Olive Loughnane finished 16th in the 20km walk at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Loughnane who finished second at the World Championships in 2009, completed the race in 1:34.02.
An injection of pace by the Russian trio of Olga Kaniskina, Vera Sokolova and Anisya Kirdyapkina in conditions of high humidity took its tol on the rest of the field.
Loughnane managed to work her way back to the leading pack but at the 15km mark she fell behind the leading walkers by two minutes.
She crossed the line in 18th position, four minutes adrift of Olga Kaniskina, who successfully retained her title in 1:29:42.
She was subsequently given an official finishing position of 16th with six athletes disqualified from the 50 runner field.
The Irish in action tomorrow are as follows (Irish Time):
Alistair Cragg in the Men’s 5000m Round One at 2.05am,
Deirdre Ryan will compete in the Women’s High Jump qualification rounds at 2.45am
and Ciaran O’Lionaird (Leevale AC) will compete in the semi-final of the Men’s 1500m at 11.55am.
