PICTURES: Sharlene Mawdsley's hilarious use of sliotar at World Athletics Championships

The Irish Mixed 4x400m relay team failed to advance to the final of the event on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan in the early hours of Saturday morning. 

Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC), Conor Kelly (Finn Valley AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) combined to clock a time of 3:13.59 to finish sixth in their heat, 11th overall.

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The quartet were disappointed when speaking afterwards: “As a collective we’re disappointed,” Jack Raftery said. “We set such a high standard for ourselves last year, winning in Rome and running so well in Paris that we expect to be in the final every time we come out to a major championship.”

“It was very hard, I thought I was going to pass out afterwards,” Sharlene Mawdsley said. “You can’t have an off day at a World Championships and that’s clearly what we had. It’s our own fault; we made mistakes in the race; it’s just how it goes. We’ll learn so much from this…We’ll be back.”

Sharlene also shared a snap of her preparations with her 274,000 Instagram fans which included the use of a sliotar to warm-up and an apology to her All-Ireland winning Tipperary senior hurler boyfriend Michael Breen on its use (see below).

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18-year-old Conor Kelly was making his World Championship debut and the European U20 400m champion added: “Today was not a good day but that’s how it goes. I’m happy it wasn’t a good day because next time I’ll come back and not much worse can happen!”

️ “It’s a learning experience. You can’t have an off day at a World Championships and that’s clearly what we had.”

We hear from the Irish Mixed 4x400m relay team after their heat at the World Athletics Championships #IrishAthletics #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/nk35FQ21qy

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) September 13, 2025

Earlier, Oisin Lane (Mullingar Harriers) turned in a solid performance to finish 28th in the Men’s 35km Walk. The Westmeath man crossed the line in a time of 2:41:36.

“It was very tough…For the last 10k I was just trying to finish, I wasn’t thinking about my position,” he said. “It’s a huge privilege to be here. So many people dream of this, so many people train so hard for this and don’t get this opportunity. I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

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There was disappointment for Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) who finished 28th overall in Men’s Shot Put Qualification and fails to make the final. The Paris Olympian threw a best of 19.19 metres, down on his season’s best.

“I’m kind of upset I’m not going to lie. I haven’t had the time to process it but my preparation felt fine, I just couldn’t get it done on the day,” he said.

Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC), Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) and Sarah Healy (UCD AC) will all be in action this evening in the heats of the Women’s 1500m at the Japan National Stadium. The top six in each heat will advance to Sunday’s semi-finals.

Where to watch

RTÉ Sport will bring you comprehensive live coverage across the four days.