Ballineen Bullet Phil Healy has qualified for an Olympic final!

BALLINEEN Bullet Phil Healy has qualified for an Olympic final!

The Bandon AC athlete is part of the Irish mixed 4x400m relay team that has advanced from their heat in Tokyo and will now contest Saturday’s Olympic final at 1.35pm.

‘This is an Olympic Games and to qualify for a final is unbelievable. We shattered the national record, we took four seconds off it – and that is just unbelievable. There is so much more in this team,’ a delighted Healy said after.

Healy, and her team-mates of Cillin Greene, Sophie Becker and Chris O’Donnell qualified in style, too, as they set a new national record of 3:12.18 with a sensational performance.

Watch Phil Healy in action for the Ireland 4x400 mixed relay team at the Olympics. The Ballineen woman ran the second leg as the Ireland team set a new national record of 3:12.88. ? pic.twitter.com/UY1mQLdqIo

— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) July 30, 2021

The West Cork woman ran a tremendous second leg with O’Donnell running the fourth leg strongly as Ireland crossed the line in fourth, with the top three in both heats, plus the next two fastest times, advancing.

But both the Dominican Republic and the USA were disqualified, and that pushed Ireland up into second place and a automatic qualification for the final.