You know times are changing in Irish athletics when you're waiting around for the 400 metres relay for something to be salvaged from a major championships. And when they win bronze medals it just confirms that the nation is now truly world class in 400 metres running.

So as the curtain came down on the 10th World Indoor championships the quartet of Robert Daly, Gary Ryan, David Gillick and David McCarthy were headed towards the medals podium. But not before they'd endured a tense wait of about 10 minutes before realising their good fortune. Their fourth place finish had been converted to bronze medals after the Americans - in that most beautiful of terms - dropped the baton.

Almost needlessly to say they are the first relay medals Ireland have produced in a major championships. And they follow the individual 400 metres bronze won in the World Indoors last year by Paul McKee, who missed Budapest through injury.

But the four who ran yesterday didn't put a foot wrong, first lowering the Irish record to three minutes, 8.83 seconds in the morning just to reach the final.

They knew luck would play a part after that. Yet the rough and tumble has always gone hand in hand with the 400 metres relays - particular indoors. And after racing tactically and yet aggressively to get into fourth, it was obvious once the six teams had crossed the line that the track judges would need to watch the rerun.

The problem for the Americans was the final changeover between Joe Mendal and Godfrey Herring. While challenging the Jamaicans for the lead, Mendal tried to make a swift pass. His team-mate three times got his fingers on the baton but never collected it. Suddenly Mendal clipped the curb and fell, and with him the baton. Herring turned and stopped, picked it up and raced on for third place. But crucially the baton hadn't been exchanged between the Americans hand to hand and their chances of a medal were in fact cooked.

The Jamaicans raced on for gold, clocking 3:05.21, with the Russians taking silver. The Irish came in with 3:10.44. And there had been more dramatics in the second leg when Timothy Munnings of the Bahamas was tripped, and the best they could do was fifth behind the Swiss. In fact, further appeals were lodged and the track judges spent almost an hour in the jury room before finalising the result.

"It's unbelievable," said McCarthy, first to offer his reaction and the athlete who'd provided the anchor leg. "But we knew we had to run more of a tactical race, and try to get ourselves into fourth at the last lap. After that you always never know what will happen in the relay. And happily we got that bit of luck, for a change."

Daly had run the opening with real zeal, saying afterwards that "no one dies in a race because of lack of oxygen". Gillick, who'd run tough on the third leg, described it purely as a "fantastic team effort".

And at 31 Ryan might be considered the old man of the team and after years of trying his medal is sure to be most cherished.