I’m an Olympian
Sharlene Mawdsley is targeting using the experience of her first Olympic Games to improve further after mixed fortunes in Paris over the past week.
By Shane Brophy
Going into a major championships, the minimum target is to perform to your best and Sharlene did that, running faster than she ever did before in the 400m in the first round on Monday in a time of 50.71, 0.01 faster than her previous best.
Finishing fourth in her heat, the Newport athlete was hugely unlucky as her time would have been enough to finish inside the top three in the other heats which would have qualified her straight to the semi-finals.
Instead, she was forced into the repechage round on Tuesday morning where she ran 51.18 to finish third, but not quick enough to progress, and he would have needed to run another personal best to do so.
“I just didn’t run my own race,” she said of that performance.
“Being in lane 3, I had everyone outside me and thought it would play to my advantage, but it distracted me a little too much.
“I’m disappointed not to have advanced to the semi-finals. It would have taken (another) PB today for me to have won that race but I didn’t have it in the legs today.”
“I am really proud of myself for running a 51.1 today after my third race in the championships.
“Look, I am at the Olympic Games, I ran a PB yesterday, I have the World (Championship) standard for next year.”
Looking ahead, the 25-year-old is already targeting where she needs to improve going forward.
“I really need to be training with people who are at my level in the last fifty metres,” she admitted.
“That is what is catching me in every single race so we will look at that for next year.
“What I want to do for the rest of the season is to run a really fast 200 as that will set me a lot better.
“I’m not sure what I am going through two-hundred in these days, but I genuinely feel it is the last bit of the race (holding her back) which is in contrast to the relays which is what I am good at.”
Sharlene’s Olympics isn’t over as she now has three days rest before returning to the Stade de France on Friday morning for the semi-finals of the women’s 4x400m relay at 9.40am.
With team-mate Rhasidat Adeleke highly unlikely to race unless she fails to qualify for the final of the individual 400m final, which is due to take place on Friday night, it will be on Mawdsley, along with Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, and Lauren Cadden to get Ireland through, and if they do, and with Adeleke to call on, the European champions will have realistic medal hopes for the final on Saturday.