+34
Irish sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley is set to compete at the newly established World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this weekend, marking her first race since sustaining a hamstring tear at the National Championships in Santry. She will test her fitness over 400m at a meeting in Rovereto, Italy, before taking up her invitation to the 400m event in Budapest. The championship features a record $10 million prize pot and aims to conclude seasons lacking a World Athletics Championships. Fellow Irish athletes Mark English and Rhasidat Adeleke have also received invitations based on their event rankings.
Sharlene Mawdsley was forced to withdraw from the European Championships due to an injury she picked up at the National Championships in Santry. Photograph: Mark Kavanagh/ Sports fileback on track to compete at this weekend’s newly minted World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
With a record $10 million prize pot – including the largest first-place pay-day the sport has ever seen – Mawdsley is understandably keen to take up her 400m invitation. Before that, however, Mawdsley will have a sort of test run over 400m on Tuesday evening at the Palio Città della Quercia meeting in Rovereto, Italy.
It will be her first race since sustaining a hamstring tear when competing in the 200m at the National Championships in Santry on July 25th, which subsequently forced her withdrawal from the European Championships in Birmingham last month. Assuming the Tipperary athlete can come through Tuesday’s race without any setbacks, she’ll then take up her place in the 400m at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest, which will host the inaugural Ultimate Championship over three evening sessions from Friday to Sunday.
Designed to take place every two years as to conclusions to seasons without a World Athletics Championships, the Ultimate Championship will consist of 13 individual events for men and women, plus two mixed relays, with athletes qualifying not by elite invitation only. Sydney Marathon admits ‘unfortunate error’ as finisher’s medal depicts Munich stadiumA world of opportunity opens for Rhasidat Adeleke.
For now, she should savour it It intends to bring together the best athletes in the world in each event, with Mawdsley ranked 13th of the 16 women invited to take part in the 400m.are the only other Irish athletes to receive an invitation, again by virtue of their event rankings, with English seventh of the 16 athletes invited for the men’s 800m, while Adeleke is 16th in the women’s 200m. The invitations include all the Olympic champions from Paris 2024, the World champions from Tokyo last year, and the 2026 Diamond League final winners from Brussels last weekend.
The remaining invitations were decided on event rankings over the last 12 months, or in some cases, by exceptional invitation. Each individual event winner will pocket $150,000, the largest winner’s prize in track and field history. The runner-up will earning $75,000, while third will get $40,000. Every athlete will leave Budapest with something, right down to the 16th and last-place finishers, who get $2,000.
Mark English wins gold in the men's 800m at the European Championships. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inphio All events up to 800m will include two semi-finals, the top four from each advancing to the final.
The 12-athlete 1,500m and 5,000m are straight finals, as are the five field events, each with eight athletes.was inside the top-12 for the 1,500m in recent weeks but subsequently missed out by three spots, while Cian McPhillips was also on course to make the 800m before illness cut short his season. Mawdsley is the fastest woman in the 400m field in Rovereto thanks to the 50.06 seconds she clocked at the Paris Diamond League debut in June, her fourth personal best of the season.
After winning her 200m heat at the National Championships in Santry, she pulled up after 80m in the final. Adeleke went on to win the 200m national title in 22.80, securing her place at the European Championships in her last attempt. The Dubliner went on to win silver in Birmingham, lowering her national record to 22.28 in the process, improving her 200m ranking enough to secure an invitation for Budapest.
Mawdsley withdrew three days before the start of the European Championships due to the injury sustained in Santry, saying: “We made huge progress after I was diagnosed with a tear in my hamstring, but unfortunately the timing just wasn’t on my side”. English hasn’t raced since winning the European 800m title in Birmingham, opting instead for another spell of altitude training at Sierra Nevada in Spain ahead of Budapest.
The Donegal man will have to negotiate a tough semi-final on Saturday evening if he’s to earn his place in Sunday’s final. Adeleke, who clocked 22.85 to finish sixth over the 200m in Brescia in Italy last Sunday, will race in the 200m semi-final in Budapest on Sunday evening, with the final due to take place just over two hours later.in the 1,500m.
Last weekend, O’Sullivan ran an personal best of 1:58.60 in the 800m in Brescia, putting her second to Ciara Mageean’s national record of 1:58.51. Bori Akinola will race in the 100m, while Darragh McElhinney and Brian Fay go in the 3,000m and Eric Favors will compete in the shot put. Sydney Marathon admits ‘unfortunate error’ as finisher’s medal depicts Munich stadiumA world of opportunity opens for Rhasidat Adeleke.
For now, she should savour itClocks will move back on October 25th for winter timeLatest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers
Sharlene Mawdsley World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 400M Injury Recovery Rhasidat Adeleke Mark English Irish Athletics
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Grehan puts Walker Cup comeback from 14 foot to defeat world number oneSTUART GREHAN PRODUCED one of the standout moments of the Walker Cup when putting a 14-footer on the eighteenth hole in Lahinch to defeat the world's top ranked amateur golfer Preston Stout in their singles match. Tullamore native Stuart is the only Irish golfer on Team GB & I, he commanded a strong support at the famous Clare links which became only the third Irish course to host the international match.
Read more »
Stuart Grehan rallies to gain half-point against world number one Preston Stout at LahinchStuart Grehan overcame a slow start to secure 1.5 points on day one of the Walker Cup at Lahinch, defeating world number one Preston Stout in a thrilling singles match after a shared foursomes result.
Read more »
Day-tripping: how to spend 15 hours sightseeing in LondonFrom Anthony Bourdain’s favourite coffee haunt to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and St Paul’s Cathedral, the city offers a world in a day
Read more »
Sarah Moss signs off: ‘Being hated on the internet has begun to tint my life, sleep and thoughts’I glanced into a dark mirror world in which people (mostly men) wrote that I am vile and stupid and should kill myself
Read more »