Exactly the start he wanted, just not the finish, Israel Olatunde missing out on the final of the 60 metres at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, although there was some Irish joy elsewhere.
Having come through the heats earlier, Olatunde was looking to repeat his outdoor heroics of last summer, when he made the European 100m final, only this time it wasn’t to be for the 20 year-old UCD student.
Despite the good start, Olatunde faded over the second half of the race and finished seventh in 6.69 seconds, off the Irish record of 6.57 he clocked earlier this month.
“I didn’t really have it in the last 30 metres, and that’s something to work on for sure,” he said, his preparations not helped by a late arrive in Istanbul.
“Lane eight didn’t matter though, I did want to do a little better, I have to proud to be here, but you have to keep working towards the goals, my main goal.”
Italy’s Samuele Ceccarelli took victory in a super-fast 6.47, Olatunde earlier finishing fourth in his heat, clocking 6.68 to advance: “We’ll go back again and work hard for the outdoor season. The World Championships is obviously a big goal of mine and the European U-23s. Hopefully, I can give another great performance in the Irish vest.”
Earlier on Saturday morning both Darragh McElhinney and Sarah Lavin progressed through their heats, and will return for the final session on Sunday.
McElhinney had it relatively easy in his 3,000m heat, drawn in the second heat which was run at a swift pace which meant all top nine went through.
Still the Glengarriff athlete raced smart, kicking hard on the final lap to move into in fourth place, clocking 7:51.11.
“It was nice being in the second heat, knowing what I had to do,” he said. “For the final, if I can get to the last few laps relatively comfortable, I should be thereabouts.”
That final will see Friday’s 1,500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen look to complete another European double, Spain’s former European Indoor 3,000m champion Adel Mechaal the only runner looking capable of testing him.
Lavin goes into the semi-final of the 60m hurdles knowing final place is possible if she goes under seven seconds; the Limerick athlete finished second in her heat 8.03, the seventh overall in the heats.
A World Indoor and European outdoor finalist last year, Lavin is certainly proving her consistency at this level. “I think I’m more comfortable racing these girls now, and you get more confident within yourself. But ultimately, I need to throw out the performance of my life tomorrow; I need to do it on that stage.”
