Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Irish Day 1 Summary
Tokyo 2020 - Athletics Day 1 Summary
Tokyo 2020
Startlists & Reports
Womens 800m
Louise Shanahan Fastest as Irish Bow Out
Louise Shanahan, Leevale AC, was fastest of the three Irish women in last night's 800m heats, but, like Nadia Power, DCH AC, and Siofra Cléirigh Buttner, was unable to progress, with all three finishing 7th in their respective heats.
Womens 800m - Heat 2
Results of 800m Heat 2
Nadia Power was first of the Irish on track at these Olympics, going in Heat 2 of 6, where she finished 7th in 2:03.74. Nadia was in 5th place along the back straight, but, when the pack went for home, Nadia appeared unable to change gears, and slipped back
Womens 800m - Heat 3
Results of 800m Heat 3
Louise Shanahan, Leevale AC, was next up, in Heat 3, and also finished in 7th place, in 2:03.57, the fastest of the three Irish women. Louise was still with the pack at the bell, in 62 sec, and went into 5th place on the back straight, while the pack was still together.
Womens 800m - Heat 4
Results of 800m Heat 4
Siofra Cléirigh Buttner was the last of the three Irish women to go, in Heat 4, where she also finished 7th, in 2:04.62
Mens 400m Hurdles - Heat 2
Thomas Barr Qualifies Automatically in Second Place
Results of 400mH Heat 3
Thomas Barr qualifies in second place, in 49:02 secs, behind World Champion, Norwegian Karsten Warholm,, who won in 48.65 secs. Thomas was third coming into the finishing straight, but produced his trade-mark finish to take second place
4x400m Heat 1
Irish 4x400m Relay Team: Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Cillin Greene & Chris O'Donnell
Ireland Qualify for Mixed 4x400m Final
Ireland's mixed 4x400m team of Cillin Greene, Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Sophie Becker and Chris O'Donnell set a new Irish record of 3:12.88, to finish second and qualify automatically for tomorrow night's final.
Ireland finished in 4th place, but red hot favouurites USA were DQ'd, along with Dominican Republic
Irish Splits
Athletics Ireland Report on Athletics Day 1
Friday 30th – Tokyo 2020 Report
Ireland second largest ever Olympic team (athletics) started their Tokyo quests in the early hours of this morning (Friday July 30th).
The Irish Women’s 800m division has given Irish athletics fans some of the biggest highlights on the track over the past 16 months and Tokyo trio of Nadia Power, Louise Shanahan, and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, who have been to the fore in bringing the division to a new level, were the first to take to the Olympic Stadium track for the 800m heats.
Nadia Power (Dublin City Harriers AC) was first of the three to make her Olympic debut, finishing in 7th place in her heat in a time of 2.03.74 which was not enough to progress to the semi-finals.
Power has enjoyed a phenomenal two years of progress on the indoor and outdoor circuit which saw her smash the Irish 800m indoor record earlier this year. Power will take a great deal from her Olympic experience and will no doubt be setting her sights even higher over the next 3 years.
Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) went in the third of the 800m heats and put herself well in position at the bell, only to lose touch with the leading pack as the race turned into a burnup in the final 250m. Shanahan crossed the line in 7th place in a time of 2.03.57 to round out a stunning season which concluded with her earning her first green singlet (senior) at an Olympic Games on the back of a brilliant national championship winning performance.
Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dundrum South Dublin AC) was the last of the 800m trio in action. The DSD athlete raced towards the rear of the leading pack and was boxed in approaching the bell as the pace of the race began to increase. Buttner would cross the line in 7th place in a time of 2.04.62, finishing off a season which saw her break the national indoor record in a year to remember for Irish 800m running.
Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC), who finished in 4th place at the Olympics in Rio was back mixing it with the best in the heats of the 400m Hurdles. Barr ran powerfully down the home-straight to claim second place and an automatic qualifying spot in 49.02 which will see him claim a favourable lane for the semi-final on Sunday.
Barr was joined in Heat 3 by World record holder Karsten Warholm (NOR) who would go on to cross the line in first place in 48.65.
Where to Watch
Coverage on RTE 2 and BBC 1 begins at Midnight most nights, while Eurosport 1 & 2 (Sky Channels 410 and 411) have round-the-clock coverage, including replays
Note: Tokyo is 8 hours ahead of Ireland
Irish In Action
1:50am (800m Heats): Mark English
2:45am (100m Hurdles Heats): Sarah Lavin
Full Olympic Athletics Schedule
Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Athletics Starts Friday
