FROM an Irish perspective, Limerick’s Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) lit-up the World Indoor Championships with a superb fifth-place finish in the 60m Hurdles Final.
In the final in Glasgow, she clocked a time of 7.91, a mere one hundredth of a second off her personal best managed in an earlier heat victory.
“To finish 5th in the world is amazing and to do it in final where the world record was broken too,” Lavin remarked after the race in an interview with Athletics Ireland.
“7.79 won bronze today, and that’s never been required before to win a medal so it just shows where the standard is going.”
Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas claimed gold in 7.65.
There’s plenty of adventure still for Lavin this Summer. “We’ve a Europeans in June which I want to be really competitive at, but the Olympics is everything, it’s the biggest stage in the world. Paris will be sensational so I’m really looking forward to what’s to come,” said the 29-year-old.
She added: “I just really want a major medal…I’m getting closer and closer.”
Lavin’s clubmate, Róisín Harrison, was a member of the Ireland team which set a new national record (3:28:45) in qualifying for the 4x100m Relay Final.
Harrison took the third leg of this stand-out performance.
In the final, the Ireland quartet finished a most creditable fifth.
