Athletics
In a gruelling show at the Paris Olympics final, the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team narrowly missed out on a podium finish, landing fourth but striking a new record for their homeland. This formidable group did not merely participate in the Olympic final, they set an extraordinary precedent by being the first women’s relay team from Ireland to do so, subsequently establishing their global prestige with their exceptional performance.
They shaved nearly three seconds off their previous national record, achieved in June at the Europeans where they bagged a silver. The entire Irish team performed brilliantly with a marginal difference of only 0.18 seconds to the bronze winners, Britain.
Becker started the relay on a strong note, matching her previous heat performance (50.90 seconds) to set the team off to a splendid start. Adeleke, despite her intense individual 400m dash just a day prior, showcased exceptional pace pulling the team up to the second position with her sub 49-second split.
Maintaining the positive momentum, Phil Healy put forth a commendable performance keeping the team in the game. Following her, Sharlene Mawdsley delivered an excellent anchor leg. The star performer from Tipperary ran her fastest relay split ever (49.14 seconds), but was unfortunately edged out for the medal courtesy of a sprint by Dutch’s Femke Bol, and Amber Anning from Great Britain, who secured the fifth position in the individual 400m final the previous night.
The USA clinched victory, clocking in at an impressive 3:15.27, with gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone boasting a staggering 47.71 second leg. Netherlands scooped the silver with their new national record of 3:19.50, faintly ahead of Britain by just 0.22 seconds, who also set a national record ending just marginally ahead of Ireland.
Golf
Despite a challenging beginning, golfers Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire had an impressively upbeat conclusion to the Olympics at Le Golf National on a Saturday. Both players scored rounds under par, with Meadow demonstrating a significant improvement in the final two rounds of the week. She followed her Friday’s score of 72 with a round of 70, and a remarkable five birdies, placing her on a six-over overall and a 39th place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The coveted gold medal went to Lydia Ko, who trumped Germany’s Esther Henseleit by two shots, with Lin Xiyu from China securing third place.