A dramatic women's 4x400m relay final brought the World Athletics Championships in Budapest to a close on Sunday night.
The Irish team of Sophie Becker, Róisín Harrison, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley finished in eighth.
The gold was won by the Netherlands in a thrilling finish down the home straight as 400m hurdles world champion Femke Bol overhauled bronze medallists Great Britain and and silver medallists Jamaica.
It was redemption for Bol. On the opening night of the championships, she had fallen on the final leg of the 4x400m mixed relay with the finishing line and the gold medal beckoning. As Bol dropped the baton when she fell, the Netherlands were disqualified.
The Netherlands were in third going into the final leg on Sunday's final following runs by Eveline Saalberg, Lieke Klaver and Cathelijn Peeters. On the back straight, Bol had trailed Stacey Ann Williams by around 10m.
Women's 4x400m relay final
𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃! 🥇
An unbelievable anchor leg from Femke Bol secures another gold medal for her and Netherlands at World Athletics Championships! 🇳🇱
Ireland finish 8th in the world after another great performance! ☘️#TeamIreland #WorldAthleticsChamps #Budapest2023 pic.twitter.com/81Ylew09SS
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 27, 2023
"The first three legs went so well, I felt like I had to finish as strongly as I could,” said Bol.
"I wanted to stay patient, but in the last metres I said 'No, we have to take it'.
"It was one of my most important runs ever, but it is the first time we became world champions so it applies for all of us. Every tenth and hundredth of a second was needed. We had good exchanges and still barely won it."
27 August 2023; Femke Bol of Netherlands, left, on her way to winning the Women's 4x400m Relay final during day nine of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Sharlene Mawdsley said the Irish team will "take away a lot of confidence" from the race.
"We're at home now in a world final," the 400m semi-finalist told Virgin Media.
"This is the just the start for us Irish quartet and all the other girls that are involved in this relay. We're putting Ireland on the map and we want to inspire as many girls and boys as we can that are moving up the ranks with us. We're so grateful for everyone's support."
27 August 2023; The Ireland team, from left, Kelly McGrory, Sophie Becker, Roisin Harrison and Sharlene Mawdsley after finishing 8th in the Women's 4x400m Relay final during day nine of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Sophie Becker added: "How many teams can say they are the eighth best in the world? Not that many. Our little country on the global stage again, eighth in the world two races in a row. I'm so proud of these girls. We left absolutely everything on the track. I think we were the last ones to leave the track. Absolutely phenomenal, so proud."
See Also: Jerry Flannery Had Interesting Theory On Why Ireland Played Poorly Against Samoa
