Tipperary sports star Sharlene Mawdsley announces major change in career

Sharlene Mawdsley has announced that she has decided to train with a new UK-based athletics squad.

The Tipperary sprinter had a busy summer winning gold and silver in the mixed and women’s relay at the European Championships in Rome where she was also a 400m finalist.

Sharlene also ran a lifetime best in the Paris Olympics where she narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-final in the 400m sprint. 

Now, Sharlene has began training with the renowned UK coach Tony Lester. 

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Tony has coached some of the UK's top athletes, including multiple Olympians. 

Fellow Tipperary native and Olympian Gary Ryan had previously been Sharlene's trainer.

Sharing the announcement on Instagram, Sharlene said she wanted "to try something new" after this year's Olympics in Paris.

She said: "I have decided to move training group to train with @coach_t59 I am very excited for this chapter of my career and I feel extremely lucky to be training with some really talented and likeminded people."

Sharlene also expressed her appreciation for Gary Ryan's support over her career: "I am very thankful for Gary who coached me the past number of years, I enjoyed my time under his guidance whilst he showed me his knowledge and expertise and helped me get to the biggest stages in our sport."

She continued: "I am also extremely grateful to my team and my loved ones who have supported me through this decision and continue to do so every single day.

"I’m excited to see what we can do together."