Ireland win inaugural 4x400m mixed relay at 2024 European Athletics Championships
Athletics
The 4x400m mixed relay debuted for the first time in the event's history on the first day of the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome. And with it, Ireland earned its first European gold since 1998.
Italy followed with silver, and the favorites coming into the event, the Netherlands, led by Femke Bol, finished with the bronze.
Ireland's prospects were made clear by Rhasidat Adeleke in the second leg when she received the baton from Christopher O’Donnell and moved up from fourth to first with a blistering 49.53 split. Thomas Barr ran a fast 44.90 with a clean handoff to Sharlene Mawdsley, who ran the anchor leg with a split of 49.40. The final time of 3:09.92 marks a championship record.
“We surprised a lot of people here and we definitely surprised ourselves,” said Thomas Barr.
“But we also had a great confidence that if there is a right day, there is no reason why we could not come home with a medal.”
Barr added that he was confident that the team would win gold, especially after the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, where Ireland set a national record of 3:11.53 to take the bronze medal.
The Italian team of Luca Sito, Anna Polinari, Edoardo Scotti and Alice Mangione earned silver for Italy with a national record time of 3:10.69.
Fourth-leg runner Alice Mangione managed to stay ahead of Bol. “I still have goosebumps,” she said. “I was afraid Femke Bol [would] overtake me but I gave everything and I am very glad to get this silver medal.”
Netherlands took bronze with the team of Liemarvin Bonevacia, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink and Femke Bol on the anchor leg. Bol set a fiery 49.21 split, but she was unable to make up the deficit to Italy or Ireland. The Netherlands finished with a season's best time of 3:10.73.
Bol said of the race, “I was able to catch up to the three leading runners because today was a relay race, I did not run for myself, but I ran for my country. I did not try to save energy for the next races, you simply cannot do that when you run a relay.”
2024 European Athletics Championships - 4x400m mixed relay - full results - 6 June
1. Ireland (IRL) 3:09.92 CR
2. Italy (ITA) 3:10.69 NR
3. Netherlands (NED) 3:10.73 SB
4. Belgium (BEL) 3:11.03 NR
5. Great Britain (GBR) 3:13.97
6. Czechia (CZE) 3:14.24 SB
7. Poland (POL) 3:15.32
*France (FRA) DQ