5TH IN THE WORLD FOR SARAH LAVIN AND IRISH 4x400M RELAY TEAM
Team Ireland have secured two 5th place finishes on the final day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow this evening (March 3rd). Limerick’s Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC) finished 5th in the final of the women’s 60m hurdles, a performance which came hot on the heels of a 5th place finish for the Irish 4x400m team of Phil Healy (Bandon AC), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC), Roisin Harrison (Emerald AC), and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC) in their respective relay final.
Lavin clocked a 7.91 in tonight’s final which was just one hundredth of a second outside of her PB which she clocked on two occasions earlier today. Tonight’s result completes a remarkably consistent trio of performances at these championships with Lavin posting her lifetime best of 7.90 in both the heats and semi-final.
Speaking after the race, Lavin who was competing in her second World Indoor 60m hurdles final, said: “To finish 5th in the world is amazing and to do it in final where the world record was broken too. 7.79 won bronze today, and that’s never be required before to win a medal so it just shows where the standard is going”.
Looking forward to her outdoor season, Lavin said “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”.
The women’s 60m hurdles medals went the way of Devynne Charlton (BAH) 7.65 WR, Cyréna Samba-Mayela (FRA) 7.74, and Pia Skrzyszowska (POL) 7.79.
The relay team set the tone for the evening in the 4x400m final, clocking a 3:28.92 which was just factionally outside the national record of 3:28.45 which the team had posted in this morning’s semi-final.
Tonight’s final appearance continues a remarkable run for the women’s 4x400m relay team, who have now made finals at recent European Championships, World Outdoors, and now World Indoors.
Speaking after the race, Phil Healy, who led the team out in the opening leg, said: “It’s a testament to the squad we have. We’ve great subs back in warm up and the team is constantly changing which drives everyone on. It’s a big year for us, we have World Relays in a few weeks, a European Championships, and an Olympic Games (subject to qualification), so to come 5th in the world, and to be so close to the national record again is really super for this team.”
Only one athlete clocked a faster leg than Sharlene Mawdsley in the final (Lieke Klaver 50.26), and she spoke of her pride in the team and what they had achieved this weekend, she said: “I never felt pain like that before, I left everything on the track out there. We have a great group of girls involved in the relay squad now and Irish athletics in general is in such a great place, so I think a lot of other teams are going to be watching out for Ireland at future championships”.
Team Ireland Relay Splits:
- Leg 1: Phil Healy 52.05
- Leg 2: Sophie Becker 52.74
- Leg 3: Roisin Harrison 53.66
- Leg 4: Sharlene Mawdsley 50.47
The team were also quick to mention the important roles played by relay squad members Rachel McCann (North Down AC) and Lauren Cadden (Sligo AC) who were integral to tonight’s preparations and the success of the team at these championships.
The women’s 4x400m medals went to the Netherlands 3:25.07 WL, United States 3:25.34 SB, and Great Britain & NI 3:26.36 NR.
A list of tonight’s full results can be found here.
Team Ireland Results Summary:
- Women’s 4x400m Relay – 5th National Record 3:28.45
- Sarah Lavin 60m Hurdles – 5th = Personal Best (x2) 7.90
- Sharlene Mawdsley 400m – 12th
- Roisin Flanagan 3,000m – 15th Personal Best 8:53.02
- Sarah Healy 1500m – 26th 4:18.86
- Israel Olatunde 60m – 26th Season Best 6.70