Menu
Ireland’s mixed 4x400m relay team narrowly missed out on making it back-to-back Olympic finals with another brave display in the their semi-final at the Stade de France.
The team of Chris O’Donnell, Sophie Becker, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley finished fifth in the second semi-final, clocking 3:12.67. The top three finishers in each semi-final and the next two fastest countries advanced to the final, however Ireland’s time wasn’t enough to see them through.
Speaking after the race, Chris O’Donnell said, “We always have higher expectations, today we probably finished where we expected to finish on paper but we always want to do better than the paper suggests, this time it just went to the form.”
“We were so close, we ran faster than our national record before this year so we actually still ran really well.
“We gave it absolutely everything and we can come off this track knowing we gave it our all,” he added.
Becker said it was a “credit to the team and what we’ve built over the last three years” that they were left disappointed by missing out on the final.
“Not to say we take it for granted, but we know that’s where we belong.
“The standard is just through the roof, even compared to Tokyo it just gets bigger and bigger every year, harder and harder,” she told RTÉ Sport.
Barr added, “We did everything we possibly could. There’s no lying we are disappointed, we were aiming for that final and I think we’re good enough to be there…just on the day it didn’t come together.”
Cathal Doyle, Luke McCann and Andrew Coscoran failed to advance to the semi-finals of the 1500m, but all three have the consolation of a repechage to come tomorrow evening.
Doyle, who was making his Olympics debut, put himself into contention throughout the race before accepting his fate in the closing fifty metres and opting to ease off to save his legs for the repechage. He ultimately finished ninth in 3:37.82. Speaking afterwards he explained his tactics, saying “I decided to hug the rail for as long as I could and then because it wasn’t that quick, I probably let too many go by me. Down the backstraight I was trying to be patient even though there was a gap opening… If I came seventh or fifteenth it makes no difference, so I checked out in the last fifty metres and said, ‘what’s the point’. You don’t want to be the guy giving up, but I might as well save my legs for tomorrow,” he said.
McCann, will also return to action tomorrow evening, having placed eighth in a time of 3:35.73, running hard to the line in an attempt to automatically advance.
“It’s not what I came to do but it is what it is. I’ve been preparing for rounds back-to-back for the last three years, so I guess that gets tested tomorrow. I’ll get back, regroup and figure out how best to manoeuvre the repechage and go again,” he said.
Coscoran was disappointed with his 15th place finish as he crossed the line in a time of 3:42.07, trailing the field. He will hope to rally tomorrow and book a semi-final spot.
“I’ve had a few disruptions this year unfortunately, in terms of injury and sickness, and generally my strength is consistency in training, and building aerobic strength. The disruptions threw things off a bit, not ideal preparation. I felt I was battling with my legs, was just constantly fighting to stay in the mix. I just didn’t have it today, when the pace increased,” he said.
Jodie McCann’s Olympic debut saw her finish in 20th position in her 5000m semi-final in 15:55.08.
McCann, who came into the Games ranked 61st in the world, began to drift at the back of the field in a race won by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet 15:00.73, ahead of Ethiopia’s Median Eisa and Australia’s Rose Davies.
She said, “It’s mixed emotions – I thought the race was going to go a bit slower. But I was looking at the clock and it was faster than my PB pace, so I just had to be a bit careful.
“It’s a bit tough coming into a race like this when most girl’s PBs are 40 seconds faster than yours, so this is all about experience and learning.
“To get as far as I have, I’ve been racing all year, so it’s been a very long one. I’m just really proud of myself, what I’ve achieved and looking forward to the future.”
Eric Favors finishes 27th in the Men’s Shot Put on his Olympic debut, throwing a best of 19.02m which was not enough to advance to tomorrow’s final.
Get all the latest news about upcoming sporting events, top tips on training and exclusive interviews.
