Sharlene Mawdsley is set to return to action in Italy tomorrow, September 8th, with the Newport AC sprinter entered in the women’s 400m at the Palio Città della Quercia in Rovereto. Her appearance on the entry list is welcome news after a hamstring injury interrupted the finest individual season of her career. Official 400m entries.
The 62nd edition of the Continental Tour Silver meeting has attracted seven Irish athletes, but Mawdsley’s comeback will carry particular interest. Just over six weeks after pulling up at the National Championships, she has an opportunity to get back racing before the outdoor season draws to a close.
A Breakthrough Season Interrupted
For much of the summer, every outing seemed to bring her closer to breaking 50 seconds.
She opened her individual outdoor campaign with victory in Savona on May 20th, lowering her 400m personal best to 50.52. Three days later, she took another sizeable chunk off that time, winning in Brussels in 50.17. Two races, two victories and a clear indication that something was building.
The improvements kept coming. At the FBK Games in Hengelo on June 21st, Mawdsley finished second in 50.14. A week later, she made her Diamond League debut in Paris and ran faster again, finishing fifth in 50.06. Four personal bests over 400m had brought her within six hundredths of a second of a major milestone.
That form made the events at Morton Stadium on July 25th all the harder to take. Contesting the national 200m final as defending champion, Mawdsley pulled up approaching the final 100 metres. A summer which had been gathering pace was suddenly interrupted, with the European Championships little more than a fortnight away.
Despite the efforts of Mawdsley and her support team, the hamstring tear ruled her out of Birmingham. She confirmed her withdrawal on August 7th, explaining that progress in her recovery had not been enough to get her to the start line in time.
Even then, she had another race this season in mind.
“We’ll keep working hard, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the track later this season,” she said in her withdrawal announcement.
Tomorrow offers the chance to make that return. It cannot recover the championship opportunity she lost, but it gives her a chance to put a more positive finish on a season which had promised so much.
Mawdsley’s 50.06 is the fastest season best among the eight women entered in Rovereto. Italy’s Anna Polinari, who has run 50.36 this year, is among her opponents, alongside fellow Italians Alice Mangione and Alessandra Bonora. There is solid competition awaiting her, though completing her first race back would itself be an encouraging step.
Six More Irish Athletes in Action
There is plenty more Irish interest across the programme. Sophie O’Sullivan returns to the 1500m after breaking two minutes in each of her last three 800m races. Her sequence of 1:59.65 in Twickenham, 1:58.60 in Brescia and 1:59.23 in Trier has given her an encouraging run of form as she moves back up in distance.
She joins Sarah Healy in a strong 1500m field which includes Nadia Battocletti, Nelly Jepkosgei and Melissa Courtney Bryant. Healy has the quickest season best among the entrants at 3:57.42.
Bori Akinola contests the men’s 100m after running 10.26 in Belgrade last week, just seven hundredths outside his personal best of 10.19. Darragh McElhinney and Brian Fay are both entered in the 3000m, where their opponents include Cooper Teare and Mike Foppen.
Eric Favors completes the Irish contingent in the shot put. The Irish record holder reached the European final in Birmingham, finishing 10th, and now faces a field including Rajindra Campbell, Zane Weir and Payton Otterdahl.
Run Republic will have our usual guide to following the meeting tomorrow, with Irish start times, streaming information and results links. Stay tuned for everything you need to follow Mawdsley’s return and the rest of the Irish athletes in Rovereto.
