A magical night in Newport

Ecstatic scenes of jubilation, more than 1,300 miles apart, became inextricably linked on a night to remember, as history was made at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.

As Newport's Sharlene Mawdsley crossed the finish line in the 4x400m Women's Relay Final, completing the final leg in an astounding burst for a relay time 1.7 seconds under the existing Irish record, she had set a new Irish record with her team-mates, Rhasidat Adeleke, Dublin, Phil Healy,Cork, and Sophie Becker, Wexford.

The jubilation on the track was more than matched by the scenes of excitement at the Freigh Inn, Newport where more than 200 of Sharlene's friends, neighbours and members of Newport Athletic Club had gathered to watch the final on the big screen.

Within seconds of the crossing of the final line being relayed on RTÉ television coverage, the scene of intense excitement at the assembly in Sharlene's hometown of Newport had gone viral on social media and screened during the RTE 2 television coverage interview with Sharlene on the track in Rome.

The buzz of interest around Newport throughout the previous days elevated through the afternoon. The gathering commenced filing into the Freigh Inn up to an hour in advance of the 8.05pm relay final.

ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere was a combination of huge anticipation of another super performance by the young woman who has put the town on the world map, particularly during the previous days of the European Athletics Championships.

An RTÉ news team, regional reporter, Conor Kane and a cameraman, had arrived mid-afternoon to showcase Sharlene's hometown and birthplace and the athletic club in a rural area where her athletic skills have been cultivated over the past decade and a half. This was later broadcast on the RTÉ 1 evening news at 6pm.

Sharlene's mum, Louise, and dad, Tom mingled among the gathering at the Freigh Inn as did the athlete’s older sister, Andrea.

“I'm so nervous I find it hard to watch it,” admitted Louise, who is very proud of her history-making daughter's achievement to date and not least her contribution to Ireland's gold medal success in the Mixed 4x400 Relay Final at the European Championships the previous week.

Ireland last won the gold a quarter of a century ago. “Sonia O'Sullivan was the last to win a gold. She won it the same year that Sharlene was born,” Louise recalled.

Newport Athletic Club Chairperson, Ann Fagan, whose continued contribution to the running of the club and training of athletes is enormous, was among those arriving early to ensure that everything was in place. She was accompanied by her daughter, Sarah, who is also heavily involved in running the club.

Aoife Hayde was also present and looking forward to the completion of Newport AC's splendid new track for the club adjacent to the Boys NS, which has been a major undertaking and is becoming a great facility for the club members.

Her daughter, Aimee, a record setting international cross country athlete, is studying in the US under a scholarship awarded to her. Parents, coaches and scores of young athletes were also present.

As they watched the television screen to observe the finalists for the Women's 4x400 Relay getting into position, all eyes became focused on the big screen and there were cheers for the Irish athletes.

And then the cheers and applause commenced as Sharlene Mawdsley took the baton for the final leg to close the space with the Dutch athlete, Femke Boll, in the lead. As the race entered the final stretch, the whole gathering rose to their feet with thunderous applause while the young club members jumped with joy, wildly waving their Irish tricolours with jubilation and excitement as the silver medal win for Ireland was confirmed while a new Irish record was set.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT

The Irish team combined time of 3.22.71, which took the silver medal for Ireland in a blistering final won by Holland was hailed a major achievement. It was the fifth event in an action packed six days for Sharlene, gold medal winner in the mixed 4x400 Relay Final a few days previous.

Sharlene, who ran an astonishing 49.84 split for the final leg and her second relay medal in her fifth race of the championships, admitted that she was “exhausted” but thrilled for her team and Ireland.

She praised the companionship and support of her three team-mates underlining that they are all very good friends and enjoy their participation.

But she added: “I felt every metre of that run and the girls got me through it. The legs are a bit dead.”

Within seconds, scenes of the explosion of glee at the gathering at the Freigh Inn, the scene at Newport was showing the RTÉ2 coverage from Rome and a video of the excitement of the supporters in Sharlene's hometown was going viral on the social media channels.

Such was the national interest created in the event that RTE viewership of the final topped more than half a million. RTÉ confirmed that the television audience was 462,000 and a further 74,000 views on RTE Player live, making up a total of a massive 536,000 viewers.

Television coverage continued through the evening with a direct feed into the main evening RTE 1 news at 9pm from the town with reporter Conor Kane and interviews with Louise Mawdsley, Ann Fagan, John Savage and Sarah Fagan.

It truly was a night that will long be remembered in the life of Newport Athletic Club.

It was also the deserved gold crowning of a truly admirable young woman, in recognition of her personal commitment to going the extra mile in her training for athletics and her determination to succeed through the tough patches along the way.

Her influence on encouraging young people to take up the healthy recreation of athletics is immeasurable with an influx of young people joining Newport AC.

Sharlene arrived back at Dublin Airport to a fanfare of welcome on Thursday afternoon and will have a brief break for preparation to carry the Irish flag at the Olympics in Paris in July.