EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 4 EVENING SESSION

O’SULLIVAN AND HEALY MAKE HISTORY IN ESPOO TO CLAIM AN IRISH 1-2

Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) and Sarah Healy (UCD AC) have claimed a historic Irish 1-2 in the women’s 1500m at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland with O’Sullivan’s medal becoming the first ever gold secured by an Irish athlete at these championships.

Healy and O’Sullivan are no strangers to European success, and both came into this week with lofty expectations as the first (Healy) and second (O’Sullivan) ranked athletes.

Healy looked to control the race from the front and largely managed to dictate proceedings until the final lap where O’Sullivan unleashed a finishing kick which would ultimately see her run to gold a 4:07.18 PB. Healy crossed just behind in 4:07.36 with Britain’s Shannon Flockhart third in 4:08.37.

Speaking after the race, O’Sullivan said: “It feels fantastic, I was second five years ago so it’s good to get the gold. The big thing for me was staying as close as possible on the third lap as I tend to get distracted mid-race. It’s great to do it with Sarah and to go 1-2 for Ireland too”.

Sarah Healy was understandably disappointed to narrowly miss out on the gold medal but was proud of the achievement both her and O’Sullivan had achieved. She said: “I’m disappointed, obviously. Coming in ranked number one, it’s disappointing to finish below that but if someone was to beat me, I’m glad it was Sophie. It’s special for Ireland to get two medals so I’m really glad to be part of that.”

Away from the drama of the women’s 1500m, Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) finished seventh in the men’s 800m final in 1:48.04. The UCD student went out hard to gain a good racing position over the opening lap and speaking after the race he said: “I went for it, I knew I wasn’t really at the races on paper. This year was just about getting some level of normalisation, and to get back running and hopefully push on next year. If you asked me back in January that I’d make a European final this year, I’d have grabbed it with both hands.”

The Irish men’s 4x400m team of Callum Baird, Andrew Egan, Aaron Keane and Ciaran Carthy finished eighth in the final in 3:08.54 following yesterday’s brilliant national U23 record.

Ruby Millet (St Abbans AC) was the last of the Irish contingent left competing at these championships, finishing 11th in the long jump final with a 6.09m following yesterday’s superb outdoor PB of 6.42m. 

This evening’s action rounds out an outstanding few days for the Irish U23 team which will see them return home with two medals (1500m gold & silver), twelve top tens, three personal bests, and three national records.

• Interview with Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy free to use HERE
• Photos HERE
• Day 4 Results HERE.
• Day 4 Morning Session HERE

NOTES

• The Irish team (minus Sarah Healy & Sophie O’Sullivan) arrive back in Dublin Airport direct from Helsinki at approximately 9.30am on Monday July 17th.

EUROPEAN U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS: IRISH MEDALS

• 1999 800m James Nolan SILVER 1.46.94
• 2001 200m Mark Howard BRONZE 21.00 (+0.1)
• 2001 200m Ciara Sheehy BRONZE 23.54 (+1.3)
• 2003 5,000m Robert Connolly BRONZE 14.03.75
• 2009 5,000m David McCarthy BRONZE 14.00.78
• 2011 400m Brian Gregan SILVER 46.12
• 2019 800m Nadia Power BRONZE 2.06.68
• 2019 3000m S/C Eilish Flanagan SILVER 9.51.72
• 2021 20km Walk David Kenny SILVER 1.25.50
• 2023 1,500m Sophie O’Sullivan GOLD 4.07.18
• 2023 1500m Sarah Healy SILVER 4.07.36

RESULTS SUMMARY:

• Oisin Lane 20km Walk: 14th
• Adeyemi Talabi 100m: 25th
• Oliver Swinney 100m: 21st
• Callum Baird 400m: 21st
• Reece Ademola Long Jump: 18th
• Jane Buckley 5,000m: 9th
• Shay McEvoy 5,000m: 10th
• Callum Morgan 5,000m: 14th
• James Ezeonu 110mH: 21st
• Jack Raftery 400m: 7th + Personal Best
• Nicola Tuthill Hammer Throw: 4th
• Israel Olatunde 100m: 8th
• Sean McGinley 3,000m s/c DNF
• James Dunne 3,000m s/c: 32nd
• Men’s 4x100m: 5th + NU23R x 2
• Ava O’Connor 3,000m s/c: 8th + Personal Best
• Anika Thompson 10,000m: 12th
• Colin Doyle 200m: 16th
• Abdel Laadjel 10,000m: 4th
• Cian McPhillips 800m: 7th
• Sophie O’Sullivan 1500m: 1st + Personal Best
• Sarah Healy 1500m: 2nd
• Ruby Millet Long Jump: 11th
• Men’s 4x400m: 8th +NU23R