Sophie Becker and Jodie McCann have secured their spots as the final athlete qualifiers for the upcoming Paris Olympics, where they’ll compete in the 400m and 5,000m events, respectively.
Prior to the final cut-off date last Sunday, an additional five Irish athletes had already secured quota qualification spots for the Paris event, cementing their place alongside 10 other Irish athletes who automatically qualified. Furthermore, there will also be two relay teams competing – the women’s and mixed 4x400m.
It was somewhat expected that Thomas Barr would just fall short of the 40-athlete quota for the 400m hurdles. The announcement by World Athletics on Sunday confirmed this. Despite not qualifying individually for hurdles, Barr, who is 32 two days ahead of the Olympics, will journey to Paris as a member of the 4x400m mixed relay team. He had played a pivotal role in securing the gold medal at the European Championships in Rome last month.
Becker, out of the 48-athlete quota for her 400m event by four places last Sunday, now achieves the cut, ranking 46th. The competitor from Wexford will share the 400m event with Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley, resulting in a full Irish representation in this field.
McCann has also advanced up the rankings in the 5,000m, now ranking 39th out of 42 spots for the Paris event. The Dublin-based athlete will participate alongside her brother Luke, who had already qualified for the men’s 1,500m.
Both Becker and McCann increased their odds of qualifying after securing national titles last Sunday. Becker also participated in the women’s 4x400m relay which claimed a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome.
These quota qualifications fill up the remaining spots for the Paris event beyond those already occupied by automatic qualifiers, with a maximum of three entries per event permitted per country.
For the Paris-hosted 1,500m event, 45 spots are available. McCann qualified 37th and Cathal Doyle 43rd, whilst Andrew Coscoran was automatically entered.
In the highly competitive women’s heptathlon, Kate O’Connor qualified, ranking 23rd of 24, as did the young 20-year-old, Nicola Tuthill, in the women’s hammer throw, where she ranked 31st out of the 32 athletes.
Eric Favors is set to make his debut at the Olympics, having achieved his spot as 30th out of 32 in the shot category. This contributes to the two field events and a single multi-event professional heading to Paris. Before midnight on July 4th, each country’s athletic federation had the opportunity to confirm or turn down the allotted spots. The Road to Paris’ final list was officially issued by World Athletics on the following Sunday. The process of selection has numerous complexities, including decisions from athletes qualified in multiple events to participate in only one.
Among the Irish athletes who secured their places in Paris with automatic qualifications are Adeleke (200m and 400m), Mawdsley (400m), Mageean (800m and 1,500m), both Healy and O’Sullivan (1,500m), Lavin (100m hurdles), McCormack (marathon), Coscoran (1,500m), Fay (5,000m), and English (800m). Adeleke, however, plans to limit her participation to the 400m event, while Phil Healy fell short of the necessary quota places, needing 12 advancements to meet the 200m category.
Selections for the mixed and women’s 4x400m relay will be finalised next week by Athletics Ireland, with two remaining male spots in the mixed event yet to be assigned. In the men’s 400m race, Raftery yielded a favourable result toward his selection, winning his inaugural senior title last Sunday with a time of 45.95 seconds, beating O’Donnell (46.07), Baird (46.20), and Greene (46.85). Barr bagged his twelfth national title in the men’s 400m hurdles, though he anticipates this achievement won’t be sufficient for a place in Paris. However, focusing on Becker and McCann, the Paris countdown has genuinely begun.