Rhasidat Adeleke to replace Kelly McGrory as Ireland go for Olympic relay gold

Rhasidat Adeleke has been drafted into the Irish team for the final of the Women's 4 x 400m Relay at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Adeleke will take the place of Kelly McGrory from Laghey, who helped the Irish team to third place in their semi-final on Friday morning. McGrory ran the third leg with Sophie Becker, Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley to guarantee direct passage to this evening's final, which takes place at the Stade de France at 8:14pm. 

Ireland will start in lane four, with the possible order seeing Becker lead it out, followed by Adeleke and Healy, with Mawdsley - who is 26 today - taking it home. 

The Irish record is 3:22.71, which ranks them eighth of the eight finalists, with tonight's field including the USA, who are expected to have Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone closing out the race, capable of 3:15.51 and Jamacia with 3:18.71 and the Netherlands, with Femke Bol, possessing a 3:20.72 best. Great Britain, France, Belgium and Canada are also taking to the line.

Ireland were silver medal winners behind the Netherlands at the at European Championships in Rome in June, with the team made up of the same quartet they start with in Paris later.

Dubliner Adeleke was inches from Ireland's first-ever Olympic sprinting medal last night, as she came home fourth in the 400m final, which was won by Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic, with Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain second and Poland's  Natali-Kaczmarek third. Afterwards, 21-year-old Adeleke confirmed she would be available for the relay.