THREE weeks out from the World Championships (Budapest), Sarah Lavin breezed to victory in her specialist 100m hurdles at the 151st edition of the 123.ie National Senior Outdoor Championships at a wind-swept Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin.
For good measure, Lavin also won a first (national) 100m flat in a personal best of 11.53 seconds.
It represented a ninth national outdoor title for the Emerald AC star. She is also the holder of five indoor championships, representing an astonishing overall haul of 14.
Her hurdle time was 13.13.
A strong headwind meant the possibility of toppling Derval O’Rourke’s national record of 12.65 was never a realistic goal.
“I have to be happy, 13.1 into a -5.1 (headwind),” admitted a content Lavin afterwards. “That (Irish record: Derval O’Rourke, 12.65, set way back in 2010) is still hanging over me but we’ll keep doing everything we can, every day. If it’s to come, it’ll come. We’re definitely getting closer.”
Lavin has a 12.73 clock to her credit, achieved in testing conditions at a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, at the start of July.
On Friday, she competes in a strong race in Bern, Switzerland, before joining the Athletics Ireland holding camp.
Then it’s quickly onto the capital of Hungary, with an obvious goal of reaching the final.
“I’m a world semi-finalist already so that would be a great outcome,” stated the 29-year-old from Lisnagry.
Ireland’s only previous finalist on this stage was O’Rourke in 2019 (Berlin, Germany).
Earlier this summer, she won a bronze medal for Ireland in the 100m hurdles at the European Games in Poland.
Lavin is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
