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Updated Paris 2024: Ireland surge into women's 4x400 relay final

Updated / Friday, 9 Aug 2024 20:08

Ireland have qualified for the final of the women's 4x400m relay after an impressive third-place finish in their heat at the Stade de France.

Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley represented Ireland in the event, with the top three in each of the two heats and the two next fastest teams qualifying for the final.

Ireland led the way for a significant stretch of the relay before Mawdsley sealed third in the final leg as they finished in a time of 3:25.05 behind heat winners Jamaica, who stopped the clock in 3:24.92, and the Netherlands (3:25.03).

Mawdsley's individual split of 49.65 was the fastest of any athlete in heat two.

Starting in lane eight, Becker (50.90) made a strong start, holding the lead just ahead of Jamaica before passing the baton to Healy (51.90).

The Cork woman kept Ireland in front but the Netherlands had caught up on the straight just before the changeover to McGrory (52.60).

McGrory kept Ireland in front of the Dutch and Jamaica in the early stages of her leg, but she faded on the home straight as Ireland slipped back to fourth.

Mawdsley ran the final leg and was on the shoulder of third-placed Canada before surging down the straight and almost pipping the Netherlands to second, her split of 49.74 seconds the second fastest of the 64 runners across both heats.

Ireland's time was the seventh fastest of the eight teams to progress to the final, with the United States topping the timesheet in 3:21.44.

The final is scheduled to take place at 8.14pm on Saturday night.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport after her start turn, Mawdsley said: "I've so much trust in my last 100 in a relay and I was just, 'top three, that's all we have to do'.

"I got the baton in fourth and we were just so close together.

"We're going into the final with an auto-Q and we're absolutely buzzing."

The 25-year-old from Tipperary, who felt she had underperformed in Ireland's attempt to reach the mixed 4x400m relay final, added: "I was disappointed with my mixed run but I was out there on my own and I find it so hard to judge, but when there are people in front of me I don't even think about being in the race.

"It was just about moving out wide in the last 100 and we're in an Olympic final. I cannot believe it."

In the women's 100m hurdles, Sarah Lavin finished sixth in the second of the three semi-final heats, which was not enough to advance to the final.

The Limerick sprinter, who served as one of Team Ireland's flagbearers at the opening ceremony, ran a time of 12.69, just 0.07 outside the PB she set at last year's World Championships in Budapest.

She was ranked 15th overall, with USA's Alaysha Johnson quickest in 12.34, 0.01 faster than Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who has been coached by Irishman John Coghlan.

Lavin said felt she was on for her best possible race until she hit the eighth hurdle towards the end of the heat.

"I hit number eight in a really good position, but hurdles you have to be precise, I was just a fraction too tough," she said.

"It was going to be the best race I could have put out today up until the eighth hurdle, gutting to do that, it's a mistake.

"I knew I had to run .55 to get an auto-Q but I wasn’t inside the top two. Today I’m not good enough."

An emotional Lavin said the "incredible" Irish support "meant so much" to her.

She said: "It's so beautiful and I can’t thank people enough.

"To come into this stadium like this and have such a large roar behind you is incredible. I would have loved to make them proud today, but that’s sport and it is just sport."

Mark English missed out on a place in the men's 800m final after a sixth-place finish in his semi-final heat.

With the top two in each of the three heats plus the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers advancing to the final, the Donegal man had been third at halfway and was well in contention going into the final bend of the race after taking the lead.

But he faded entering the straight, slipping from first to sixth and finishing in a time of 1:45.97.

Algeria's Djamel Sedjati, who is the third fastest man in history over the distance, won English's semi-final in 1:45.08 ahead of Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela and Catalin Tecuceanu of Italy.

"It wasn't the result that I wanted today," English admitted afterwards.

"I ran it to try and win it. My plan was just to get out over the first 200 to use the superior speed I have over 400 metres to get a good start on them, to be in the top three at 400 metres, and to move into the lead or be second at 600 metres.

"I did that but the wheels just came off with 50 metres left in the race. It just wasn't my day today."

Kate O'Connor finished 14th overall in the women's heptathlon after setting a season's best time of 2:13.25 in the 800m, the seventh and final round of the multi-discipline event.

The Dundalk native was sixth in her heat and 13th from the two heats combined to earn 918 points which lifted her to a total of 6167.

Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam won gold with 6880 points, ahead of Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson (6844) and fellow Belgian Noor Vidts (6707).

Jade O'Dowda, the sister of Republic of Ireland men's senior international footballer Callum O'Dowda, who is competing for Team GB, finished 10th overall on 6280 points.

At the end of the morning session earlier on Friday, O'Connor had climbed to 14th overall after finishing third best overall in her specialist event, the javelin throw.

The 23-year-old's best throw was 50.36, with only Thiam and the Netherlands' Emma Oosterwegel throwing further.

She had come into Friday's three rounds of action from a starting point of 19th place overall after the previous day's four events, which comprised the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m.

The long jump saw O'Connor achieve a best distance of 5.79m, the 17th best jump.

Watch the 2024 Olympic Games with 14 hours of televised action on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player each day. Listen to extensive radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1 and 2fm's Game On and follow each moment from Paris on RTÉ.ie, the RTÉ News app and all RTÉ digital platforms. Listen to the daily RTÉ Sport Olympics Podcast.

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