Mawdsley finally has belief to allow her fulfil huge potential
There was a time when she felt she didn’t belong. Sharlene Mawdsley would line up against the world’s best and think they were just that and she was, well, someone else. But not anymore. These days, the 25-yearold Tipperary sprinter knows she’s one of them, the impostor syndrome long shed, the inferiority complex cut adrift.
“Budapest was the starting point in my belief that I actually deserve to be in the races I’m in, running the times I’m running,” she says. “I go on to the track now believing I deserve to be there.”
At last year’s World Championships, the spotlight understandably shone brightest on Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adeleke, but no Irish performer rose above themselves quite like Mawdsley, who ran a PB of 51.14 to make the world semi-final over 400m and helped the Irish mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x400m into world finals, unleashing a blazing 50.01 split in the latter.
Thrive
That changed everything, and the evidence was there at the World Indoors last month, Mawdsley displaying the necessary kill-or-be-killed mentality to thrive in indoor 400m racing, her disqualification for obstruction entering the final turn of the semi-final leaving most objective observers puzzled.
But she bounced back with two superb runs to help the Irish women’s 4x400m relay to fifth place. And now the outdoor season looms, which Mawdsley admits is a “bit nerve-wracking”, but she adds: “Once I get racing, the nerves will settle and it’s [about] going out to give it my all every time I’m on the track.”
She has worked with psychologist Jo-Anne Browne and whether it’s self-belief that’s led to fast times or fast times that have led to self-belief, what’s clear is Mawdsley is a whole different athlete this year. That will prove key to the Irish chances at next week’s World Relays in the Bahamas, where the Newport athlete will race the mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x400m.
A top-14 finish will secure Olympic qualification but there’s lots more to run for: hefty prize money; bragging rights against the world’s best; qualification for the Europeans in June; and favourable lane draws for the Paris Games.
In recent years, Irish relay teams have gone to major championships chiefly in hope, not expectation, but after making multiple global 4x400m finals the bar is now higher. “It’s not a case of, ‘hopefully we can get into a final’, we’re going in like we need to get into this final challenging for medals, not just sitting at the back. Teams are definitely watching out for us now.”
Adeleke withdrew from the women’s relay in Budapest and the Dubliner bypassed the World Indoors, but Mawdsley says having her back is “a huge addition”.
“There are so many girls running fast times at the moment, I think we’ve a really, really strong team, everyone is kicking on, so it’s great to have her, but having everyone else is just a bonus.”
Mawdsley was part of the Irish mixed 4x400m team that finished seventh in the 2021 World Relays, securing Olympic qualification, but she wasn’t selected for Tokyo after underperforming at the nationals. That left her “a bit raw” but in the coming months she can make amends. She will open her individual season in mid-May and run three events before the Europeans in June, where she’ll contest the individual 400m and both relays (if they qualify).
That’s also the plan for Paris, pending qualification. “I think any event you could put me in, I’ll go to the start line,” she says of the Games. This time, she’s ready to seize every single chance.