It felt as if the Irish medal prospects had truly changed once Sharlene Mawdsley committed to the mixed 4x400m relay on the opening night of the European Indoor Championships, but her searing anchor leg wasn’t enough to bring them within reach of the podium in a six-team final.
With vast tracts of the sold-out Omnisport Arena in Apeldoorn cheering wildly for the home favourites, the Dutch quartet duly delivered gold, anchored once again by their superstar Femke Bol, the Irish finishing in fifth.
Mawdsley was the only member of the Irish quartet which won European outdoor gold in Rome last June to take part, the Tipperary athlete also qualified for individual 400m heats on Friday morning. Despite running the fastest fourth-leg split of the lot, her 49.93 seconds notably faster than Bol’s 50.33, Mawdsley was simply too far adrift and left with too much to do to make any impression on the leaders.
The Dutch won in 3:15.63, ahead of Belgium (3:16.19) and Great Britain (3:16.49), Mawdsley closing fast to finish in 3:17.63, within half a second of Spain.
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“That first lap, I wanted to try close that gap, but I was probably a bit ambitious,” said Mawdsley, who took over the baton in sixth from Marcus Lawler. “Because when that home straight came, as short as it is, I did tie up a bit.
“But I gave it my best shot, it was a challenge to come out here today, I’m out again tomorrow morning, but I’m proud of this team. People might say ‘Why did she do the mixed relay’, that will hinder me, or not be the best for my individual tomorrow ... but we did come fifth in Europe this time round, it’s nothing to be frowned upon, we’re still proud of that performance.”
There was no Rhasidat Adeleke this time, her focus firmly on the summer ahead. Things started positively when 17-year-old Conor Kelly ran a superb opening 200m, only to lose some ground at the break, before dropped back to sixth. Phil Healy, running her fifth consecutive European Indoors, briefly moved Ireland up to fifth, before Lawler also tried in vain to make up some real ground.
It made for a mixed night for the Irish, with Sarah Lavin producing the highlight with her cool and confident victory in her heat of the 60m hurdles, the Limerick athlete also clocking a season best of 7.93 seconds – ahead of Laeticia Bapte from France.
Lavin has made the European and World Indoor finals over the previous two years, and this performance puts her among the medal contenders, once she can get through the semi-finals.
“Yeah, a good run, and huge credit to everyone behind me, because I haven’t had the easiest few weeks, to be honest,” said Lavin, who came through in the second half of the race, and clearly in front coming off the fifth and final hurdle. “Obviously I wanted to put out that performance, but I will have to go quicker in the next round.
“I know I opened well this season, but I had a tricky time after that, so I’m happy. I love championships, love how immersive they are. There’s only a few of them a year and I love to maximise them. There’s no time to think in races like that, but I know that’s in me, and hopefully more to come.”
Earlier, Cathal Doyle endured a tactical nightmare in his heat of the 1,500m, allowing himself to make some minor contact with Jakob Ingebrigtsen just as the race was hotting up after 900m and coming out the worse for it.
Athletics Ireland did later submit an appeal, claiming Doyle was impeded, but that was dismissed by the track judges. Once Ingebrigtsen came through in the inside, Doyle appeared to lose focus, dropped his head before losing his stride, and suddenly his race was over.
“I just got clipped a little bit, shoved around a bit,” he said. “And by the time I got my feet back together, it took me five or six steps, everyone had gone by me, and you’re not going to make it back. Once that happened it was game over, I’m raging. It was probably bound to happen, you’re obviously just hoping it’s not going to be me. If I got knocked out, and knew I tried my best, I could live with that. But I didn’t really get a chance, and that’s disappointing.”
Ingebrigtsen, chasing a third 1,500m/3,000m double, took the win in 3:37.49, Doyle jogging home in ninth and last in 3:53.33.
Mark English is among those in action on Friday, the only one on the team who has won medals at this level before, 800m silver in 2015 and bronze in 2022.
Irish in action: Friday schedule (all times Irish)
10:05am: Mark English, Cian McPhillips: Men’s 800m – Round one
10:55am: Sharlene Mawdsley, Lauren Cadden, Rachel McCann: Women’s 400m – Round one
12:45pm: Sarah Lavin – Women’s 60m Hurdles – Semi-final
6:58pm: Women’s 400m – Semi-final
8:15pm: Men’s 1,500m – Final
8:43pm: Women’s 60m Hurdles – Final
