The European Athletics Championships came to a wonderful close for Ireland on Wednesday night, as Sharlene Mawdsley brought home the fourth medal of the event for Ireland in the final leg of the 4x400m relay.
Already a gold medalist in the mixed division of the event, Mawdsley came into the women's team as a late sub after Kelly McGrory was injured on the morning of the semi-final.
She would anchor the team well in the semi-final, helping them to qualify as the fastest team, before she brought home a superb silver medal behind the formidable Dutch outfit.
After a tough outing in the 400m final, it marked a perfect ending to the championships for Mawdsley - and her mother's emotion stole the hearts of the nation on Morning Ireland on Thursday.
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Sharlene Mawdsley's mam was the star of Morning Ireland on Thursday
Relive those magic final meters of the women’s 4x400m relay 🤩 🥈#IrishAthletics #Roma2024 pic.twitter.com/SIkROHbdEj
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) June 12, 2024
In a brilliant segment broadcast on the RTÉ Radio 1 breakfast show on Thursday, Cian McCormack reported from O'Sullivan's Pub in Newport, Tipperary as the 4x400m final progressed on Wednesday night.
In the hometown of the Irish sprinter, McCormack captured the immediate reaction of Sharlene Mawdsley's mother, Louise, in a wonderful segment which would bring a tear to the eye.
(You can listen to the segment here, beginning from 1:13:45)
Louise Mawdsley spoke to McCormack through tears of her pride for her daughter, affirming that despite all of her wonderful achievements, she remained "my baby girl":
Absolutely so, so proud. Over the moon. Fit to burst!
[I'd give her] the biggest hug! I'm so, so proud of her. She already knows, I tell her every single day but I'm absolutely thrilled to bits for her. Absolutely thrilled to bits [through tears].
She's been plugging away from under-8s all the way up. She works her backside off, she trains six days a week, sometimes two sessions a day. She really, really gives it her everything.
As I always do, [I said] 'Go out and enjoy it, and the very best of luck.' As always. I'm so, so proud of her.
You're a superstar, simple as, no two ways about it! Absolutely superb. I'm so, so happy.
She's a gold European medal, a silver European medal, and a world relays bronze medal.
She's my baby girl, and always will be.
I knew she was destined for great things. She was under-10s at the Community Games, she won a silver medal in Mosney, she ran without spikes, she actually ran in her bare feet.
Anything now at this stage is a bonus (on the Olympics).
You're the best daughter that anyone could ask for. That's all I can say, not another word. Best in the world.
Not a dry eye in the house.
The wild fervour of O'Sullivan's Pub could be heard in the background as McCormack interviewed Sharlene Mawdsley's mother, capturing the energetic manner in which the Irish public has taken to athletics over the past week.
Gold medals for the mixed 4x400m relay team and for Ciara Mageean in the 1500m were followed by silvers for Rhasidat Adeleke in the 400m and, of course, the women's 4x400m relay on Wednesday night, to mark Ireland's most successful ever European championships.
The likes of Adeleke, Mageean, and Sharlene Mawdsley have become national superstars in recent weeks, and excitement now builds for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
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