Sharlene Mawdsley overhauls Sarah Lavin to land 200m national title

Sarah Lavin might have had the speed, but in a clash of styles over 200m in Santry on Saturday, it was Sharlene Mawdsley who had the best strength – and that proved key in carrying the Tipperary sprinter to the national title.

Mawdsley came from behind to overhaul Lavin in the home straight of the women’s 200m, the undoubted highlight on day one of the 123.ie National Track and Field Championships at Morton Stadium.

The match-up pitted the raw speed of Lavin – the second fastest Irishwoman in history over 100m – against the formidable speed endurance of Mawdsley, who stepped down from her specialist 400m distance.

Lavin ran an impressive bend and turned for home just in front, but over the latter half Mawdsley’s strength told as she powered past, clocking 23.55 into a stiff, 2.6m/s headwind. Lavin hit the line second with 23.80 and Lauren Roy just behind in third with 23.88.

“I’m really happy,” said Mawdsley. “Sarah came out [well] and sometimes I get really tight when someone comes up on me, but I’ve been training this year with girls who’ve been beating me all around, so I was really happy to come away with the win. I’m in a weird transition [in training] at the moment so I wanted to go down to the 200m and have a bit of fun.”

Sharlene Mawdsley of Newport AC, Tipperary, centre, gold, Sarah Lavin of Emerald AC, Limerick, silver, and Lauren Roy of Fast Twitch AC, bronze. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.

Marcus Lawler was a hugely impressive winner of the men’s 200m, the Carlow native, who runs for Clonliffe AC, blasting to victory in 20.66 (0.4m/s), a long way clear of Darragh McConville (21.41) and Adam Murphy (21.51).

“I’m delighted with the run,” said Lawler. “It’s pretty decent in terms of the overall season. I got out