Sharlene Mawdsley’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship campaign came to an end in Budapest this evening as she finished seventh in a fiercely competitive women’s 400 metres semi final.
The Newport AC crossed the line in 51.28, well outside her personal best, in a race containing some of the biggest names in the event. Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino won in 49.58, ahead of Salwa Eid Naser in 49.67 and Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce in 49.72.
The fact that the first three women all broke 50 seconds said plenty about the standard Mawdsley faced. She never quite found the fire that had carried her through personal best after personal best earlier in the season, but this was always going to be a major test following her recent hamstring injury.
That injury, suffered at the Irish Championships, forced Mawdsley to miss the European Championships in Birmingham and appeared to have brought her season to a cruel and premature end.
She fought her way back, however, returning with an encouraging 50.59 victory in Rovereto earlier this week before making the starting line in Budapest. Reaching the semi final was a considerable achievement in itself given how bleak the situation had looked only weeks ago.
The 51.28 will not satisfy an athlete who appeared ready to threaten the 50 second barrier earlier in the summer. Still, her season looked finished when she pulled up injured in Dublin. The form had not fully returned in Budapest, but Mawdsley had, and that alone took some doing.
