'Everything we dreamed of' — Ireland claims Euros silver in women's 4x400m relay

'There’s something special with this group of girls. I love them all'

Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley and Femke Bol of the Netherlands on their way to finishing second and first respectively in the women's 4x400m relay final at the European Championships. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

They could do no more. At the end of an exhausting, exhilarating six days in Rome, the Irish women’s 4x400m dug down deep and searched for one last superb, scintillating performance. And they found it.

They didn’t win gold in the European 4x400m final, but they did earn silver, a shining one, the quartet walking off the track draped in tricolours, beaming with justifiable pride.