ve been training for to be able to put rounds together so I’m ready for tomorrow."

Similar to McCann, Doyle showed some good pace as he kicked for home, but both runners had too much to make up to break into the top six - Doyle came in ninth in his race.

Speaking after his race, Doyle told RTÉ Sport: "I really did believe I could get that semi from this round. I probably left myself a little bit too much, I just didn't bank on it being that slow.

"I think in the last 150 I was starting to come and I got checked a bit and then at that stage you know I'm outside the top six or seven.

"I think almost having this round has almost helped because you get a feel for the track, a feel for the crowd, it's unbelievable you can’t even hear yourself run.

"I think I’m going to feel a lot more comfortable tomorrow, even though there’s a few heavy hitters who didn’t make through today so tomorrow will be as difficult as today."

Winning Doyle's heat was Great Britain's Josh Kerr - a two-time world champion.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Kerr said: "I'm very happy, it’s always good to get that first one out of the way, feel the crowd, get through that warm-up area ... just routine and get yourself comfortable.

"I’m coming into this Olympic Games the fittest I’ve ever been so it’s just execution now which is the hardest part but the most fun part."

Kerr said he expected to see some of those competing in the repechage progress to the final.

He said: "It’s very different, I believe there will be people coming out of that repechage round that are going to be in the final.

"That first round can be a little bit antsy sometimes, so making sure you get through that first round is very key.

"It’s a morning round, the crowd’s electric and it’s the Olympic Games, first time for a lot of people so there were nerves out there for a lot of people, but I felt pretty relaxed."

It was a disappointing run from Coscoran in the third heat as he never got going and was left behind during the final lap.

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