SHARLENE Mawdsley joked “Taxi man taking his duties very seriously” after getting dropped off at Dublin Airport by boyfriend Michael Breen.
She was in her Team Ireland gear for the early start as she’s heading to Slovenia to compete in this weekend’s European Athletics Team Championships.
The Tipperary native arrived at Terminal 2 at 5:15am[/caption]
The previous day Breen and her dog Lola cheered her on during a practice session[/caption]
She shared a pic of her dragging her bags into Terminal 2 on Instagram.
It was captioned: “My taxi man taking his duties very seriously this morning.”
On Monday the 26-year-old had confirmed she would be making her competitive return for the first time in over a month in Slovenia.
In the intervening weeks she had had to mourn her father Thomas’ death after he passed away on June 3.
But on Global Olympic Day she informed fans she will be on the track over Saturday and Sunday.
She said: “Happy Olympic day. A last minute decision but I’ll be stepping into the Irish kit again this weekend for the European team championships.”
Mawdsley has been confirmed for the 4x400m mixed relay, with Cillin Greene, Ciaran Carthy, Sophie Becker, and Callum Baird completing the Irish line-up.
And fans on social media backed her to make her dad proud regardless of the result in Maribor.
One said: “Delighted to see this, give the heavens something to smile about.” Meanwhile a second added: “Your father would be proud.”
A third hailed: “Great to see you back training. It’s been a very tough few weeks.”
Lastly, Muireann O’Connell praised: “Well done Sharlene, we’re all thinking of you.”
Mawdsley has become one of Ireland’s brightest sports stars in recent years.
She bagged silver and gold in the women’s and mixed 4x400m relays respectively at the European Athletics Championships in 2024.
The Newport AC export followed that with a promising performance at the Paris Olympics that saw her narrowly miss out on a medal.
During her dad’s funeral, she credited her ability to achieve her dreams on the track to her dad’s unwavering support and belief.
She said: “He made me trust that my dreams were never too big and, for that, some of my dreams have already come true. The best part is I got to share them with you, Dad.”
In her last outing in Philadelphia the 400m specialist was in fine form as she placed second in a season’s-best 200m time of 23.24.
In addition to that showing on the Sunday at the big-money Grand Slam Track event, she also came sixth in the long sprints category 24 hours previous.
