Sarah Healy (UCD AC) has finished 10th in the final of the Women’s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Competing in her first world outdoor final, the Dubliner crossed the line in 3:59.14, gold going the way of Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon (3:52.15).
Healy positioned herself well throughout the race, committing strongly. At one point she pushed up to seventh but ran out of legs in closing 250 metres, battling hard all the way to the line.
It wraps up a hugely impressive 2025 for the 24-year-old who won European indoor 3000m gold in March before winning her first Diamond League in Rome in June.
“My initial feeling is one of disappointment,” Healy told Athletics Ireland afterwards. “10th is still a big achievement for me; it’s my best ever performance at this level…I’ve ran those splits before and finished a lot better and today I just didn’t have the legs anymore. It’s still a bit fresh but when I look back at it I’ll probably feel like I gave it a good go.
“I raced really well for 1250 metres and then just fell apart in the end. I know I can do better than that and have done better than that, I wish it could’ve come out today.”
Earlier in the session both Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) and Mark English (Finn Valley AC) advanced to the semi-finals of the Men’s 800m.
Racing in the fourth of seven heats, McPhillips delivered a breakthrough performance to win his heat in 1:44.91. The Longford native hardly put a foot wrong throughout the race, kicking down the home straight to take victory as he punched the air in delight.
Tokyo marks the 23-year-old’s maiden World Athletics Championships and speaking afterwards to Athletics Ireland he was thrilled with his run.
“I’m delighted with that,” he said. “A lot of hard work went into that; I’ve a great team behind me who made all the right decisions to get me here. Thankfully I could execute the plan and get the job done.
“The semi-final will be the best quality race I’ve ever been in by a million miles, top two to qualify is pretty ruthless in the 800m. It’ll be a quick race, I’ll try do what I did there, throw myself in the mix and see what happens,” he added.
English also got the job done, making a decisive move down the backstraight and held on to claim third in his heat and secure automatic qualification in 1:45.13. The Irish record holder will relish the opportunity to compete in another world semi-final on Thursday.
“It was a bit of a funny heat because there was a lot of surging at about 300m to 500m which you don’t usually see in 800m racing, so it was tough with that aspect,” he said. “Thankfully I made a move from 500m to 600m and got into position and held on for third…I’m looking forward to Thursday now, it’ll be a good competition but I’m ready for anyone in that stifling heat out there.”
In the Women’s 400m semi-finals Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) finished eighth in 51.22 seconds, good enough to finish 20th overall. Drawn in lane three, the Tipperary sprinter got off to a strong start, before running out of steam down the home straight. Speaking afterwards Mawdsley was able to take positives.
“I’m actually proud of that,” she said. “This year was never smooth sailing, and this is where I’m at. I’m not going to fool myself and think I’m capable of making that world final at the moment because I’m not…I’m hungry, that’s so important. I look forward to the future.”
Tomorrow all eyes will be on Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) who makes his maiden world final appearance in the Men’s 1500m. The Balbriggan man takes to the track at the Japan National Stadium at 2:20pm Irish Time.
Team Ireland Results Summary
Day Three – Evening Session – Monday September 15th
- Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m – Heat 4/7 – 1:44.91 Q (1st)
- Mark English – Men’s 800m – Heat 5/7 – 1:45.13 Q (3rd)
- Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – SF 3/3 – 51.22 (8th, 20th overall)
- Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – Final – 10th (3:59.14)
Team Ireland Schedule: Irish Time (Local time in brackets)
Day Five – Evening Session – Wednesday September 17th
- Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – Final – 14:20 (22:20)
Where to watch
RTÉ Sport will bring you comprehensive live coverage across the 4 days. See RTÉ listings for details.
- Results are HERE
- Interviews available on Athletics Ireland social media channels
