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 China.After 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 Healy.The Dubliner's inclusion gave Ireland their expected boost as her strong second leg helped the Irish take victory in 3:24.69.Sophie 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 team.Bangor 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 Tokyo.The 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.
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