Irish Olympic star Sharlene Mawdsley wants fans to see the grittier side of athletics
Olympic star Sharlene Mawdsley reckons Netflix series Sprint got it wrong by leaving out the less glamorous side of athletics, as she recalled the moment one young fan saw her collapse at the end of a session and feared the worst.
The documentary offered a behind-the-scenes look at Diamond League events, the World Championships and the Olympics over 10 episodes. She reckons the show could have offered a more realistic peek into the world of racing if there were shots of athletes “puking on the side of a track in training.”It focused on some of the leading athletes, including Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson. Tipperary native Mawdsley was part of the women’s relay team that finished fourth at the 2024 Olympics in the 4x400m, narrowly missing out on a medal, shortly after winning gold and silver in the mixed relay and women’s relay respectively at the European Championship in Rome. Speaking at the launch of a SPAR competition for a VIP trip to the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Apeldoorn, she said: “We've discussed it as athletes between ourselves, even just with my training group. It's very glamorised and I think that's the side of the sport people see quite often. “You see us going out to the track with our hair done, our make-up done, our tan is on and we're looking our best, and you don't see us puking on the side of a track in training.“I think there was a lot of noise made in Sprint, whereas that's not actually the reality of our sport. Of course, it's a part of it, but it's not the 95 percent of it that they didn't show. It would be nice if you could see more of that. “I think it is good for the sport that people can see it but maybe if they showed a bit more of the realistic side.” Mawdsley would love the general public to see more of the hard work that goes into making a top athlete. “I think it's just like seeing the commitment people put into it, I think that's super important, but I think if Sprint had shown that kind of side of it, I think I would have liked the show more,” she said.It’s important too, she added, for children who aspire to be the next Mawdsley, Rhasidat Adeleke or Thomas Barr to know what goes into making an Olympian. “I think so because it becomes realistic,” she said. “It doesn't just show the nice part of it where you look nice all the time and you go out and run really fast.Mawdsley then recalled one incident when she was so exhausted after a session that she led one child to fear the worst. “It is hard work,” she said. “I have been lying on the track in UL and I remember a kid shouted to her dad, ‘She's dead!’. “And I was like, ‘I'm not’. I was just lying on the track and it got me up fairly quick because I don't want the kids to think that of the sport.Mawdsley is set to run this weekend in the National Indoor Championships in Abbotstown, as part of her preparation for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. Ahead of the Europeans, she has partnered with SPAR to launch a competition with a very special prize. You can win a VIP trip for two to the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn by simply going for a run or jog of any distance, taking a screenshot of your run on your running app of choice and posting it to Instagram using #TeamSPAR. The winner will be randomly selected from all entries on February 28 and, along with a friend, will jet off to Apeldoorn on a VIP four-day trip courtesy of SPAR.
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