Mawdsley goes faster still in Holland

By Thomas Conway

Sharlene Mawdsley’s rich vein of form continued at the weekend as the Newport athlete clocked a new individual 400m personal best time of 50.14 seconds, and came within touching distance of a win at the FBK Games in the Netherlands.

Mawdsley looked on course for victory but was ultimately overtaken on the home stretch by Egyptian Bassant Hemida, who finished milliseconds ahead of the Irish woman in 50.10.

Sunday’s performance represented the third time Mawdsley has smashed her personal best in the matter of weeks and offers compelling evidence to suggest that she may be in with a shot of a medal at the European Championships in August.

She recorded two 400m PBs during a remarkable three-day spell on the continental circuit last month, firstly clocking 50.52s in Italy before whittling that time down to 50.17s in Brussels 72 hours later.

She also secured a third-place finish in a competitive field at another event in Ostrava, Czechia, last Tuesday week, where she clocked 50.28.

Prior to that, her glittering anchor leg heroics at the World Relay Championships in Botswana secured Ireland a berth at the 2027 World Championships and drew widespread international attention.

The 27 year-old has long been considered a redoubtable relay runner. However, her recent individual displays all show a similar trajectory. She is narrowing in on breaking the fifty-second barrier and possibly becoming a medal contender at major championships.

Last Sunday she eclipsed several sub-50 second athletes at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, most notably Dutch woman Lieke Klaver, who came third in a time of 50.60.

Several Irish athletes were also competing at the event, including Longford man Cian McPhillips, who made his return to competitive action in the 800m, finishing fifth.

Both Mawdsley and McPhillips will likely form part of a strong Irish team which will head to Birmingham and the Europeans with medals hopes.