European Athletics Championships: Sharlene Mawdsley’s anchor leg to win 4x400m heat makes up for her poor final run

That was behind only the 3:24.38 Ireland ran at the World Relays in The Bahamas last month, where Rhasidat Adeleke was part of the line-up. The Dubliner was rested for the relay heats following Monday night’s silver medal in the 400m but is set to be drafted in for the final, making Ireland huge contenders in Wednesday night’s showdown, where the Netherlands will likely be their biggest rivals.

Mawdsley had not been due to run the heats either, having also raced the 400m final last night, but came to the stadium as a sub and was drafted in after Kelly McGrory withdrew during the warm-up due to injury. “I’ve never been in the position where I was the sub and had to step up last minute, but that’s what subs are for,” she said. “I had to step up today and I said to the girls going in, ‘If we could come in the top three, it’d be great’. I wanted to conserve something and I felt really, really comfortable.”

They were led off by Sophie Becker, who clocked 51.64 and handed off to Phil Healy, who kept the Irish towards the front after a split of 51.29, the fastest leg of her career. Lauren Cadden kept them in the mix with a strong 52.12 on the third leg before handing off to Mawdsley, who ran a patient race, biding her time and following the inside line behind the leaders before coasting past them down the home straight, splitting a blazing 49.76.

Today's Sports News in 90 Seconds - 11th June

Mawdsley had underperformed in Monday night’s 400m final, finishing eighth in 51.59, so this was an ideal way to put that behind her. “It was very below average for me. I just completely gave up, lost the head,” she said of the 400m final. “It was so unprofessional, but I came back and rectified myself today.”

She put her performance down to a “lack of experience racing people” in recent months, adding: “Anytime I’ve run quick, I’ve run it on my own, so going in to race girls coming up to Paris will be the most important thing.”

The Newport sprinter said she had just four hours of sleep and was shocked by her blazing split, which was the fastest across both heats. “If someone told me it was a 52, I’d have been like, 'OK. I just need to stop going into my individual [races] tense and just run freely.”

Becker said the run was “so promising” going into Wednesday’s final, adding: “When we saw 3:24 on the board, we were all like, ‘What the heck?’”

Healy was relieved to put a disappointing run in the 200m yesterday firmly behind her. “I had today to come out and use my anger for that and do a job for the girls. It takes four of us to perform together, but 3:24? Everyone was shocked.”

Cadden was competing at the Europeans for the first time and was pleased with her run, adding there is “a lot more to come” from the team.

Elsewhere, the Irish men’s 4x400m team of Jack Raftery, Chris O’Donnell, Seán Doggett and Callum Baird finished fifth in their heat in 3:04.41, which was not enough to advance. They were led off by Raftery, who had them in the mix after a 46.68-second leg. O’Donnell was next up, and after an exhausting few days, the Sligo athlete unleashed a superb 45.26-second leg, handing over to Doggett, who at 17 became the youngest Irish male athlete in history to earn a senior international cap. The Galway teenager handed over to Baird, who produced a storming final leg of 45.14, but it wasn’t enough to see them through, the Irish finishing 10th overall.

“We had to start somewhere, we’ve been absolutely nowhere in the last number of years and this is the very start,” said O’Donnell. “We needed this, and over the next number of years, we’ll progress and hopefully get to the level of the other teams and start winning medals.”

Doggett said it was an “unbelievable” experience to represent Ireland on this stage. “It hasn’t sunk in properly, but I’m really proud. I gave it my all and we can go really far with this team.”

The Irish men’s 4x100m team of Bori Akinola, Mark Smyth, Colin Doyle and Israel Olatunde finished seventh in their heat in a season’s best time of 39.34, which was not enough to progress.

“Walking out into the stadium, seeing the stands and people was mind-blowing,” said Akinola. “Then I just reset and focused to get the job done and execute. It was a good experience and I’m extremely happy and proud.”

Smyth said they were “happy out” with the run, calling the performance “a bit of redemption” after disappointments at previous championships. Smyth said they had “opened a lot of doors” with the time they clocked, while Olatunde said it was “always great to run with the lads” and was also content with the performance.

There are just two Irish athletes in action at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night, with Anika Thompson and Laura Mooney racing the 10,000m, where both will be up against it. The two 400m hurdles finals will be the highlights of this evening’s programme, featuring world champions Karsten Warholm of Norway in the men’s and Dutch star Femke Bol in the women’s.

European Athletics Championships: Live, RTÉ Two/RTÉ Player, BBC Red Button

Irish in action

8.30pm: Anika Thompson, Laura Mooney, women’s 10,000m final