Now undisputedly Ireland’s fastest woman over the 100m flat and the hurdles, Sarah Lavin has completed that rare double of national records with her 11.27 clocking at the Galà dei Castelli meet in Bellinzona, Switzerland on Monday evening.
Having taken down Derval O’Rourke’s 13 year-old Irish record in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Budapest last month, Lavin came out here and eclipsed the 100m mark of 11.28 which had stood to Phil Healy since 2018, clocked at the Morton Stadium in Santry in June 2018.
The 29-year-old Lavin, born on the same day as O’Rourke, 13 years apart, fulfilled her superstitions around the 100m hurdles record when she clocked 12.62 seconds in her semi-final in Budapest, improving the 12.65 O’Rourke set when winning the silver medal at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona.
With a perfect zero wind reading, Lavin nailed second place behind Italy’s Zaynob Dosso, who took the win in 11.15.
Ciara Mageean: ‘I just felt numb. It wasn’t even sadness, it was just emptiness’
No sporting comeback is entirely risk-free, but always worth the gamble
Sonia O’Sullivan: A jog down Olympic memory lane shows how far Irish athletes have come
Olympic Federation of Ireland confirms two candidates running to be new president
This 100m record will feel equally special, Healy holding that record for just over five years (set with a +2 tailwind), sending an immediate message on social media: “No better and more deserving person to take this record on the back of her national 100m hurdles record and the most incredible season both indoor and outdoor!”
