Cruel night for the Irish at World Indoors as Sharlene Mawdsley disqualified after reaching 400m final

Sarah Healy crashed out in the 1500m heats while Sharlene Mawdsley was disqualified after initially reaching the 400m final. 

DQ:Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley during her 400m semi-final at the World Indoor Athletics Championships. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Sharlene Mawdsley faced triumph and disaster, and ultimately heartbreak, at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Friday night. Having produced the performance of her life to qualify for her first global final, she had it snatched from her grasp after getting disqualified for obstruction.

Mawdsley pulled out a magnificent run to finish third in the 400m semi-final, clocking 52.16 and taking the last qualifying spot for Saturday night’s final. In what was a typically rough indoor 400m, she made her decisive move entering the final turn, moving from fourth up to third and cutting in on Austria’s Susanne Gogl-Walli, who then was forced to check her stride.