Phil Healy and Irish relay team deliver terrific display but fall just short of Olympic bronze

It happened again. But this one feels different. Very different.

A night on from Rhasidat Adeleke’s fourth-place finish in the 400m final, the Irish women’s 4x400m team occupied that same, outstanding yet utterly annoying position on the Olympic stage.

The quartet of Sophie Becker, Adeleke, Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley utterly obliterated their national record in the women’s 4x400m final at the Stade de France, clocking 3:19.90 to take almost three seconds off the time they’d run to win silver at the Europeans in Rome in June.

How good was that time? It’s the first time ever a team has broken 3:20 in this event and not won a medal. Their 3:19.90 would have been enough for silver in every Olympic final apart from 1988.

And of course, crucially, in 2024.

Gold went to race favourites USA in 3:15.27, powered by 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who split an astonishing 47.71 on the second leg, with silver going to the Netherlands in 3:19.50, Femke Bol anchoring them with a 48.62 to take them from fourth to second. Britain took bronze in 3:19.72, just 0.18 ahead of Ireland.

In the end, Ireland had the medals within their reach for so much of the race but ultimately just outside their grasp. Becker got them off to another flying start, splitting 50.90 on the opening leg, just as she’d done in the heats, and Ireland were a close fourth as Adeleke took the baton.

The Dubliner turned in another outstanding leg, splitting a blazing 48.92 to carry Ireland up to second and ahead of the chasing pack as Healy took the baton.

Healy unleashed the leg of her life despite running most of it alone – with USA away and gone at the front – and split 50.94 to hand over to Mawdsley in third place. The Newport sprinter fought to the lead as they headed off around the turn but was soon overtaken by British anchor Amber Anning.

With Dutch star Femke Bol right in their slipstream, it became clear Mawdsley would have to find a way past Anning to get Ireland back into the medal positions soon after Bol came charging by in the home straight. Try as she might, splitting an astonishing 49.14 on the anchor leg – by far the quickest of her career – she couldn’t get past.

There was obvious frustration at fourth after the race, but the Irish quartet took some time to walk around the track after the race, greeting some of the droves of travelling fans who’d lent their support.

It continues a remarkable run of huge performances on the big stage by the Irish women’s 4x400m, who made the world final in Budapest last year and the world indoor final in Glasgow this year before winning silver behind the Dutch at the Europeans in Rome.