Latest news with #4x400m
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley play starring roles as Ireland qualify for World Championships on the double
With two out of three missions accomplished, there were plenty of smiles and high fives among the Irish teams competing at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China . Still, there was a nagging sense of what might have been. The event was primarily about qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Guangzhou presented two opportunities on that front. The Irish mixed 4x400m quartet were first to book their Tokyo ticket after nailing the runner-up spot in Saturday's first qualification round, before the women's 4x400m joined them on Sunday by winning their second qualification round. Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley played an instrumental role in both teams, proving once again just how indispensable they are to Irish relay prospects right now. Running the second and anchor legs respectively, they clearly made the difference. Mawdsley produced the fastest split in their second qualification round of the women's 4x400m with her 50.01 seconds. READ MORE Ireland won in 3:24.69 ahead of Australia (3:27.31) and Switzerland (3:32.37). Adeleke clocked 50.38, with Sophie Becker taking the first leg (51.41) and Rachel McCann the third (52.89). The men's 4x400m were also in Guangzhou chasing Tokyo qualification. However, after finishing sixth in their first-round heat on Saturday, they also fell short with their second chance on Sunday. The quartet of Conor Kelly, Cillín Greene, Chris O'Donnell and Jack Raftery finished eighth in the latter run. Adeleke was satisfied with her trip to China: 'I think we have solidified ourselves as one of the best relays in the world and we're just continuing that on,' the 22-year-old said after the women's 4x400m. 'We're building, especially me. I'm building every race and getting back into shape and I'm really excited to see what this season holds for all of us, individually and as a team.' Sharlene Mawdsley produced the fastest split in the second qualification round of the women's 4x400m. Photograph: Tocko Mackic/Inpho On Saturday, Adeleke and Mawdsley focused on the mixed 4x400m heat. Adeleke raced a little more conservatively than usual, but their second-place finish – Mawdsley kicking past Poland's former European champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic on the last leg – earned them Tokyo qualification and a place in Sunday's final. 'I was actually quite happy I got the baton in third, I had something to work towards,' Mawdsley said after that race. 'Top two was auto Q and I ticked the box and I was put in such a great position. I was delighted to overtake on the bend and hold on to second.' The top 14 teams across all events booked their places in Tokyo. This was broken down to the eight finalists plus the top three from the two heats in the second qualifying round. [ Sam Mulroy's storybook second half sees Louth win Leinster for the first time since 1957 Opens in new window ] [ Ireland's relay stars part of an 'overnight' success story stretching back to Ronnie Delany in the 1950s Opens in new window ] With the Irish mixed quartet already assured of their Tokyo place, Adeleke and Mawdsley came into the women's 4x400m to boost their qualification prospects. In their absence, Ireland started with a weakened team for Sunday's final of the mixed 4x400m relay. The quartet of Raftery, Phil Healy, Aaron Keane and Lauren Cadden finished eighth of the eight finalists, clocking 3:19.64. USA won gold in a World Relays championship record of 3:09.54. Raftery was back on the track an hour after running the men's 4x400m second round heat, but he still managed an impressive split of 45.89 seconds. Healy briefly moved the team up to sixth, but Keane (46.97) and Cadden (53.16) lost some ground on the closing two legs. Ireland's Rachel McCann, Sophie Becker, Sharlene Mawdsley and Rhasidat Adeleke finished ahead of Australia and Switzerland in the second qualifying round at the World Athletics Relays. Photograph: Tocko Mackic/Inpho Had either Adeleke or Mawdsley been able to focus on that final, there was clear potential for a medal. The Irish record of 3:09.92, clocked when winning European gold in Rome last June, would have been good enough for silver here. The girls put me in a great position and I love to chase — Sharlene Mawdsley At last year's event in the Bahamas, the mixed quartet that included Adeleke and Mawdsley won bronze, where Adeleke's split time of 48.45 seconds was the fastest ever recorded at the World Relays. Ireland also just missed an Olympic bronze medal in Paris, clocking 3:19.90 when finishing fourth in the women's 4x400m. That sort of time would easily have won the gold medal here, with Spain the surprise winners in 3:24.14 ahead of the USA (3:24.72). After a rainy night on Saturday, conditions inside the Guangdong Stadium were more favourable on Sunday. Mawdsley hadn't raced since sustaining a hamstring injury during the European Indoors back in March. 'The girls put me in a great position and I love to chase,' Mawdsley said after the women's 4x400m, where she passed Australia's Alanah Yukich in the last 150m. 'It's all about learning and looking forward to the rest of the summer.' Tokyo will be a different prospect in both the mixed and women's 4x400m, but the two Irish teams will be there. Mission accomplished.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Mixed 4x400m silver caps successful world relay championships for Australia
Australia's 4x400m mixed relay quartet of Luke van Ratingen, Ellie Beer, Terrell Thorne and Carla Bull are celebrating the country's second ever silver medal at the World Athletics Relays championship in China after another record-breaking run. The Australian foursome could not match the American champions in Guangzhou on Sunday but, for the second day running, lowered the national and Oceanian record to take the silver in 3min 12.20sec. On a fine final session of the two-day event, their medals were the icing on the cake as four Australian teams booked their places for the world championships in Tokyo, including the men's 4x100m, who could feature both sprint stars Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout in Japan. The mixed, women's and men's 4x400m teams also all made it to the global showpiece in September. Pride of place, though, went to the mixed quartet, which demonstrated its strength in depth in the final, being much changed from the foursome of Bull, Cooper Sherman, Reece Holder and Alanah Yukich who had broken the Oceanian record in 3:12.34 in the heats on Saturday. The American quartet of Chris Robinson, Courtney Okolo, Johnnie Blockburger and Lynna Irby-Jackson were in a class of their own as they broke the championship record in 3:09.54, but the Australians matched the nation's best result in the seven editions of the event. The only other silver they had won was in 2019 in Yokohama when Catriona Bisset and Josh Ralph finished second in the 2x2x400m relay. 'I couldn't be any more stoked. We were so ecstatic to make the final and coming away with a silver medal, we are just so happy. We got all of our 400m crews to the world championships which is so exciting,' said Beer, the 22-year-old Olympian who had earlier also helped the women's 4x400 qualify. Bull's big night saw her also just miss out on another medal as the youthful mixed 4x100m team – alongside Olivia Dodds, Connor Bond and Josiah John – clocked 41.22sec to finish fourth in the final behind Canada. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion The men's 4x100m outfit of world indoor 60m silver medallist Kennedy, Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and Prince Jackson clocked 38.31sec to claim second place in qualifying round two and book Australia's place at the global championships. 'We are really stepping up our standards this year coming off the national record of 37.8 in Sydney,' said Azzopardi, who know the team could be bolstered by 17-year-old Gout Gout in September. 'We feel like we can really push for those medals and that will be the goal. We will be ready come the world championships in September and that's the main thing.' The men's 4x400m – Sherman, Reece Holder, Aidan Murphy and Tom Reynolds – clocked 2:59.73 to clinch their place in Tokyo, just 0.03sec outside the venerable 41-year-old Australian record. The international highlight came with Britain's 4x100m women's team – Nia Wedderburn-Goodison, Amy Hunt, Bianca Williams and Success Eduan – stunning both Jamaica, whose team included Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, and the USA to claim victory.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland book Tokyo women's 4x400m qualification
Ireland secured women's 4x400m qualification for this year's World Championships in Tokyo as Rhasidat Adeleke's inclusion helped them win the repechage race at the World Relays in the Irish missed World Championship qualification in Saturday's opening heats, Adeleke, who finished fourth in the 400m at last year's Olympics in Paris, was drafted into the quartet in place of Phil Dubliner's inclusion gave Ireland their expected boost as her strong second leg helped the Irish take victory in 3: Becker led off from lane seven, delivering a strong opening leg before handing over to Adeleke, who maintained Ireland's lead against a fast-charging Australian athlete Rachel McCann, running the third leg, held the advantage until the final exchange, where Australia briefly edged ahead. However, anchor runner Sharlene Mawdsley timed her finish perfectly, kicking in the last 200m to seal victory with a commanding 15-metre lead at the line."We've solidified ourselves as one of the best relays in the world and we're just continuing that on," said Adeleke, who helped the Ireland finish fourth in the event at the Paris Olympics. "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."Adeleke's inclusion in the women's 4x400m squad meant she missed out on the mixed 4x400m final in Guangzhou as the Irish quartet of Jack Raftery, Phil Healy, Aaron Keane, and Lauren Cadden finished eighth in 3:19.64. However, Saturday's qualification for the final had already booked Ireland's place in the mixed event at this year's World Championships in men's 4x400m relay squad's hopes of World Championship qualification were dashed by their seventh spot in their repechage as Conor Kelly, Cillin Greene, Chris O'Donnell and Raftery combined to clock 3:04.42.
The Herald
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Simbine gets his World Relays gold at last on historic night for SA
American Brandon Hicklin had a clear lead, but Simbine, one of the all-time greats of anchor-leg running, hunted him down, taking him just before the line as he clocked a 37.61 sec world lead to claim victory by five-hundredths of a second. Canada, the Olympic champions, were third in 38.11. Simbine's run was reminiscent of his lightning bolt effort to give South Africa an ill-fated gold at the 2021 World Relays in Poland, a medal the team was forced to return after one of the members, Thando Dlodlo, failed a doping test. It's taken four years to get into a position to take another shot at a World Relays gold and Simbine wasn't going to miss out again. The men's 4x400m outfit, runners-up last year, stepped up to the top of the podium with a great all-round effort on Sunday. Gardeo Isaacs went around the first lap in 45.39, and then matric pupil Udeme Okon, the 2024 under-20 world 400m champion, delivered a well-paced second lap in 44.24 before fellow schoolboy Leendert Koekemoer, the youngest in the team at 17, pulled the team into first place with a final burst on the home straight, completing his leg in 44.23. Nene closed it out with an impressive 43.64. In the women's 4x400m Shirley Nekhuibui started, handing over to Miranda Coetzee and Precious Molepo before Zeney van der Walt defended South Africa's position to claim a historic gong, only 12-hundredths behind the second-placed US. And the South African mixed 4x400m team ended fifth in their final, clocking 3:16.29. With the performances on Sunday, it's hard to imagine South Africa's eight-year world championship medal drought extending beyond the Japan showpiece in September. The last time they won world championship silverware was at London 2017, missing out three times in a row at Doha 2019, Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland women's 4x400m relay team seal World Championships qualification in Guangzhou
The addition of Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley helped ensure the Ireland women's 4x400m relay team sealed the deal on day two of the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, winning their second-round qualifying heat in thrilling fashion. It was their second chance to secure automatic qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo in September; Adeleke and Mawdsley switching over from the mixed 4x400m heat on Saturday, where Ireland's second-place finish earned their Tokyo spot. After a rainy night on Saturday, conditions inside the Guangdong Olympic Stadium were more favourable to fast relay running, and the Irish quartet took full advantage, Mawdsley running another stunning anchor leg to get past Australia's Alanah Yukich in the last 150m, Ireland winning in 3:24.69. How a winning preperformance at the World Relays looks👇 💥BECKER 51.41 💥ADELEKE 50.38 💥MCCANN 52.89 💥MAWDSLEY 50.01 It was never in doubt😎💚 — Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) Mawdsley's 400m split of 50.01 seconds was the fastest of the heat. Australia finished second in 3:27.31 and Switzerland third in 3:32.37. Adeleke clocked 50.38 in her second leg. READ MORE It was a call to arms, so to speak. Adeleke and Mawdsley both concentrating on the mixed relay on Saturday, before the women's 4x400m finished third in their first round heat, thus needing Sunday's second chance to qualify. There were two second round qualifying heats on Sunday, the top three in each also booking their Tokyo ticket. The Ireland team featured three of the quartet that finished fourth in the Paris Olympics last summer. Rachel McCann replaced Phil Healy, who also ran in Saturday's heats, while Lauren Cadden also made way as Adeleke and Mawdsley came back on board. 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄💥 A second relay team have qualified for the World Champs with the women's 4x400m punching their ticket to Tokyo 25🙌 ⏱️1st in 3:24.69WQ 👏 Full result: — Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) Sophie Becker led off again, running an excellent leg that saw Ireland reach the first exchange alongside Australia. Adeleke them moved them in front on the second leg, and McCann maintained that spot until passed by Australia's Jemma Pollard down the homestretch. Mawdsley took over the baton in second but never panicked, biding her time before kicking hard around the final bend, Ireland pulling away to win. The fancied Jamaican women's team did not start, which meant only five teams lined up: China, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Zambia. Given the increase in relay events, the mixed 4x100m being a new addition this year, teams can now swap an unlimited number of athletes between rounds. Not to be for the men's 4x400m team in Guangzhou, but this is just the start of their journey📈 ⏱️7th in 3:04.42✅ 👏 Full result: — Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) The Irish men's 4x400m quartet also had another chance at World Championship qualification, going in the second of their second-round qualifying heats. However, their seventh-place finish left them some distance off despite chasing hard the entire way. With 17-year-old Conor Kelly on the first leg, his split 46.40 seconds, Ireland reached the first changeover in eighth. Cillín Greene ran an excellent 45.91 on the second leg, passing Germany to move to seventh. Chris O'Donnell held the position with a 46.23 before Jack Raftery produced a storming first 200m on the final leg. Despite clocking 45.88, Ireland couldn't improve on seventh, finishing in 3:04.42. The USA took the win in 2:58.68. The remaining Irish interest will be in the mixed 4x400m final at 2.03pm Irish time.
