Guangzhou in China is the venue this weekend where Ireland will hope to qualify their three 4x400m relay teams for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The mixed, women’s and men’s 4x400m teams will compete at the World Athletics Relays at the Tianhe Stadium where the top 14 teams will advance to Tokyo.
On Day 1 (Saturday) of the competition eight teams in each event will seal their spot at the World Championships, with the top two in each heat qualifying and advancing to the final on Day 2 (Sunday).
The remaining teams will go into the ‘World Championship Qualifying Round Two’ on the second day of competition where again the top two teams in each of the three heats secure a ticket to Tokyo.
Finishing positions in the finals will help to determine seedings at the World Championships, while teams will also compete for prize money.
At last year’s edition of this event in the Bahamas, the Irish mixed team won bronze, before winning gold at the European Athletics Championships in Rome a week later.
The women’s 4x400m relay team won European silver before finishing fourth at the Olympic Games in Paris last August, clocking a national record of 3:19.90.
All four athletes from that team are set to be back in the Irish vest this weekend where Rhasidat Adeleke will spearhead the Irish challenge.
The Tallaght woman has shown good early season form over 200m, finishing second at the Diamond League meeting in Keqiao, China last weekend. The 22-year-old is named in both the women’s and mixed relay squads.
Sharlene Mawdsley has starred in Ireland’s recent relay success on the anchor leg and returns from injury and also features in both the women’s and mixed teams
Two-time Olympians Sophie Becker and Phil Healy will be part of the travelling contingent, joined by Rachel McCann, Lauren Cadden and Kate O’Connell.
On the men’s side, Cillín Greene, who posted the fastest 400m indoor time by an Irish man this year is in the travelling party. The Galway City Harriers athlete won a medal as part of the mixed 4x400m team last year and is also part of the men’s squad.
Conor Kelly will seek to continue his fine indoor form, while Chris O’Donnell is another who could feature on both the mixed and men’s teams this weekend. The Sligo man was part of the gold-medal winning mixed 4x400m team in Rome last year.
Marcus Lawler, Jack Raftery and Callum Baird are also included, while Tullamore Harriers AC’s Aaron Keane could make a senior international debut if selected.
