North Sligo athlete Christopher O’Donnell was part of the Ireland 4×400 mixed relay team which ran the qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics at sthe World Relays in Selisia, Poland, on Saturday,
O’Donnell along with 2016 Olympic finalist Thomas Barr, Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley set a new national record of 3 minutes 16.84 seconds when finishing third in their semi-final heat.
That saw them qualify for Sunday’s final but, more importantly, secure the qualifying standard for this Summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
Watch O”Donnell’s post-race reaction here;
Here’s what the Irish quartet of @cfccod, @philhealy2, Sharlene Mawdsley & @TomBarr247 had to say after booking their place in Tokyo in the mixed 4x400m.
Final is at 6:20pm Irish time Sunday. pic.twitter.com/4EwuxgDCwq
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) May 1, 2021
O’Donnell, who ran the opening leg of the relay for Ireland, clocked 47.49secs.
The quartet were the fourth-fastest team in the event and will be aiming for a medal in Sunday final.
But they have achieved their primary aim to securing a place in the Olympics.
O’Donnell, who’s based at Loughborough University in England, is a native of Grange in Co Sligo.
He joins another Grange athlete, swimmer Mona McSharry, on Team Ireland for the trip to Japan later this year.
