DAY 2 MORNING SESSION: MAWDSLEY AND ADELEKE ADVANCE TO WORLD SEMI FINALS
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.
Day 2 Morning 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
Day 2 Evening Session - Sunday August 20th
Ireland’s 1500m trio of Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn), Sarah Healy (UCD AC), and Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) will headline this evening’s session as they return for their second appearance of the championships in their respective semi-finals from 4.05pm.
Kate O’Connor will round out Irish involvement on day 2 as she looks to sign off her first world championships in style in the final event of her heptathlon (800m).
Evening – Sunday August 20th
- Ciara Mageean Women’s 1500m – Semi-Final 1 – 16:05 (17:05)
- Sarah Healy Women’s 1500m – Semi-Final 1 – 16:17 (17:17)
- Andrew Coscoran Men’s 1500m – Semi-Final – 16:35 (17:35)
- Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon 800m – 17:00 (18:00)
NOTES