Sharlene Mawdsley will captain Team Ireland at World Athletics Relays in Botswana
Tipperary's Katie Bergin could be in line to make senior international debut
Team Ireland has arrived in Gaborone, Botswana for the World Athletics Relays, which take place tomorrow (Saturday) and on Sunday at the country’s National Stadium.
Ireland will compete in the women’s and mixed 4x400 metres, as well as the women’s 4x100 metres, and attempt to secure qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
The top twelve teams in each event will qualify for the World Athletics Championships, with the top six teams in the mixed 4x400 metres relay qualifying for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September.
Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) will captain the team, hoping to bring her wealth of experience to the competition. The Tipperary sprinter is named on all three relay teams and is returning to the Irish vest for the first time since last year's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Olympic relay finalist Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC) is also named in the women’s and mixed 4x400 metres relay squads. Rachel McCann (North Down AC), who raced as part of the women’s 4x400 metres team in Tokyo last year, joins Becker and Mawdsley in both 4x400 metres selections.
18-year-old Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers) and Erin Friel (Letterkenny AC) are called up to the senior relay squad for the first time. Daly ran a time of 53.74 seconds indoors in March in only her third ever race over the distance while Friel, who is a European Youth Olympic medallist, also ran a personal best of 54.20 seconds indoors.
Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers) returns to the World Athletics Relays once again, having played key roles for both the mixed and men’s teams in Guangzhou last year. He is joined in the mixed relay by young athletes Sean Doggett (Athenry AC) and Fintan Dewhirst (Tír Chonaill AC), who finished first and second respectively at March’s 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships.
The Women’s 4x100 metres relay team return to the event for the first time since 2021. Molly Scott (St Laurence O’Toole AC) featured on that team and she is selected in the squad, where she is joined by Ciara Neville (Emerald AC), who made her first international individual appearance in five years recently at the World Indoor Championships.
Precious Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC) and Katie Bergin (Moyne AC) could make their senior international debut if selected to race.
Twelve teams in each of the events will automatically qualify for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.