It was the fastest race in the history of European women’s indoor sprint hurdles and Sarah Lavin was right in the thick of it, before just falling short of making the medal podium despite running her best time all season.
In the end it was heartbreak for the 30-year-old from Limerick, Lavin finishing fourth in the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn behind a trio of women who all ran their best on the night too.
Ditaji Kambundji from Switzerland powered to gold in 7.67 seconds to break the European and Championship record, and naturally a Swiss record too. Two-time previous champion and local Dutch hope Nadine Visser was second in 7.72, also a national record, and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska won bronze in 7.83, also a season best.
All three had made championship podiums before, the brilliant 22-year-old Kambundji third last time out.
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Then came Lavin in 7.92 seconds. Despite getting an excellent start, she simply couldn’t get herself into that medal winning position in the five-hurdles race, each 33 inches high.
Such are the close margins in sprint hurdles. It was also Lavin’s fourth consecutive major indoor final, having previously finished fifth and seventh in the World Indoors (2022 and 2024), and sixth at the last European Indoors.
Derval O’Rourke twice won bronze medals at this level, in 2009 and in 2013, and yet for Lavin this might well have proved her best chance to join her, even as she becomes a model of consistency on the major championship stage.
“It’s probably the fastest fourth place ever,” said Lavin after the race. “I’m competing with the best girls ever, that have been in Europe. I still have the World Indoors in two weeks’ time in China, but at the same time, I’ve gone seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth (in the last four indoor championships), so I’m going in the right direction.
“But fourth is fourth, no one is happy with fourth. It’s just one of those things, but at the same time, considering where I was a few weeks ago, I’m sure I’ll look back in a few days and be more measured about it. I just need to raise my own standards, and we’ll find a way.”
Earlier on Friday night, Jakob Ingebrigtsen added another European title as if jogging down his driveway to check his letterbox, winning the 1,500m exactly the way he wanted in 3:36.57 after moving from last to first with four and a half laps to go, running 26.1 seconds for the final lap.
Still only 24, that makes it 22 European titles in all for the Norwegian, including cross country and junior titles – along with his five world records, two Olympic gold, and two World titles. The incredibly gifted Ingebrigtsen who keeps on giving.
He’s not finished in Apeldoorn yet, back on the track on Saturday morning looking to make another 3,000m final, and complete a third consecutive indoor double.
Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell wasn’t quite as fancied to win the women’s 1,500m, but appeared poised for victory when running at the front for most of the seven and a half laps, the 31-year-old looking to complete her medal set having won silver at the European outdoors last June, and bronze at the Paris Olympics.
Instead, Hunter Bell was passed by three runners in the final sprint for home, Agatha Guillemot from France surprising herself as much as anyone to win gold in 4:07.23.
In the Friday morning session, some 14 hours after Sharlene Mawdsley ran the fastest anchor leg of the mixed 4x400m relay final, she withdrew from her heat of the individual 400m.
Mawdsley later explained she had suffered a minor hamstring injury during the warm-up: “Unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw from the 400m this morning due to a slight hamstring injury in the warm up,” she posted on Instagram.
“I’m devastated after my run in yesterday’s relay splitting a 49.9 but I’ll be back for outdoors.”
Despite Mawdsley’s 49.93-second split on Thursday night, the Irish quartet still fell short of a medal, finishing fifth, victory going to the home team, the Netherlands. Mawdsley’s interest in Apeldoorn is now over and she will also miss the women’s 4x400m relay, run as a straight six-team final on Sunday evening.
Another Dutch favourite Lieke Klaver won the second heat in 51.52 seconds, having played no role in their mixed relay success the night before. In that same heat, Ireland’s Lauren Cadden finished fifth in 56.77 seconds, well off her best, having gone out a little too fast in the opening lap. Rachal McCann also went in heat four, and despite running a personal best of 53.16 to finish fourth, that wasn’t enough to progress.
Both Mark English and Cian McPhillips endured a tense experience in their heats of the 800m, McPhillips bring tripped down the final backstretch of his race and ending up on the track, as did Bartosz Kitlinsk from Poland in front of him.
Crucially, both runners got up to finish the race, McPhillips coming home in 1:57.35, and after Kitlinsk’s successfully appealed the contact which had earlier knocked him off his stride, McPhillips too was reinstated on appeal. Both runners will now take their place in the semi-finals on Saturday.
English is the only member of the team who has won medals at this level before – 800m silver in 2015 and bronze in 2022 – but rode his luck a little too, still in fourth coming off the final bend, before a gap opened up and he finished second in 1:46.42.
“It could’ve went anyway to be honest,” said English. “The seedings were a bit strange so I was quite nervous going into the race but thankfully I came through. I figured if I want to do anything at these championships I needed to finish in the top two.”
Saturday schedule (Irish times)
9.20am: Sarah Healy, Jodie McCann – Women’s 3,000m, Round One
11am: Bori Akinola – Men’s 60m, Round One
11.45am: Andrew Coscoran, James Gormley – Men’s 3,000m, Round One
12.17pm: Orla Comerford – 60m Para Mixed Classification
7.13pm: Mark English, Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m, Semi-Final
