Team Ireland for the Paris Olympic Games swelled in size over the weekend with the Irish Mixed 4x400m and the Irish Women’s 4x400m teams qualifying from the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas.

Those staying up into the small hours of Sunday morning to watch on Eurovision Sport will have cheered as both teams secured their places in the lineup at the Stade de France by finishing in the Top 2 of their qualifying heats.

Then 24 hours later the Mixed team excelled in winning a Bronze medal in the Final.

Cillin Greene (Galway City Harriers), Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC), Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) combined to run another national record of 3:11.53 to seal their spot on the podium.

Amongst the Irish splits was a phenomenal 48.45 from Adeleke who showed her class once again on another superb night for Irish sprinting.

Speaking afterwards to Athletics Ireland the team gave their reaction:

“It’s absolutely unbelievable, it’s the stuff of the dreams,” said Greene. “I don’t think we expected it at all, we couldn’t be happier.”

“I wanted to try my best to put Tom in the best position going forward. I was able to catch a couple of people and I knew Tom would be able to hold it and that Sharlene would finish well. I really appreciate my teammates,” Adeleke said.

“I’m very proud of this team and what we’ve built in the last couple of years. We gave it absolutely everything we had today…We always punch above our weight. We all come together as a team. It’s a big win for us. First of all to get Olympic qualification but secondly to go home with a medal is something of dreams,” Barr said.

“I’ll be making the most of this. It’s a great start to the Olympic season and we couldn’t have asked for much more today,” Mawdsley added.

Also in action on Day Two of the event were the Women’s 4x400m team who finished seventh in a time of 3:30.95.

Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Roisin Harrison (Emerald AC), Lauren Cadden (Sligo AC) and Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC) combined to deliver another strong performance.

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