Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley has been disqualified after qualifying for the 400m final at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
Tipperary woman Mawdsley finished third in her semi-final but was then ruled to have pushed Austrian athlete Susanne Gogl-Walli.
The Ireland team appealed against the decision but the plea was rejected. Mawdsley’s ill fortune concluded a bad night for Ireland after Sarah Healy fell late in her 1500m heat.
The Dubliner looked set to earn qualification for Sunday’s final as she led going into the closing straight but then dropped from first to fourth place before her legs completely gave way as she fell just short of the finish line.
In her 400m semi-final, Mawdsley crossed the line third in 52.16 seconds behind Dutch woman Lieke Klaver, who clocked 51.18 to finish 0.10 ahead of US athlete Talitha Diggs. But after speaking of her delight at reach a world final, the Irish woman soon learned of her disqualification, with fourth-placed Gogl-Walli instead awarded a spot in the decider.
The indoor 400m invariably can be a physical affair indoors but the jury of appeal backed the track referee’s initial decision that Mawdsley had not maintained her line as she made contact with the Austrian. Earlier, Israel Olatunde bowed out in the opening 60m heats as 6.70 seconds wasn’t enough to progress.—APP
