Agony to ecstasy as Healy earns reprieve to clinch 1500m final place in Tokyo

The Dubliner clinched a place in her first ever global outdoor final after being upgraded one crucial spot to sixth  following a disqualification

FIESTY AFFAIR: Sarah Healy of Ireland, centre, and Nele Wessel of Germany clash while competing in the women's 1500m semi-final during day two of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Sarah Healy initially faced devastation, then elation, at the World Championships in Tokyo on Sunday, the 24-year-old Dubliner finishing seventh in her 1500m semi-final – outside the qualifying positions – before being upgraded to sixth following a disqualification. With that, she secured a place in her first ever global outdoor final.

The European Indoor 3000m champion made every right move through the opening half of the race as the field ran at a pedestrian pace, which did not play to Healy’s strengths – with 400m reached in 69 seconds and 800m passed in an absolute dawdle of 2:22.

From there, it was always going to boil down to a last lap burn-up and Healy got shuffled back to sixth approaching the final lap, then demoted to ninth with 200m to run. She passed two of her rivals as she went for broke on the run for home but was bitterly disappointed to hit the line seventh in 4:08.78, with victory going to Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya in 4:06.86.

However, Italy's Marta Zenoni was soon disqualified and as a result, Healy was upgraded to sixth and secured the last spot in Tuesday's final.

In the first 1500m semi-final, Sophie O’Sullivan’s injury-hit preparation looked to catch up with her in a big way as she became detached from the pack on the second lap, the 23-year-old coming home well adrift of her rivals, clocking 4:18.18 to finish 12th. Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon eased to victory in 4:00.34.

Earlier in the evening, Sharlene Mawdsley endured a nervous wait following her heat of the women’s 400m, the Tipperary sprinter finishing just outside the top-three automatic qualifying spots in fourth, clocking 51.04, with victory going to US superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in 49.41. Mawdsley’s time was her second quickest of the season and she advanced as a non-automatic qualifier.

“It was a tough wait, but it made it all worthwhile,” she said. “I’m so, so happy. I can’t put it into words. I was praying to everyone up there that I’d qualify and I did it – just the hard way.

“I said if I blew up the last 50 metres, at least I committed. I did [blow up] and I still qualified. I’m proud of myself.” 

She will return for the semi-finals on Tuesday evening where few will expect her to advance, but she’s hoping for another strong showing: “I’d love to be in the final. But I have to keep chipping at those blocks and hopefully one day I will be.” 

There was no such joy for her teammate Sophie Becker, the Wexford sprinter finishing sixth in her heat in 52.19 in a race won by Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino in 49.85. Becker suffered a nightmare run with injuries this year, having missed four months with a navicular stress fracture before tearing her hamstring in June, which flared up again in July. She felt she had turned a corner with her fitness in recent weeks.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” she said. “I killed myself and worked so hard to get back here, but I wanted to do more than run. I wanted to advance to the semi-final. I did some really good sessions, I wasn’t expecting a miracle, but I thought a season’s best was on the cards.” 

World Athletics Championships (Live, Monday: RTÉ Two, 11.15am; BBC Two, 11am; all times Irish): 11.30pm (Sunday): Peter Lynch, Hiko Tonosa – Men’s marathon; 1pm: Nicola Tuthill – Women’s hammer final; 1.05pm: Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals; 1:30pm: Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m semi-finals; 2.20pm: *Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m hurdles final *Pending qualification