Sophie Becker steered the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team into the World Championships at the World Relays in Guangzhou on Sunday.
The team of Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke, Rachel McCann, and Sharlene Mawdsley won their repechage heat in 3:24.96 to qualify for Tokyo 2025.
After narrowly missing out on automatic qualification in Saturday’s heats, the team bounced back with an excellent performance.
A reshuffled line-up sawe Becker lead off from lane seven, delivering a strong opening leg before handing over to Rhasidat Adeleke, who maintained Ireland’s lead against a fast-charging Australian team.
Rachel McCann, running the third leg, held the advantage until the final exchange, where Australia briefly edged ahead.
Sharlene Mawdsley once again anchored the team and timed her finish perfectly, kicking in the last 200m to seal victory with a commanding 15-meter lead at the line.
“I’m so relieved” said Becker. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that. It was a great box to tick getting the mixed qualified yesterday, and now to come out here and get the second team qualified for Tokyo is such a relief”.
“We’re all really excited to see what the summer brings now” added Becker.
Well done to Sophie and the Irish team who also qualified for the mixed 4x400m relay at the World Championships. Onwards and upwards.
