Mawdsley smashes Personal Best in Italy

By Thomas Conway

Fresh from her stunning anchor leg heroics at the World Relay Championships in Botswana recently, Newport athlete Sharlene Mawdsley surged to a new 400 metres personal best time of 50.52s in her first individual race of the outdoor season, at the Continental Tour Bronze Event in Savona, Italy, on Wednesday evening.

Mawdsley won the race comfortably, finishing almost a second clear of next nearest challenger, Talitha Diggs of the US (51.47).

This latest performance is further evidence that the Tipperary sprinter is edging closer and closer to breaking the 50-second barrier - widely regarded as an important threshold in individual 400m running. Her previous best time of 50.71s was recorded at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Wednesday’s performance was also significant in the sense that it puts Mawdsley well within the qualifying bracket for the European Championships in Birmingham in August.

At the last edition of the championships, in Rome in 2024, Mawdsley qualified for the 400m final. It was in that race that her Irish teammate, Rhasidat Adeleke, secured a silver medal and also recorded the Irish 400m record of 49.07. Mawdsley and Adeleke were also part of the mixed 4x400m relay team which won gold at those championships, and the women’s 4x400m relay team which won silver.

However, the Tipperary woman has risen to new heights since that time. She has forged a reputation as a formidable anchor leg relay runner, while her individual performances have been increasingly impressive. Her scintillating final leg in the 4x400m at the World Relay Championships earned Ireland qualification for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and also went viral online, attracting international acclaim. She was also Irish team captain for that event - another sign of her status as one of the country’s leading track and field athletes.

On an individual level, the 27-year-old has made no secret of the fact that she is targeting a final place at August’s European Championships. In this form, Mawdsley will be odds on to meet that target and perhaps even go further.