Ireland's representation at the Olympic Games will now be 63 after the Irish women's 4x400m relay team were named among the 16 competing at London 2012.
They qualified with the 12th fastest average time, having defended their place in the top 16 for the past year.
The team of Claire Bergin, Joanne Cuddihy, Marian Heffernan and Michelle Carey, plus reserves Caitriona Cuddihy and Joanna Mills, have raced to a consistently high standard during this current Olympic cycle, with their final major race coming at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki at the weekend.
Despite being disqualified in the semi-final for starting their changeover in the wrong place - they had finished fifth - the Irish squad had done enough to not be surpassed by other teams competing at the European and African Championships.
The Olympic relays will be run over two semi-finals of eight teams each.
[comment]David Gillick was one of the first to congratulate them.[/comment]
Congrats to the Irish women's 4x400 relay team being ranked in the top 16 teams in the world, resulting in Olympic qualification!
— David Gillick (@DavidGillick) July 3, 2012