Miracle worker Mawdsley has too much to do as Irish inexperience shows in Apeldoorn

Fresh 4x400m team proud of their fight while Lavin scorches into semi-finals after stellar win in heat of 60m hurdles 

QUICK CHANGE: Phil Healy of Ireland, centre, takes the baton from Conor Kelly of Ireland during the 4x400m Relay Mixed during day one of the European Athletics Indoor Championships 2025 at the Omnisport Apeldoorn in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Anytime she gets the baton for the anchor leg of a relay, Sharlene Mawdsley tends to make the absurdly difficult seem not just possible, but highly probable. But there is working miracles and then there is doing the impossible: bringing a team back from the dead and hoisting them into a medal position.

This was a bold, brave attempt at doing the latter. But in the end it wasn't enough.