Sharlene Mawdsley reflects on 'emotional weekend' and targets race on Irish soil
The Tipperary sprinter finished third in the 400m in the European Team Athletics Championship in Maribor, Slovenia, on Saturday, clocking a time of 50.03.
It was the 26-year-old's first race since the sudden death of her father Thomas last month.
Reflecting on the weekend, Mawdsley wrote on Instagram: "An emotional weekend but so grateful for those around me making it a little easier.
"I don't want to continue to touch on this subject publicly however, I do want to express my gratitude to those who have helped me these last number of weeks. To those who helped me get to the start line, my competitors for being so gracious and understanding, to my teammates and the staff this weekend for their help, they trusted me, when I wasn't sure I even trusted myself.
"I will never be able to express my thanks to all of the people who have been there these last number of weeks (I hope you know who you all are) but I will never forget it.
"Now we can look to the next race where I will start on home soil in Morton Games on July 11th"
Mawdsley ran a strong opening half of Saturday's race and had the lead coming into the home straight.
She fought hard in the closing stages but the Olympian was eventually passed by Slovakia's Emma Zapletalová (50.76) and Belgium's Imke Vervaet 50.86, who both ran personal bests in a very fast race.
Mawdsley can be seen in action at the Morton Games on Friday, July 11, at Morton Stadium in Santry. Tickets for the event cost €10 and can be purchased online here.
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