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Sharlene Mawdsley and Rhasidat Adeleke have safely secured passage to tomorrow’s 400m semi-finals in another hugely positive morning session for Team Ireland at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (Aug 20th).

Leading out the Irish on day two was relay star Mawdsley (Newport AC) who backed up yesterday’s blistering anchor leg in the mixed relay to post a lifetime best of 51.17 PB (4th) in her individual 400m event, deservedly booking her place in tomorrow’s semi-final as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

The performance cemented Mawdsley’s position in 4th place on the Irish all-time list and continues an outstanding 24 hours for the Tipperary athlete who played a leading role in Ireland’s sixth-place finish in yesterday’s mixed relay final.

Irish 400m record-holder Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) also safely secured her passage to the next round with the Tallaght AC athlete looking very comfortable in claiming first place in the penultimate heat in 50.80 Q.

The NCAA 400m champion will face a much tougher task in tomorrow’s semi-final with the women’s 400m division looking particularly strong, even in the absence of leading American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Today’s 400m heats saw Adeleke’s collegiate rival and NCAA silver medallist Britton Wilson (USA) bow out in the first round.

Both Adeleke and Mawdsley will return to the stadium tomorrow evening (Monday) from 8.10pm.

Mawdsley’s relay teammate Christopher O’Donnell (North Sligo AC) also returned for his individual 400m heat this morning, finishing in seventh place in 46.76 which was not enough to progress.

O’Donnell made no secret that the relay team was his main focus this week and following a short illness leading into these championships, the national 400m title holder will walk away from Budapest buoyed by another hugely successful global competition.

Speaking after the race he said: “I’ve absolutely no regrets about this weekend. I’ve exceeded my own expectations and I’ll be going home happy.”

Kate O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) continued her consistent run of performances in the heptathlon, posting a best of 5.74m in the long jump before following up with a 46.07m throw in the javelin. O’Connor will head into this evening’s final 800m event (5pm) sitting in 13th place on 5239 points.

Mageean Moves on to World 1500m Final as Healy Bows out with National U23 Record. 

Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC) lit up this evening’s session of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a textbook semi-final display to book her place in Tuesday’s 1500m final in the most impressive of fashion.

Racing in the first of the two semi-finals, the Portaferry athlete never looked like being run out of the top six automatic qualifying places, ultimately crossing the finish in 3rd place in a comfortable 4:02.70 Q.

22-year-old Sarah Healy (UCD AC) went in the second of the 1500m semi-finals and signed off her second World Championships with an U23 national record of 3:59.68 NU23R to become only the third Irish women to ever break 4 minutes alongside Ciara Mageean and Sonia O’Sullivan.

The 8th place finish saw Healy miss out on the final by an agonising two places but speaking after her race the national 1500m champion spoke of her pride at being able to mix it with the best in the world.

Healy said, “It’s hard not to make a final having run sub 4 minutes but it’s a big moment in my career so I’ll enjoy the sub 4. It’s great to know I can compete with so many of the athletes I would have looked up to. The times just keep coming down so you’re going to have to run under 4 minutes to make major finals so I’m really happy that I’m in that space now.”

Irish 1500m record holder Andrew Coscoran also ended his championships at the semi-final stage, clocking 3:37.39 for 14th in the first semi-final which was not enough to progress.

Speaking after the race he said, “I was looking to hold my ground from the opening lap but my legs just weren’t there today so it’s disappointing. I’ll learn from this but I’m incredibly disappointed, so I’ll just have to go back and review it.”

Kate O’Connor rounded out her busy heptathlon schedule with a 2:14.06 SB in the 800m which saw the Dundalk St Gerard’s athlete finish in 13th place overall. O’Connor’s competition included a personal best in the 100m hurdles as well as three season’s best in the high jump, 200m, and this evening’s 800m which will give her great confidence on the road to Paris 2024.

Speaking earlier in the day, O’Connor said: “I’m so happy to be here. I wanted to finish on a high and I competed really well across the competition. It’s my first senior World Championships and I did come here wanting a top 10 but I’ve shown everyone what I can do and there’s plenty to build on for the future”.

Day 2 Results Summary

• Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – Heat 1 – 51.17 PB q
• Rhasidat Adeleke – Women’s 400m – Heat 5 – 50.80 Q
• Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon Long Jump – 5.74m
• Christopher O’Donnell – Men’s 400m – Heat 5 – 46.76 (40th)
• Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon Javelin – Group B – 46.07m
• Ciara Mageean Women’s 1500m – Semi-Final – 4:02.70 Q
• Sarah Healy Women’s 1500m – Semi-Final – 3:59.68 NU23R (14th)
• Andrew Coscoran Men’s 1500m – Semi-Final – 3:37.39 (22nd)
• Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon 800m – 2:14.06 SB