Mawdsley among 3 Irish qualifiers for World Athletics Ultimate Championships

Three Irish athletes have made the start lists for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships which take place in Budapest, Hungary from this Friday (September 11th) through to Sunday (September 13th)

European champion Mark English (Finn Valley AC), European silver medallist Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) will compete at the event at the National Athletics Centre, the same venue where the trio raced at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

The new competition, which is hosted by World Athletics, has been created to bring together the very best athletes in the world, with Olympic champions, world champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and this year’s top-ranked athletes all battling to become the ultimate champion. The first edition will feature 13 individual events for men and women, alongside two mixed relay events, with a record prize fund of $10 million on offer.

English is the highest ranked Irish athlete on season’s best this year – ranked sixth going into the Men’s 800m. The 33-year-old doctor from Donegal won gold in Birmingham at the European Athletics Championships last month and has also lowered his personal best down to 1:42.97 this summer. English’s semi-final will be on Saturday, with a potential final on Sunday.

Adeleke is ranked eighth in the Women’s 200m on the back of her recent personal best and national record of 22.28 seconds in Birmingham. This propelled her to a superb silver medal at the European Championships. Both rounds of Adeleke’s event take place on Sunday evening.

Tipperary sprinter Mawdsley will make a welcome return to action, having been forced to miss the European Athletics Championships due to a hamstring injury picked up at the National Championships. The 28-year-old raced for the first time since sustaining that injury last night (Tuesday) at the Palio Città della Quercia in Rovereto, Italy – winning the World Athletics Continental Tour silver meet in 50.58 seconds. Mawdsley, who has been in the form of her life this season, races in the semi-final which takes place on Friday evening, with the Women’s 400m final scheduled for Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships, Athletics Ireland High Performance Director, Paul McNamara, said: “Mark, Rhasidat and Sharlene have each had remarkable seasons, for different reasons, and have deservedly earned their spot at the very top table of global athletics against condensed elite fields. It's incredibly positive to end the season with Irish athletes competing in this new and unique championships. It should be an exciting weekend, and we wish all three athletes the very best of luck.”