Cuddihy turns frown upside down

Joanne Cuddihy walked off the Olympic track on Saturday night with a smile replacing the frown which dominated her face a day earlier.

On Friday, she was disgusted with her performance in the 400m heats after she stormed from the blocks and struggled down the finishing straight. But she was given an unexpected chance to atone by sneaking through to the semi-finals amongst the fastest qualifiers.

And the Kilkenny star grabbed the opportunity to make amends to finish fifth in 51.88 with American Sanya Ross-Richards leading them home in 50.07. Rosemarie Whyte claimed the last final spot on 50.98 with Cuddihy’s display the 16th fastest of the 24 women in action.