CIARA MAGEEAN and Sarah Healy both advanced from their heats in the World Championships in Budapest today, while the Irish mixed 4x400m relay team secured a place in this evening’s final with a 3:13.90 season’s best.
The quintet of Jack Raftery, Sophie Becker, Christopher O’Donnell, and Sharlene Mawdsley were celebrating an impressive achievement.
Ireland were seventh in the final leg, but a strong finish from Mawdsley saw them place fourth ultimately, thereby enabling them to qualify as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
It has been part of a brilliant run of results for the mixed relay team, who also qualified for the final of the competition in Oregon last year, as well as the Olympic final in Tokyo.
The team will compete again later today in the final, which is due to take place at approximately 8.49pm Irish time.
It was a similarly positive start to the day for Healy, who finished third in the second 1500m heat with a time of 4:03.00.
Down native Mageean also secured a spot in the 1500m semis, crossing in 4:03.52 to finish third in the final heat.
In her first World Championships, Sophie O’Sullivan finished eighth, missing out on progression by two spots.
However, the 21-year-old did achieve a five-second personal best of 4:02.15, gaining invaluable senior experience in the process.
It was a good day for Kate O’Connor, who secured a lifetime best of 13.37 in the 100m hurdles.
The Dundalk St Gerards AC athlete then produced a 1.80m season’s best clearance in the high jump, missing out on her lifetime best by just one centimetre.
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist will be back competing later today for the shot put (6.05pm) and 200m (7.30pm).
Irish shot put record-holder Eric Favors fell just short of advancing with a best of 19.65m, coming 23rd overall.
The Raheny athlete needed to throw a new national record of 20.74m to make this evening’s final.
A thunderstorm caused delays to the schedule at today’s event, with the 20km walk most impacted, forcing a two-hour delay.
There was disappointment in that event for David Kenny, as he had to pull out coming into the final stages.
Day 1 Team Ireland Morning Results Summary
David Kenny – Men’s 20km Race Walk – DNF
Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – Qualification – 19.65m
Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon 100m Hurdles – 13.57 PB
Mixed 4x400m Relay – Round One – 3:13.90 SB q
Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon High Jump – 1.80m SB
Ciara Mageean – Women’s 1500m – Round One – 4:03.52 Q
Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – Round One – 4:03.00 Q
Sophie O’Sullivan – Women’s 1500m – Round One – 4:02.15 PB
Day 1 Evening Session
Nick Griggs – Men’s 1500m – Round One – 18:02
Luke McCann – Men’s 1500m – Round One – 18:11
Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – Round One – 18:29
Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon Shot Put – 18:05
Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon 200m – Heats – 19:30
Mixed 4x400m Relay – Final – 20:49
And Iam one of them.. from Aherlow to Madrid Harps!!
That’s the legacy of Fianna Fáil and you still will get idiots that will vote for them
Colm Keaveny says they have changed….surly he couldn’t be wrong
Of course they will, because their TD’s great-grand-uncle 14 times’ removed handed DeV a glass of water in Boland’s Mill when he asked for a drink. Ironic really seeing as we replaced one monarchy with another…
Green Thumb.
It’s sad to hear but money pays the bills not playing GAA.
If these guys played for Dublin there would be alot more help available to them…. Anyone else… On your bike lads…!
Sad sign of the times. Our club were county champions 2 years ago, of the 30 on the panel 16 have left as no work in the area and 14 of those have left the country.
What? What club is that
Ahhhhhhhh come on…….
any of the 600 gone wouldn’t have stopped Clare winning the all Ireland this year….
Ridiculous statement!
Clare ha..one back door all ireland in near twenty year and cocky all ready eh. Not even munster champs…roll on next year.
Yea can’t wait back to back all Irelands
Incredible that they only went to U.K. ,U.S. and Australia. 100%.
It was a very narrow-minded group of people.
And where did you go to Dave? North Korea? Iraq? Afghanistan?
Spoddgy you left out Limerick
I am in Budapest. 8 years. Why?
They may end up joining their armies and end up in Iraq and Afghanistan anyway.
Why not got to Canada, Germany, New Zealand, The EUA or anywhere in Scandinavia? They all speak English if that is their problem.
Listen? Hear it? That’s the yawning sound of ignorance. Mark it well because it is often disguised as informed opinion.
600 new club members in Dublin gaa?!
Ever hear a tipp man speaking English …. Ha ha ha here comes the red thumbs…
Anyone who has been to Tipperary will know that emigration is better than a life stuck there, coming from someone who lives here and will be leaving soon.
You will be a major loss… Hope the rest of us can manage without you in the premier county!
No worries, plenty have arrived to take their places.
Ya mary, more like a spent force!
Kilkenny on the way back, in force !
The Tipp crowd are no good
GOOD.
Is that all? Lucky they still have 500+ Most counties would be lucky to have 50