The Irish 4x400m relay team of Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke, Rachel McCann, and Sharlene Mawdsley have secured World Championship qualification at the World Relays in Guangzhou this afternoon (May 11th).
The women’s 4x400m relay team followed in the footsteps of the mixed relay team who secured World Championship qualification yesterday, capping off a hugely successful weekend for the Irish in China.
After narrowly missing out on automatic qualification in Saturday’s heats, the women’s 4x400m team bounced back emphatically this afternoon, dominating their repechage race to secure their place at Tokyo 2025 with a winning time of 3:24.69WQ.
With a reshuffled lineup from Saturday, Sophie Becker led off from lane seven, delivering a strong opening leg before handing over to Rhasidat Adeleke, who maintained Ireland’s lead against a fast-charging Australian team.
Rachel McCann, running the third leg, held the advantage until the final exchange, where Australia briefly edged ahead. Sharlene Mawdsley once again anchored the team and timed her finish perfectly, kicking in the last 200m to seal victory with a commanding 15-meter lead at the line.
Speaking after the race, Sophie Becker said: “I’m so relieved, I think I speak for all of us when I say that. It was a great box to tick getting the mixed qualified yesterday, and now to come out here and get the second team qualified for Tokyo is such a relief. Were all really excited to see what the summer brings now”.
Rhasidat Adeleke commented: “We’ve solidified ourselves as one of the best relays in the world and we’re just continuing that on. We’ll get more opportunities to compete and I’m really excited to see what we can do at the World Championships now that we’re qualified”.
The mixed 4x400m team of Jack Raftery, Phil Healy, Aaron Keane, and Lauren Cadden finished eighth in their respective final, safe in the knowledge that World qualification had already been confirmed in yesterday’s heats. The team crossed the finish in a time of 3:19.64.
The men’s 4x400m team finished seventh in their heat in a time of 3:04.42 which was not enough to secure Tokyo qualification. Starting from lane two, 17-year-old Conor Kelly led them away with Cillín Greene keeping Ireland in contention early. Chris O’Donnell and Jack Raftery couldn’t close the gap in the final laps, leaving them outside the Worlds qualification places.
- Full results: https://tinyurl.com/yc7kru8s
- World Athletics Championships – Tokyo 2025 (Sept 13th – 21st)
