You know what they say about making World Championship finals.
So, as if to perfectly bookend that consistent aspiration, the Irish women’s 4x400 metres relay booked their spot in Sunday’s final showdown, the last final event of the closing programme inside the National Athletics Stadium.
After the withdrawal of Rhasidat Adeleke, the quartet of Sophie Becker, Róisín Harrison, Kelly McGrory, and Sharlene Mawdsley took to the track against all odds of making the final, only to rise above them, finishing fourth in the second of this evening’s heats, securing the second of the fastest non-automatic qualifier places with a time of 3:26.18, was just 0.12 off the national record.
After the US team dropped the baton the last changeover, the Irish hopes were held alive, although they would have qualified nonetheless, ranked seventh of the eight finalists to take to the track again on Sunday (8.50pm Irish time).
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Mawdsley produced a 50.01 second anchor leg to seal the deal, the Tipperary women back in her second final after leading the Irish mixed 4x400m relay team to last Saturday’s final.
“I don’t know where this energy is coming from, to be honest, but the crowd and support was just unreal,” she said. “I was definitely speechless when the girls told me we were through, I was dead when I finished that, but I’ll get up, gear myself, and go again.
“I’m so proud of this team, I ran my heart out today, as did all the girls. The second I got that baton, I used every cheer to my advantage.”
Becker, who ran the opening leg, added: “I’m speechless, to be so close to a national record is just amazing. We were realistically hoping for a low 3:27 so I’m so proud of all the girls.
“We’ll look to come out and run fast again tomorrow and anything can happen. The USA are out and who’s to say what can happen in a world final. We’re going to recover and come back to do it again. We love competing together and we’ll give it our all for Ireland.
“Why shouldn’t we have the same ambitions as the Netherlands or Great Britain, who would have thought the USA would be out? Anything can happen, so we’ll go out and give it our all.
“The team goes beyond Rhasidat ... It just shows the depth that is in this team. The four of us could come out here, girls making their world championships debut, and we qualified for the final and it doesn’t come around every day. So we’re really pleased for what we produced”
It was here in Budapest, incidentally, that the Irish men’s 4x400m relay won a historic bronze in the men’s 4x400m relay at the 2004 World Indoor Championships.
On Friday, following a decision agreed by Athletics Ireland, Rhasidat Adeleke withdrew from quartet, citing fatigue and potential injury after from her fourth-place finish in the 400m final on Wednesday.
On top of her long NCAA season in the US (which saw her race 34 times), that was given as the main reasons behind her absence.
“Team management, with a duty of care to all athletes in mind, and in consultation with Adeleke and her coach, and Athletics Ireland medical team, have confirmed the decision,” said Athletics Ireland.
Back on the track, Faith Kipyegon ran herself in the World Championship history books, the Kenyan woman becoming the first to land a 1500m-5000m double, winning the longer distance in 14:53.88, ahead of Sifan Hassan, the Dutch woman earning another runner-up medal in second.
Despite missing a world record attempt of 6.23 metres on his last attempt, Armand Duplantis from Sweden soared to another pole vault title with his best of 6.10, unquestionably the best in that business once again.
