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.
RM Block
“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.”
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.
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.
