In a tale that can only be described as dramatic and celebratory, Team Ireland experienced a rollercoaster of emotions at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow over the weekend.
Mawdsley's Heartbreak and Determination
Sharlene Mawdsley from Newport AC entered the competition strongly, securing a spot in the semi-final with a tied 52.23 400m run. However, her dream of reaching her first-ever individual World final was shattered when an appeal from the Austrian Team alleged obstruction during her impressive semi-final run.
Athletics Ireland launched a counter-appeal, insisting Mawdsley held her line until the athlete was passed, and moved in when there was space to do so. Unfortunately, the Jury of Appeal has upheld the track referee’s decision.
MAWDSLEY DISQUALIFIED FROM WORLD INDOOR 400M SEMI-FINAL
After her heroics in qualifying for a global final, disappointingly Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) has been disqualified from the Women’s 400m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
The track referee adjudicated… pic.twitter.com/DcK1ReLYpn— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 1, 2024
Taking to Instagram, Mawdsley posted: "I want to thank every person who messaged me since last night. It no longer felt like an individual sport, and that support being there when I needed it was extremely special."
"I felt my hurt, and I’m sure I will again - but for now; onwards and upwards, because I am so lucky to get to go out with the girls tomorrow in the 4x400m."
Healy's Unfortunate Fall
Sarah Healy, a standout in the 1500m, seemed on course to secure a place in the semi-final. Unfortunately, her decision to move to the front too early resulted in arm contact with race leader Birke Haylom of Ethiopia. Healy fell just two meters from the line, finishing sixth and missing an automatic spot in the semis. Ireland appealed the contact, but it was rejected, and the result stood.
🗣️ “Of course I’ll be back, I’ll take lessons from that…It’s a hard one to take.”
Sarah Healy reacts to her performance in the heats of the Women’s 1500m at the World Indoor Championships 🎤
A tough one to take, we’ve no doubt Sarah will come back from this stronger 💚… pic.twitter.com/bxSSqPAOY2— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 1, 2024
Roisin Flanagan (Finn Valley AC) enmded day two off with an impressive 15th place finish in the women’s 3000m final, clocking a personal best of 8:53.02 to cement her place in 5th on the Irish all time list behind Sarah Healy’s national record of 8:36.06 (2024).
Ending With High Fives
On the final day, Team Ireland secured two fifth-place finishes. Limerick’s Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) finished 5th in the women’s 60m hurdles final, clocking a 7.91, just one hundredth of a second outside her PB (which she achieved during her earlier heat and semi-final races).
The Irish 4x400m relay team, consisting of Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC), Roisin Harrison (Emerald AC), and Sharlene Mawdsley, also finished 5th in their respective relay final with a time of 3:28.92, just fractionally outside the national record.
Our Women’s 4x400m Relay team caught up with us after they finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships 🙌🏻
Super performance 🤩#WICGlasgow24 #IrishAthletics pic.twitter.com/0fXPa7gjf2— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 3, 2024
Speaking after the race, Phil Healy, who led the team out in the opening leg, said: “It’s a testament to the squad we have. We’ve great subs back in warm up and the team is constantly changing which drives everyone on. It’s a big year for us, we have World Relays in a few weeks, a European Championships, and an Olympic Games (subject to qualification), so to come 5th in the world, and to be so close to the national record again is really super for this team.”
Despite her individual heartbreak, Mawdsley (who also incredibly posted two of the three fastest legs across the entire 4x400m women's relay) spoke of leaving everything on the track and the bright future for Irish athletics: “I never felt pain like that before, I left everything on the track out there. We have a great group of girls involved in the relay squad now and Irish athletics in general is in such a great place, so I think a lot of other teams are going to be watching out for Ireland at future championships”.
Only one athlete clocked a faster leg than @sharlenem229 in that World Final (Lieke Klaver 50.26)🤯An outstanding show of resilience and class from the Newport AC athlete👏🤩🇮🇪
Team Ireland World Final Splits:
🌟Phil HEALY 52.05
🌟Sophie BECKER 52.74
🌟Róisín HARRISON 53.66… pic.twitter.com/8HnJ7xv1i7— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 3, 2024
