History-making Irish mixed relay team finishes eighth in Olympic final

“To come eighth in an Olympic final is unbelievable,” said Phil Healy. “We gave it everything.” 

Ireland's Cillin Greene, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, and Christopher O'Donnell after the Olympic final. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

For Cillin Greene, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, and Chris O’Donnell, the achievement was in being here: the first-ever Irish relay team to reach an Olympic final. Not that they were resting on their laurels as they walked out at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the mixed 4x400m on Saturday night.

The four gave a decent account of themselves again against the world’s best, if not quite able to reproduce the blazing brilliance they displayed on Friday. They came home eighth in 3:15.04, with Poland taking victory in 3:09.87 ahead of Dominican Republic and USA.