Mawdsley and Becker spearhead Irish selection for World Athletics Relays

LEADING THE CHARGE: Sharlene Mawdsley. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

Olympians Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker will spearhead the Irish team at next month’s World Athletics Relays in Botswana, a key qualifying event for upcoming global championships.

However their teammates from the women’s 4x400m final in Paris, Rhasidat Adeleke and Phil Healy, will both miss the event, with Rachel McCann along with rising stars Molly Daly and Erin Friel among the other squad members.

Ireland will have teams in the women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x100m. The top six nations in the mixed 4x400m will qualify for the inaugural World Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September, while the eight finalists in each event will qualify for next year's World Championships in Beijing, with an additional four places available in the repechages.

Jack Raftery returns to the World Relays after playing key roles for both the mixed and men’s 4x400m teams in Guangzhou last year. He’s joined in the mixed 4x400m by emerging athletes Seán Doggett and Fintan Dewhirst, who went one-two at last month’s national indoors over 400m.

The Irish women’s 4x100m team returns to the event for the first time since 2021. Sarah Lavin and Molly Scott both featured on that team and are selected again. National 60m champion Ciara Neville is also in the line-up while rising star Precious Akpe-Moses – the younger sister of former European U-20 100m champion Gina – could be set for her senior international debut.

“We’re excited to travel with three strong squads in pursuit of 2027 World Athletics Championships qualification and in preparation for August’s European Athletics Championships,” said Christian Malcolm, Athletics Ireland’s High Performance Sprints Lead.

“It’s exciting to see the progress of the 4x100m squads, with the women’s squad comfortably qualified to be here, and both the men and women on track to make an impact at the European Championships in Birmingham this summer. We look forward to our final preparation camp in Stellenbosch, South Africa before we travel to Gaborone to compete.” 

Irish team: World Athletics Relays (May 2-3):

• Sharlene Mawdsley (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x100m) 
• Sophie Becker (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Rachel McCann (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Molly Daly (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Arlene Crossan (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Erin Friel (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Jenna Breen (women’s 4x400m, mixed 4x400m) 
• Jack Raftery (mixed 4x400m) 
• Seán Doggett (mixed 4x400m) 
• Fintan Dewhirst (mixed 4x400m) 
• Ciara Neville (women’s 4x100m) 
• Precious Akpe-Moses (women’s 4x100m) 
• Molly Scott (women’s 4x100m) 
• Mollie O’Reilly (women’s 4x100m) 
• Sarah Leahy (women’s 4x100m) 
• Sarah Lavin (women’s 4x100m)