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Irish Daily Mirror
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Sarah Lavin shows true colours with classy message after Sharlene Mawdsley win
Sarah Lavin was all class after finishing second to Sharlene Mawdsley in yesterday's 200m National final at Morton Stadium. The hurdle specialist finished runner-up to sprint queen Mawdsley in a time of 23.80, with Tipp native Mawdsley taking home her first senior outdoor individual medal in a time of 23.55. Lauren Ryan finished third in a time of 23.88. Lavin had a smile on her face after pushing Mawdsley all the way in a race that entertained the fans in attendance, and afterwards, she took to social media to congratulate the 26-year-old Newport AC star. "Great race! Well done @SharleneM1" Lavin posted on her Instagram story while promoting the fact that she would be competing in the hurdle event on Sunday. Sarah Lavin Instagram post. For Mawdsley, Saturday's victory was the first outdoor individual medal of her career. Speaking to media after the race, the 400m star admitted that she was unsure whether she would compete individually at the World Athletics Championship in November or whether she would focus on the relay event. "I know I won't say no to the relays, I'm always the first one in, but we'll see about the individual, it has been a tough year. We'll see closer to the time." Mawdsley has faced serious adversity this year. After struggling with hamstring injuries in early 2025, she lost her father in June when he passed away suddenly.
BreakingNews.ie
02-08-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Sharlene Mawdsley overhauls Sarah Lavin to land 200m national title
Sarah Lavin might have had the speed, but in a clash of styles over 200m in Santry on Saturday, it was Sharlene Mawdsley who had the best strength – and that proved key in carrying the Tipperary sprinter to the national title. Mawdsley came from behind to overhaul Lavin in the home straight of the women's 200m, the undoubted highlight on day one of the National Track and Field Championships at Morton Stadium. Advertisement The match-up pitted the raw speed of Lavin – the second fastest Irishwoman in history over 100m – against the formidable speed endurance of Mawdsley, who stepped down from her specialist 400m distance. Lavin ran an impressive bend and turned for home just in front, but over the latter half Mawdsley's strength told as she powered past, clocking 23.55 into a stiff, 2.6m/s headwind. Lavin hit the line second with 23.80 and Lauren Roy just behind in third with 23.88. 'I'm really happy,' said Mawdsley. 'Sarah came out [well] and sometimes I get really tight when someone comes up on me, but I've been training this year with girls who've been beating me all around, so I was really happy to come away with the win. I'm in a weird transition [in training] at the moment so I wanted to go down to the 200m and have a bit of fun.' Sharlene Mawdsley of Newport AC, Tipperary, centre, gold, Sarah Lavin of Emerald AC, Limerick, silver, and Lauren Roy of Fast Twitch AC, bronze. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile. Advertisement Marcus Lawler was a hugely impressive winner of the men's 200m, the Carlow native, who runs for Clonliffe AC, blasting to victory in 20.66 (0.4m/s), a long way clear of Darragh McConville (21.41) and Adam Murphy (21.51). 'I'm delighted with the run,' said Lawler. 'It's pretty decent in terms of the overall season. I got out very well and wanted to attack the first 50, I came into the straight really well and from that point, it was about trying to hold it as best I could.' The men's 800m heats offered an intriguing insight into what's to come on Sunday evening, with Mark English and Cian McPhillips set to duel for the national title. English is enjoying a breakthrough season at the age of 32, having run the five quickest times of his career over 800m, highlighted by his national record of 1:43.92. Advertisement He will seek his 10th national outdoor title and will toe the line as favourite, but he will face a stiff test from 23-year-old McPhillips, who is seeking his first national outdoor title, having smashed his lifetime best to recently win at the Morton Games in 1:44.19. Both coasted to victory in their respective 800m heats, with English turning on the jets in notable fashion over the last 100m to clock 1:48.92 and McPhillips running well within himself to coast home in 1:52.58. 'It's going to be great, it should be a good fight,' said McPhillips. 'I'm looking forward to it.' There should be another thrilling duel in the men's 1500m final where Andrew Coscoran and Cathal Doyle look to hold all the aces, with both coasting through their heats on Saturday. Advertisement Paris Olympian Eric Favors proved a class apart in the men's shot put, the Raheny athlete taking gold with a best of 19.58m while his clubmate Niamh Fogarty took the women's shot put with 14.29m. Farranfore's David Kenny was an impressive winner of the men's 10,000m race walk, clocking 39:39.93, while Kate Veale of West Waterford racked up another title in the women's 5000m race walk, clocking 23:46.46. Abbie Sheridan of St Peter's claimed victory in the women's 3000m steeplechase in 10:05.72, while the men's title was won in fine style by Finley Daly of Sligo in 8:59.04. Darragh Fahy of Loughrea took the men's triple jump with 13.91m, Aoife O'Sullivan of Liscarroll took the women's high jump with 1.75m, while Raheny's Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen inflicted a rare defeat on Saragh Buggy in the women's triple jump, taking gold with 13.05m to Buggy's 12.74m. Advertisement Conor Penney of Craughwell took the men's high jump with 2.10m, while Conor Cusack of Lake District took the men's javelin with 75.42m. UCD's quartet of Ella Duane, Molly Hourihan, Anna Lalor and Rhianna McCarthy took the women's 4x100m in 48.40, while Tallaght's team of Simon Essuman, David Aigboboh, Joseph Finnegan Murphy and Joseph Ojewumi took the men's 4x100m in 41.66. Sunday's action will be live streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube channel, with live coverage on RTÉ Two from 5-7.30pm.
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Sharlene Mawdsley pips Sarah Lavin to 200m title at National Championships
Sharlene Mawdsley was not playing around this time. In a thrilling showdown for the women's 200m title on day one of the National Athletics Championships, Mawdsley needed to call on all her style and substance to take the victory ahead of Sarah Lavin . In fine conditions at Morton Stadium in north Dublin, Mawdsley moved down from the 400m, her signature event and having already won that title twice, while Lavin moved up from the 100m hurdles, a title she's won nine times. As expected, Lavin called on her pure sprinting credentials and got the better start in lane five, with Mawdsley in the lane outside her and Lauren Roy also starting well in lane seven. Coming into the homestretch, Lavin was a stride clear, Mawdsley closely tied with Roy. Only in the last 20m did Mawdsley get past Lavin, winning in 23.55 seconds (into a -2.6 mps headwind), Lavin second in 23.80, with Roy third in 23.88. READ MORE 'I heard them (the stadium announcer) say I got a great start, and I was thinking 'okay',' said Mawdsley, delighted with her effort. 'This is different, a bit usual, and having Lauren in there as well made for a great race. That 200m this year was so, so good, so delighted to win.' Sarah Lavin (left, second) Sharlene Mawdsley (centre, first) and Lauren Roy (right, bronze) after the women's 200m final. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile Among the first to congratulate the 26-year-old after collecting her medal was her partner Michael Breen, a recent All-Ireland winner with the Tipperary hurlers. Lavin will be made on the track on Sunday for the 100m hurdles, the Limerick athlete almost certain to make it title number 10 in that event. The men's 200m final was a far more straightforward affair as Marcus Lawler dominated from the gun to take the win in 20.66, a fourth outdoor title for the Clonliffe Harriers athlete. Saturday's track finals also included the 3,000m steeplechase, Finley Daly from Sligo AC winning a second men's title despite stumbling over the water jump early in the race. Holding his form, Daly chased down Jonas Stafford from UCD to take the win in 8:59.04. Abbie Sheridan of St Peter's AC won the women's title in 10:05.72. In the heats of the men's 800m, Mark English and Cian McPhillips qualified with ease, setting up a fascinating duel in Sunday's final. English was the fastest qualifier, the 32-year-old winning heat one in 1:48.92, before the 23-year-old McPhillips won heat two in 1:52.58. Mark English during the heats of the men's 800m. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho English already has eight outdoor titles, and this summer lowered his Irish record to 1:43.92 in June. Last month, McPhillips won the 800m at the Morton Games in 1:44.19, second only to English on the Irish all-time list. 'It's going to be great, a good fight,' said McPhillips, the Longford athlete chasing his first outdoor title. 'We're getting a lot more depth in the event too.' After running three lifetime bests in her five Diamond League races, including a 1,500m victory in Rome, Sarah Healy moved down to the 800m. She was the fastest qualifier in 2:03.63, leading from gun to tape. As anticipated, the men's 1,500m is shaping up to be the race of the weekend. The four main contenders eased through the three qualifying heats. Cathal Doyle, chasing a fourth title in succession, coming through heat one, as did Nick Griggs, winning in 3:47.89. Andrew Coscoran won the second heat in 3:46.99, while Darragh McElhinney also cruised through. In the field events, Aoife O'Sullivan continued her fine form to win the high jump, the Liscarroll AC athlete clearing 1.75m, while Niamh Fogarty of Raheny Shamrock AC won the shot put with a best of 14.29m and will look to add the discus on Sunday. Conor Penney of Craughwell AC won the men's high jump by adding 1cm to his best, clearing 2.10m, while Sarah Buggy's reign in the triple jump was ended by Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen from Raheny Shamrock, as she won with a best of 13.05m, Buggy second with 12.72m. Kate Veale from West Waterford defended her 5km race walk title in 23:46.46, her 19th outdoor national title across the 5k, 20k, and 35k distances, while David Kenny of Farranfore Maine Valley took the men's 10km title in a new best of 39:39.93.
The Irish Sun
02-08-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Sarah Lavin targets world final and national record as she fine-tunes crucial first hurdle
A GOOD start might not be quite half the work but Sarah Lavin appreciates it is key for her to kick on. A two-time 100m hurdles finalist in the European Championships, Advertisement 2 Sarah Lavin of Ireland has plenty of targets ahead as she aims for World Championship glory 2 The Irish star revealed that she's working with top bio-mechanic to shave milliseconds off her times in a hope to break through the global ceiling But she knows she has work to do, with this weekend's National Championships an important part of her build-up. The 31-year-old has identified that the biggest scope for improvement is how she tackles the first hurdle as she looks to lower her personal best of 12.62secs. That mainly revolves around her work with a bio-mechanic Paul Bryce in conjunction with her coach Noelle Morrissey, with Lavin happy how that is going after initially confounding him. She said: 'Paul has worked a lot with Jessica Ennis and Colin Jackson and he works with Nadine Visser also. Advertisement read more on athletics "So he's probably one of the best in the world. It was funny, Paul kind of thought, 'You'll never run faster than 12.7' and I was looking at Noelle and said, 'I've run 12.6 three times'. 'But obviously my data isn't giving him that, it's just been out of pure determination, speed endurance or not fatiguing. 'When we look at the data, my flight time over hurdle one being 0.33 when other girls can do that in 0.2, 0.229, that's massive and you carry that acceleration into the next hurdle and the next hurdle. 'From a hurdle data perspective, unless I change that part of the race, it cannot give me more at the other end. Advertisement Most read in Athletics 'I know if I want to go to the next level we need to do the technical changes in training or I'm at my ceiling with regards to my speed, strength, speed endurance. 'We've really gone down all of those avenues so that they're no lower than anyone else globally, and in some aspects I'm probably faster on the flat. Sharlene Mawdsley takes part in hilarious road race as part of Tipperary's All-Ireland celebration 'The biggest thing was I was getting too close to the first hurdle and then skying it so my angle of projection was off. 'But we've pulled me back a little bit so the difference of me taking off at one metre 87 versus two metres is massive with regards to flight time. Advertisement "It's 0.15 on just one hurdle so it's just being able to do that consistently.' If it sounds easy, well, of course, it is not but Lavin is determined to stick with the process to ensure it yields results. She said: 'We do our warm-up, which takes, what, like 70, 80 minutes. And then you have maybe a half-an-hour window where you're really primed for a couple of efforts that you can get technically really accurate. "Then fatigue starts to set in. And if you haven't nailed it in those first initial runs, it's very hard to turn the session around because fatigue is starting to set in, things aren't hitting, you're getting frustrated. Advertisement 'You're thinking, 'Is this really going to be worth it?' 'It's a challenge. It's not comfortable but I'm not going to get better feeling comfortable. 'I have work to do because I'm going to need to run a 12.5 to make the world final and break the national record again which, let's face it, isn't an easy national record so, yeah, we're working hard. 'It's really, really wonderful when it's working well and incredibly frustrating when you don't do it right. Advertisement 'The first few races, you're trying to find confidence in that also and faith and trust in the change. I went out in a race in Finland in 13.1 and a week later I was down to 12.7. 'Of course that required massive mental strength, that I didn't throw all of the toys out of the pram in that moment. 'It was a challenging week but I kind of thought to myself, 'You have to buy in on this'. 'I was like, 'You have to commit to this for another month' and then it turned out I didn't need to commit to it for another month. Another week did it.' Advertisement GO TEAM While Lavin is taking part in the nationals, Kate O'Connor, Heptathlete O'Connor, who claimed gold at the World University Games in Germany last month while also earning a personal best, is taking a break to recover. Sprint star Adeleke posted online about 'an injury I had earlier this season [that] has transcended into additional lingering setbacks' so she will not be taking part either. And similarly, O'Sullivan is 'playing it safe to sort out a pesky niggle' and will not be involved in the middle-distance events at Morton Stadium in Santry. Advertisement
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
National Track and Field Championships: Rhasidat Adeleke absence opens opportunities in sprint event
There will always be some guessing games around the National Track and Field Championships . Who will show up? In which events? And what's not to be missed? Even in the known absence of some main attractions and defending champions, most notably Rhasidat Adeleke , Sophie O'Sullivan and Kate O'Connor, there's no lack of intrigue around the 153rd consecutive edition of the championship at the Morton Stadium in Santry this weekend. Adeleke confirmed midweek that she was bypassing Santry. After winning the 100m title last year in an Irish record of 11.13 seconds, also winning that title in 2021 and 2022, the Dublin sprinter has decided to focus instead on recovering her best racing form, pointing towards an injury earlier in the season, and some below par performances over 400m in June. READ MORE 'An injury I had earlier this season has transcended into additional lingering setbacks, so I'll be supporting from afar,' said the 22-year-old. 'I've attended nationals every year since 2021 and there's nothing like competing in-front of a home crowd. I'll hopefully be back to get some Morton magic next year.' That will clear the way for a new name to wear the crown of Ireland's fastest woman for 2025. Sarah Lavin pulled off a 100m/ 100m hurdles double in 2023, but this weekend's schedule won't allow that, both events part of the live TV window RTÉ Two from 5-7.30pm on Sunday. Lavin already has 10 national titles, nine in the 100m hurdles, and that might steer her towards the 100m – the final of which starts at 6pm on Sunday, while the 100m hurdles is off at 5.10pm. Sharlene Mawdsley is also likely to move down to the 200m. [ Athletics Rhasidat Adeleke to sit out National Championships in favour of recovery Opens in new window ] O'Sullivan won the 1,500m last year in 4:20.45, but has been ruled out this weekend after a mid-week scan in Cork confirmed a stress reaction in her tibia bone, which will require several weeks of cross-training. Sarah Healy has three 1,500m titles already – from 2019, '21, and '23 – but will defend the 800m title she won last year. After running three lifetime bests in her five Diamond League races, including a magnificently rare 1,500 metres victory in Rome, the plan is to go outside her comfort zone and test her raw speed. 'I've raced so many 1,500s this year and it's very rare I get a chance to run an 800m,' said Healy. 'Last year I did the 800 and then the following week I ran a PB in Paris and I suppose that's kind of the thinking again.' Ireland's Mark English. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho There's definitely a guessing game around the men's 800m. Mark English already has eight outdoor titles, and nine indoors, and the 32-year-old this summer lowered his Irish record to 1:43.92 in June. Last month, Cian McPhillips won the 800m at the Morton Games in 1:44.19, the 23-year-old from Longford now second to English on the Irish all-time list. English has indicated he too may test his raw speed over the 400m, possibly clearing the way for McPhillips to win his first senior outdoor title. Saturday's heats in both events will reveal all. The men's 1,500m is potentially the battle of the weekend, if the recent Morton Mile is anything to go by, where Andrew Coscoran just held off Cathal Doyle to win in 3:51.12; Doyle was just a half stride behind in 3:51.26, with Darragh McElhinney also smashing his lifetime best when clocking 3:51.99 for third, while Nick Griggs ran 3:52.42 in fourth. Israel Olatunde will look to defend his 100m title ahead of Bori Akinola , who got the better of him indoors in another close battle, while in the field, Kate O'Connor was entered the javelin, shot put and long jump, but withdrew after winning heptathlon gold at the World University Games, while hammer silver medal winner Nicola Tuthill will look to win her fourth senior title. Athletics Ireland will stream live coverage of both days on their YouTube Channel
