THE IRISH 4X400M mixed relay team are celebrating a glittering gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.
Chris OโDonnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley stormed to an historic victory after a blistering run at the Stadio Olimpico.
The quartet clocked a new national and championship record of 3:09.92 to secure a first European Championship gold medal since Sonia OโSullivan in 1992.
They reflected on the monumental achievement with RTรโs David Gillick afterwards.
โItโs unbelievable. Everything we dream of,โ OโDonnell, who ran the opening leg, began.
โWhen I started going into the blocks, I really felt like I was doing it for the whole country. I wasnโt nervous, I was really excited because Iโve seen these guys next to me and the support we have in the stadium, itโs an unbelievable day. We canโt get over it.โ
โIt means so much,โ Adeleke picked up after her sensational second leg.
โWe knew what we could do as a team, weโre really strong, weโve proven ourselves so many times. I just feel like it was our turn to win a championship medal at senior level. We really deserve it, we work so hard and we really trust each other as a team and that showed on the track today.โ
"Everything we dream of"... "It means so much"... "We knew what we could do!"... "I've trained my life for this"
โ RTร Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2024
Chris O'Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr & Sharlene Mawdsley try to sum up their magnificent European gold ๐ฅโ๏ธ #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/la703yHGSD
Adeleke powered Ireland into the lead and while Barr was overtaken by a Belgian athlete, he rolled back the years to keep his team in contention.
โI have been around a long time, this is my sixth European Championships and medals do not come around that often,โ the Waterford star said.
โThis is just a phenomenal performance. We knew what we could do coming into this, we knew off the back of the World Relays that we had a really good shot โ at not just a medal, but if we really got it right on the day, which we didโฆ we got a championship record, close to a world record and a gold. Not just on the line, we took it by storm.
โThis isnโt going to set in for a while but we have to enjoy this because they really do not come around that often. Iโm a very, very happy athlete right now.โ
And Mawdsley took it home with a scorching anchor leg. She overtook Belgium, turned on the afterburners and soared home.
โHonestly, I wanted to take her on the back straight and I was like, โHold on Sharlene, just use her. Sheโs going out hard,โโ she recalled.
โI was getting a bit impatient, I wanted to take her on the bend and then I was just like, โJust go for it.โ Iโve trained my life for this.
โMe and Tom were only saying earlier we felt so good in the warm-up that we were even like, โWhatโs going on?โ Honestly, itโs everything to me, itโs everything to the team. The whole stadium was just amazing, the Irish fans turn up every time. Itโs just super.โ
Gillick asked about the shock on her face crossing the line, to which Mawdsley responded:
โHonestly, I did not think we would win. Even thinking about that: we won the European Championships! Honestly, itโs so amazing. I canโt wait to step up on the podium tomorrow and hear the national anthem, I think there will be a few tears.โ
Mawdsley, Barr and Adeleke are all off tomorrow, but OโDonnell returns to the track bright and early for the Menโs 4x400m.
โListen, itโs a pleasure, Iโm coming on a high. The last thing Iโm going to be out there is dreading coming in tomorrow morning!
โItโs unbelievable. Weโve been on a bit of a journey this team. We were performing miracles a few years ago making finals and not once did we just say, โAh weโre happy making a final, weโre happy coming sixth.โ It was always, โWhatโs the next one?โ Itโs not even medalling, itโs gold medalling and weโre not far off a World record.โ
โThat ambition, that journey is not going to change now,โ Barr added.
โThis is still very early in a big season, we have Olympics yet to come and thereโs a huge amount of depth within this team. The four people that are standing here today might not be on this team come Tokyo [sic] so weโre going to do our best to keep that spotโฆ.
โTokyo? Iโm in the past! Covid erased two years of my life!โ
And off they went into the night.
Glittering gold.
Led by example again the other night. Irelandโs best player by a distance despite the media obsession with McCabe, who has been poor since the World Cup. Katie could do worse than look to OโSullivanโs example as to how to lead instead of moaning at refs, giving out to team-mates and constantly giving the ball away with silly flicks and attempts to look good. OโSullivan does it all without the ego and dramatics, and more power to her. Great role model for young players.
@Brian M: Was there talk of her going to Man United?
I will be at it come on girls