Mawdsley had been expected to challenge for a place in the 400m final after turning in a magnificent leg in Thursday night’s mixed 4x400m final.
Sarah Lavin books place in final as Sharlene Mawdsley forced to withdraw from European Indoor Championships
FINAL COUNTDOWN: Ireland’s Sarah Lavin make it through to the final. Pic:©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Fri, 07 Mar, 2025 – 13:30
Cathal Dennehy
It wasn’t perfect, but for Sarah Lavin it was enough – the Limerick athlete producing another crisp display to book her place in tonight’s 60m hurdles final at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands, finishing second in her semi-final in 7.94 seconds.
Lavin was the last of the Irish in action during the morning session today and the Emerald AC athlete got off to a strong start, going shoulder to shoulder over the opening barriers with Polish star Pia Skrzyszowska, who took victory in 7.84. Lavin came home second in 7.94, close to her best of 7.90, to advance to a fourth straight major indoor final.
“We have a spot,” said Lavin, who noted the advantage gained from her strong start had been conceded between hurdles one and two.
“Later on, it’s going to be a blanket finish and you’ve got to get your dip right and all those things.”
She goes into tonight’s final, at 8.43pm Irish time, as the fourth quickest qualifier and with Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji clocking 7.82 in the second semi-final and Dutch star Nadine Visser second in 7.85, it will likely take a PB for Lavin to get on the podium. However, that’s not beyond her.
Meanwhile, there was heartbreak in Apeldoorn for Sharlene Mawdsley, the Newport sprinter forced to withdraw from this morning’s 400m heats after suffering a slight injury in her hamstring during the warm-up.
Mawdsley had been expected to challenge for a place in the 400m final after turning in a magnificent leg in last night’s mixed 4x400m final, splitting the fastest female time in the race of 49.93 seconds to carry Ireland to fifth.
But the late injury meant she was a no-show for this morning’s heats and is now also ruled out for the women’s 4x400m on Sunday.
“I’m devastated after my run in yesterday’s relay splitting a 49.9 but I’ll be back for outdoors,” she posted on Instagram.
OUT: Sharlene Mawdsley was forced to withdraw from the individual 400m at the European Indoor Championships after suffering a slight injury in her hamstring during the warm-up. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy.
OUT: Sharlene Mawdsley was forced to withdraw from the individual 400m at the European Indoor Championships after suffering a slight injury in her hamstring during the warm-up. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy.
She told RTÉ her hamstring “kept getting worse and worse” during her warmup.
“I really wanted to go out and run and after last night I had so much confidence. It’s not often I’d back myself to make the final and I really believed I could. It’s hard. My hamstring was a bit tight yesterday and I had Physio just before the call room and it settled it.
“This morning, I felt good but it just persisted and if I went on the track, it would have got worse and worse. I didn’t want to tear it completely.”
Rachel McCann had a superb run in her 400m heat, despite a difficult draw on the inside lane. She clocked a PB of 53.16 to finish fourth, which was not enough to advance. Lauren Cadden had a rough experience in the 400m heats, coming home fifth in a sub-par 56.57.
“I’m so embarrassed, I’m not even going to try sugarcoat that,” said Cadden.
“That was my worst performance to date on the biggest stage. I know I’m better than that. I don’t know if it was mentally, it just got away from me. I have no positives to take from that.”
There was better news for Mark English, who was impressive when finishing second in his 800m heat in 1:46.42, the Donegal man imposing himself on the race from the outset and showing brilliant composure on the final bend to wait for a gap on the inside, the four-time European medallist moving from fourth to second to secure an automatic spot in the semi-finals.
“It was a messy enough race,” said English.
“It could have went any way. I was quite nervous going into the race but thankfully I came through. It was a bit of luck that the (gap) opened up. I did think before the last bend I pushed the British guy out wide and I knew he was going to come strong, but maybe their inexperience didn’t allow them to navigate that last lap as they might have wanted to, thankfully I’ve got plenty of experience over the years so I was able to manage that.”
His teammate Cian McPhillips endured a rough start to his campaign, the Longford athlete shunted to the back of the field with a lap to run in his 800m heat and then falling over a rival who hit the track in front of him on the back straight.
As the fall was not his fault, and because McPhillips completed the race in 1:57.35, his appeal for reinstatement was successful and he will take his place in the semi-finals tomorrow.
“The race was a bit messy but that’s to be expected,” said McPhillips.
“On the last lap the Polish guy fell in front of me and there was nothing I could do. I moved out to try get up on the leader’s shoulder but before I could make that move it all came apart. These things happen in indoor 800s – it’s to be expected but you’ve got to roll with it and hope it works out in the end.”
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