Mawdsley’s anxious wait for Olympic ticket
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Sharlene Mawdsley winning her heat in the Women’s 400m at the Irish Life Health National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium on Friday. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILEImage 2 of 3
Men’s Hammer medallists, from left, Brendan O’Donnell of Lifford Strabane AC - silver, Sean Mockler of Moycarkey Coolcroo AC - gold, and Simon Galligan of Clonliffe Harriers AC - bronze. Photos: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILEImage 3 of 3
Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers, left, with Men’s Weight for Distance medallists, from left, John Dwyer of Templemore AC - silver, Sean Breathnach (Galway City Harriers AC) - Gold, and Michael Healy of Youghal AC (bronze). Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILEBy Shane Brophy
Sharlene Mawdsley faces an anxious wait to see if her Olympic dream remains on track after being unable to finish last Saturday’s 400m final at the Irish Life Health National Track & Field Championships at Morton Stadium, Santry.
Having been part of the Irish 4x400m mixed relay team that booked their place at the Olympic Games earlier this year, Mawdsley was hoping for an impressive performance to ensure she will be on the squad heading for Tokyo.
The 22-year-old set the fastest time in Friday’s heats and was set for a highly exciting showdown with Bandon’s Phil Healy in the final on Saturday afternoon.
Mawdsley started very well and after two-hundred metres had her nose in front, but she struggled on the second bend and pulled up coming into the home-straight.
In an Instagram post on Saturday night, the Newport AC athlete revealed she suffered a calf cramp with 120 metres to go and opted to pull rather than potentially sustain a more serious injury.
“The season is much bigger than trying to keep fighting when it could have turned out for the worst,” she said.
“The season has shown its struggles but it’s far from over. I will always stand on the line and show I’m ready to race. But making a mature decision on whether or not to keep going was what I needed to do.
“Athletics is tough but if it was easy, everyone would do it. I will be back stronger. Whatever this season has to offer, I will soak it all in and fight.”
Mawdsley now faces an anxious wait as to whether she will make the final Ireland team for the mixed relay as last Tuesday, June 29th, was the final date for qualification for the Games with Athletics Ireland then having to select their participants to put before the Olympic Federation of Ireland for ratification.
There is stiff competition with national 400m champion Phil Healy all but certain to make the team with Mawdsley set to battle it out with rising star Rhasidat Adeleke for a spot on the team.
Elsewhere at the National Championships, there was Tipperary success in the Men’s Hammer which was won by Sean Mockler of Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C. with his second-round throw of 67.18 securing the gold medal.
Clonmel AC’s Sean Tobin won silver in the Men’s 5,000 metres. He dualled it out with training partner Hiko Tonosa from Dundrum South Dublin. Tobin upped the pace with 800m to go but Tonosa stuck to his heels and made a decisive move of his own 300m out to regain the title he won in 2019.
Templemore AC’s John Dwyer also won silver medals in the Men’s weight for distance and weight for height events respectively.
While there were numerous Tipperary athletes in action, the other noteworthy performances came from Nenagh Olympic’s Ava Rochford who finished fourth in the women’s pole vault while Sean Carolan was also just outside the medals in the Discus while Thurles Croke’s William Hughes won the 5000m ‘B’ final.