Ireland’s first Universal 4x100m Relay team recorded a time of 48.99 seconds at the Dublin Graded Meet at DSD Track on 13 June 2026.
The team featured Paralympic bronze medallist and double world champion Orla Comerford, T64 sprinter Alex Lee, Para Athletics Academy athlete Charlie Byrne and Paris 2024 Paralympian Shauna Bocquet.
Guided and supported by relay coach Daniel Kilgallon, the quartet came together for Ireland’s first competitive outing in one of Para athletics’ most distinctive team events. Their run marked a new Irish national record and placed the team in a strong position internationally, with the time understood to be among the fastest recorded in the event over the last two years.
How the Universal Relay works
The Universal 4x100m Relay is a mixed classification Para athletics event. Each team is made up of four athletes, with two men and two women competing across four legs.
Unlike a standard relay, athletes do not pass a baton. Instead, each exchange is completed through a physical tag within the takeover zone.
The event follows a set running order. The race begins with a visually impaired athlete, followed by an athlete from a limb impairment classification, then an athlete from a coordination impairment classification, before finishing with an athlete in a racing wheelchair.
For Ireland, Comerford, Lee, Byrne and Bocquet filled each of those legs, with Comerford leading off, Lee taking the second leg, Byrne on the third leg and Bocquet completing the relay in the wheelchair section.
The team recorded 48.99 seconds on their second attempt at DSD Track, giving Ireland its first official mark in the Universal 4x100m Relay.
