Sophie Becker produced an excellent third leg on her Olympic debut as Ireland qualified for the 4x400m mixed relay final.
Becker ran an excellent third leg from Phil Healy and handing over to Chris O’Donnell with Cillin Greene running the opening leg.
The Irish team finished semi-final one fourth in 3:12.88 a national record. The top three qualified automatically for the final with the two fastest losers from both semi-finals.
However while they awaited the running of the second semi-final both USA and Dominican Republic were both disqualified moving Ireland to second place.
For the record the top three in semi-final one were 1.Belgium 3:12.75, 2. Ireland 3:12.88, 3.Germany 3:12.94.
The Irish team would have qualified as a fastest loser following the second semi-final.
Presenting your Olympic 4x400m mixed relay finalists including 2 Connacht men from Galway & Sligo! @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/ntHS78QIyJ
— Connacht Athletics (@ConnachtAths) July 30, 2021
The Olympic final takes place tomorrow at 1:35 Irish time.
‘We all stepped up to the mark, I’m absolutely delighted’ – the Irish 4x400m team of Cillin Greene, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker and Chris O’Donnell react to reaching the Olympic final in a new national record#Tokyo2020 #RTESport #Olympics
📱 Updates – https://t.co/RB2R16yhlb… pic.twitter.com/8D7zcYApkD
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 30, 2021
