Ireland's relay teams given big Olympics boost in Doha

Ireland's 4x100m men's medley relay team made a piec of swimming history on Sunday as they reached the final at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha.

It's the first time an Ireland men's team have made a relay final in a world long course championships.

It means Ireland have three interests in finals today, with 800m freestyle world champion Daniel Wiffen and three-time World Championships finalist Mona McSharry competing in the 1500m freestyle and 50m breaststroke finals respectively.

Sunday morning’s medley relay heats also offered an opportunity for countries to secure places at the Paris Games, with the combined top 16 times from Doha and the 2023 World Championships in Japan considered for invitations.

As of Sunday morning, Ireland's women's team sits 13th and the men's team ate 15th.

Conor Ferguson [backstroke], Darragh Green [breaststroke], Max McCusker [butterfly] and Shane Ryan [freestyle] confirmed their place in the final after an outstanding swim of 3:34.94 to place fourth in their heat and eighth overall. The final takes place at 5.37pm Irish time.

Ireland still have some work to do in the men’s relay, with two Olympic Qualification Times (OQT) required from the team in order to confirm an Olympic place when the invitation arrives.

Ireland have only had one previous male relay team at an Olympic Games, which came when the 4x200m freestyle competed in Tokyo in 2021.

While they did not compete in Doha, Ireland's Women’s 4x100m medley relay time of 4:01.25 from the 2023 World Championships remains good enough for a quota spot for Paris.

The Ireland team are currently 13th, with only one team in this evening's final having the opportunity to move them down a place should they produce a performance quicker than their