Olympic final elation for 4x400m relay, disappointment for English and Lavin

Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley came home in third. 

HISTORIC STEP: Team Ireland relay team, from left, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory, Sharlene Mawdsley, and Sophie Becker celebrate in Paris. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Elation for some, frustration for others. That’s always the way it is at this level, and that’s how it was for the Irish team on a pivotal morning at the Stade de France today.

The Irish women’s 4x400m quartet of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley produced a fantastic performance to finish third in their heat and advance to tomorrow’s Olympic final. But for Mark English and Sarah Lavin, there was a lingering sense of what might have been even if they could have no regrets at how they’d thrown everything at making an Olympic final, but ultimately came up short.