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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
32 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Kerry to face Kildare for place in All-Ireland semi-finals
All-Ireland champions Kerry will face Kildare for a place in the semi-finals of this year's women's football championship. Following the conclusion of the group phase, the draw made for 2025 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-finals was made on Saturday. Dublin will take on Cork, Meath meet Tipperary and Galway face Waterford, with all games taking place on the weekend of 5-6 July. Quarter-final draw (first team enjoy home advantage) 1. Kerry v Kildare 2. Dublin v Cork 3. Meath v Tipperary 4. Galway v Waterford Semi-finals Winner QF 1 v winner QF 3 Winner QF 2 v winner QF 4
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Paddy Small stars as Dublin down Cork gears to reach All-Ireland SFC quarter-final
DESSIE Farrell says it's 'foot on the throttle' time now after steering Dublin through to the Championship's last eight. Advertisement 2 Dublin came good with a strong finish to see off Cork to seal a spot in the quarters 2 Paddy Smalls was man of the match in the win over Cork on Saturday They played in 'fits and starts', as boss Farrell said, and chugged along at times like a side powered by dirty petrol. With no Con O'Callaghan, it was left to Paddy Small to provide the inspiration and he took the Man of the Match award. Ballymun man Small blasted four points while free-taker Cormac Costello and the ultra reliable Sean Bugler split 10 points evenly between them. John Small was excellent at centre-back in just his third start of the season too, scoring a point and setting one up for sibling Paddy. Advertisement READ MORE ON GAA But it was more Renault than Rolls Royce overall and Farrell will be hoping that's the end of the misfiring with an All-Ireland quarter-final to come. That's the stage that Dublin bowed out of last year's Championship at, to Galway, and Farrell is desperate to drive on. He said: "It's foot on the throttle time now at this stage of the season and senior players come into their own. Everyone ups their game at this time of the year and it's a great learning environment for our young fellas to be operating in. "To be fair, I think the senior lads are loving the energy that they're bringing and the enthusiasm they're bringing as well. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Exclusive "But we all know ourselves, we're far from the finished article. There's so much more room for improvement in our performance. "But I still think there's more potential within us to be realised and that's the challenge for us between now and next weekend, seeing can we tap into that." 'Just in time for Father's Day' - Dublin GAA legends welcome the birth of precious baby daughter Dublin trailed at half-time and were still a point back with 15 minutes to go despite a terrific Brian Howard goal in the 45th minute. But a Cork side that has stuttered and stumbled through another season under John Cleary couldn't sustain that effort. Advertisement Full-forward trio Chris Og Jones, Mark Cronin and Brian Hurley notched 1-10 between them for the Rebels. But when the finishing line was in sight, Dublin motored towards it and pinched four of the game's last five points. Farrell said: "It wasn't a classic performance by any stretch but it was one where we needed to show a bit of character and dig deep - and thankfully the lads did that." Farrell reckoned Dublin were 'naive' when they failed to build on their bright start, having hit the game's first four points. Advertisement They only added three more points before Bugler lofted over a two-pointer in almost the last play of the first-half. Cork were far more efficient and seemed to rise to the occasion, just like they did against Kerry in the Munster championship. They led 1-8 to 0-9 at half-time and really turned it on in a period between the ninth and 16th minutes when they reeled off 1-3 without response. Jones blasted the goal, finishing a well worked move off a sideline kick under the Hogan Stand and shooting low across Stephen Cluxton. Advertisement Jones finished with 1-4 and showed plenty of class but Cork have put in too many middle-of-the-performances this year to really trust them to finish the job. They did at least push Dublin all the way and refused to relent even when Howard slammed in his goal. Howard spun away from Sean McDonnell too easily, although his finish high into the corner of Micheal Aodh Martin's goal had a Lamborghini stamp of class about it. Cork could have tossed in the towel but reeled off four points in a row to briefly lead again. Advertisement O'Callaghan's quality, and calmness, was missed in the Dublin attack. They got some punch at least from sub Luke Breathnach who pinched a point and their experienced performers stood up as well. Costello, Paddy Small and Bugler all weighed in with hugely important scores late on as Dublin turned the screw. Dublin 1-19 Cork 1-16 Dublin: S Cluxton; E Murchan, S MacMahon, D Byrne; B Howard 1-0, J Small 0-1, L Gannon 0-1; P O Cofaigh Byrne, C Kilkenny 0-1; K McGinnis, N Scully 0-1, S Bugler 0-5, 1 tp; P Small 0-4, L O'Dell, C Costello 0-5, 2f. Advertisement Subs: C Murphy for O'Dell 45, L Breathnach 0-1 for McGinnis 57, T Lahiff for Gannon 59, N Doran for Scully 68. Cork: MA Martin 0-1, 1 45; D O'Mahony, M Shanley, N Lordan; B O'Driscoll, S Brady, M Taylor; I Maguire 0-1, C O'Callaghan 0-2; P Walsh, S Walsh 0-1, S McDonnell; B Hurley 0-2, M Cronin 0-4, 2f, C Og Jones 1-4. Subs: E McSweeney for P Walsh 48, C Cahalane for McDonnell 49-58 blood, C O'Mahony 0-1 for Hurley 55, S Powter for Taylor 58, L Fahy for Lordan 63. Ref: S Hurson (Tyrone). Advertisement
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Croke Park beckons' but Liam Cahill wants more from Tipperary
Tipperary manager Liam Cahill was delighted to see his side carve out a spot in the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals but warned that they have plenty of improving to do despite an eight-point win over Galway in Saturday's quarter-final. The Premier County got the better of Galway by 1-28 to 2-17 at the TuS Gaelic Grounds to set up a last four meeting with Kilkenny on 6 July at Croke Park, which will mark Tipp's first appearance at GAA HQ since the 2019 All-Ireland final. "We're delighted now to be in the last four of the All-Ireland series. Always a pressure game, these games," Cahill told RTÉ Sport after his side's win. "Historically, Tipp and Galway are always difficult for us anyway in Tipperary, so just delighted to get the job done today." While the eight-point winning margin looks comfortable on paper and leaves them "still in the hunt" for honours, Cahill was not best pleased with all aspects of Tipperary's play. "Credit to Galway, to be fair to them, they brought everything that we thought they would early on, could've cut us up open for even two or three goal opportunities there in the first half," he said. "We were very fortunate to be on the better end of that. But we have a lot of aspects to go after our play. Our intensity petered out a lot near the end which would be a concern. "But all in all it's about qualifying, getting the job done and we've plenty to work on for two weeks' time." However, he was impressed by how his side dealt with conceding a goal to Galway early in the second half. Winning Tipperary manager Liam Cahill believes there is plenty of room for improvement from his charges as they look forward to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 21, 2025 "I'm absolutely delighted with that because it's a trend of this squad of players all year. We've come out of some ferocious battles already - Ennis being an example against the All-Ireland champions," he said. "When our backs were to the wall, and again today when the goal came and brought it back to two points, I think we tacked on two or three as well then to increase that gap. "That's always encouraging when you see that from the lads." Turning his attention to the semi-final against great rivals Kilkenny, he quipped that the match-up would "increase the banter" between the two counties' supporters in the build-up and "renew the rivalry of old". "Massive game for both teams and Croke Park beckons and we're just happy to be back up the N7 after being absent for a number of years and it's exciting times again in Tipperary." Galway manager Micheál Donoghue and his side will now have to regroup after exiting the championship. But he was pleased with how his team started the game and took a longer-term view after year one of his second spell in charge. Galway remain a work in progress, according to manager Micheál Donoghue — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 21, 2025 "I thought in the first half, general play wasn't too bad. I thought we created a good few goal chances and to stay in the game against a top team, you probably have to take a few of those," he said. "I thought the start of the second half, (we) rallied well, got the goal but then Tipp showed the quality, getting two scores after that and maybe we'd a couple of wides after it. "We'll rue a lot of our turnovers and against a team with the quality of Tipp, you know they're going to punish you, but for us it's very much a building project. A lot of learnings from today as cruel as it is but we'll just regroup and go again."
