Gold medal 'everything we've dreamed of' - O'Donnell

Chris O'Donnell says it was "unbelievable" aft helping nan Ireland 4x400m mixed relay squad to golden badge glory astatine nan European Athletics Championships successful Rome.

O'Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley clinched Ireland's first golden astatine nan arena since 1998.

The vanished 0.77 seconds up of Italy successful a clip successful a title grounds clip of 3:09.92.

The Irish quartet besides took 1.61 seconds disconnected nan nationalist grounds arsenic Mawdsley powered clear successful nan anchor limb to unafraid victory.

"Unbelievable, everything we've dreamed of," a delighted O'Donnell told RTE Sport aft nan race.

"When I started going into nan blocks, I really felt I was doing it for nan full country. I wasn't nervous, I was really excited because I've seen these guys adjacent to maine and nan support we person successful nan stadium. It's an unbelievable, we conscionable can't get complete it."

Mawdsley, who clocked an awesome 49.40 seconds for her 400m, relived her last limb arsenic she passed an Italian jock earlier storming home.

"I was getting a spot impatient, I wanted to return her connected nan crook but past I said 'just spell for it'. I person trained my life for this," she said.

"Tom and I were saying earlier that we felt truthful bully successful nan a lukewarm up - we were wondering what was going on? Honestly it's everything to me, astir apt everything to nan team. The full stadium was conscionable astonishing and nan Irish fans move up each clip and it's conscionable super."

Adeleke highlighted nan enslaved betwixt nan Irish squad up of their superb capacity connected Friday night.

"It intends truthful overmuch because we knew what we could do arsenic a team; we were really beardown and it conscionable felt for illustration it was our move - to triumph a title badge astatine elder level. We've worked truthful hard, we spot each other, and that showed connected nan track."

Barr ran a superb limb of 44.90 arsenic he claimed a 2nd European Athletics Championships badge aft winning bronze successful nan 400m hurdles successful 2018.

"This is conscionable a phenomenal performance. We knew what we could do coming into this - we knew disconnected nan backmost of nan World Relays that we had a really bully shot. And it wasn't conscionable immoderate badge but if we really sewage it correct connected nan day, which we did, we ended up pinch a title record, adjacent to a world record, and a gold, not conscionable connected nan line.

"We took it by storm. This won't descend successful for a while but we person to bask it. it does not travel astir that often. I'm a very, very happy jock correct now."