'Support from Newport is amazing,' Irish relay coach praises Sharlene Mawdsley's local club

Irish Olympic relay coach David McCarthy praised the local Tipperary support for Irish track star Sharlene Mawdsley, saying the support from her local club was 'amazing'.

In an interview with Tipperary Live ahead of the team's long awaited trip to Paris for the Olympic games, the coach spoke of the talent in the mixed and women's 4X400m Irish relay teams, who recently saw huge success in the European Championships in Rome.

Newport Athletics Club's own Sharlene Mawdsley competed for both the mixed and women's relay teams in Rome, which secured record gold and silver medals for Ireland. The sprinter also made it to the final of the women's individual 400 metres.

Speaking of the support for Mawdsley on the day, McCarthy said: "I don't think I've ever seen a clip of a local athletics club all in the same venue watching world championships or European championships before."

"To see that with Charlene club down in Newport was was amazing. It’s something we usually see when Irish soccer teams go to a World Cup, but it was definitely something new for athletics.”

Newport AC made national headlines with their support for the Tipperary athlete, with the entire village rallying behind Mawdsley for the Championships. Two local schools were featured on RTÉ news the day of the women's relay final, which was also aired for a large crowd in the local Freigh Inn.

Sharlene's relay coach added that the local support was hugely important for the relay stars, saying their support networks are "vital to them being able to do what they want to do".

"We're seeing all of that support behind each and every one of the athletes. And that can only be a positive thing, it's brilliant," McCarthy said.

"All of them are in a very good place in terms of having that support network, because they simply wouldn't be where they are now if they didn't have that support behind them. That's something that has certainly developed over the last number of years, a little bit of added interest in the sport."

Speaking on the high expectations on Irish athletes heading in to this Olympic Games, McCarthy added that Sharlene and the relay team feed on the high hopes of fans watching.

“The group of athletes that we have thrive on that kind of pressure and expectation. That's when they perform their best. So we're not worried about that from that perspective,” McCarthy said.

"We know that at our best, we’re hard to beat. So, we’ll control what we can, ensure each athlete gives their best, and see where that takes us."

Sharlene will be take to the track to compete with the Irish mixed relay team in Paris on Friday 2nd August, followed by the women's individual 400 metres and 4X400m relay on Friday 9th August.