Sharlene Mawdsley leads the way on first day of European Games in Krakow

The competition kicked off at the European Games in Krakow, Poland on Tuesday, with athletics being the sole sport on the programme on the first day.

Doubling up as the European Team Championships, Team Ireland's 44-strong athletics team are competing in the event with the main objective of moving out of Division 3.

Until the 2nd of July, 121 Team Ireland athletes will be competing in events across seventeen sports.

Team Ireland sit in second position in the Division Three standings after the first 12 events, three points behind leaders Austria. This is the first of three days of competition for the athletics team, with some of the biggest names in Irish athletics named on the team.

One of the standout performances from an Irish perspective came from Bandon woman Nicola Tuthill in the Hammer Throw. Tuthill threw a huge lifetime best in the first round to improve her national U23 record in the event to 67.85m.

The throw was good enough to secure the teenager a second-place finish, earning valuable points in the process.

I’m delighted with that," she said after the event. "I had a pretty consistent performance so I’m really happy with that. It’s my first senior international. It’s such a nice atmosphere, everyone’s just rooting for you."

Sharlene Mawdsley got the Irish involvement at these European Games off to an excellent start when she took victory in the Women’s 400m to earn a maximum 15 points for the team. The Tipperary native was a class above the rest as she crossed the line in 51.55.

"I’m delighted that I was able to kick the team off and start it this way, it’s amazing," she said.

In the Men’s 400m Jack Raftery finished third in 46.76.

Kilkenny’s Aoibhe Richardson tackled the 5,000m, finishing in third running 16.45.02.

Lis