Sharlene Mawdsley was in top form again as she powered the Irish women's 4x400m team to victory in the heats at the European Championships in Rome this morning.
The Tipperary native even managed to clock the second-fastest time in history by an Irish quartet, finishing in 3:24.81.
Mawdsley had not been due to run the heats, 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.”
What makes this performance even more impressive is the fact that Mawdsley underperformed in last night's 400m final, finishing eighth in 51.59.
In a refreshingly honest interview, the 25 year old admitted that she had "lost the head" in her last race, and was determined to make things right today.
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“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 Ireland star said she had just four hours of sleep and was shocked by her incredible 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.”
Rhasidat Adeleke is set to return for the final, making Ireland huge contenders in Wednesday night’s showdown, where the Netherlands will likely be their biggest rivals.
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