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LAST UPDATE | 9 Aug 2024
SARAH LAVIN FINISHED sixth in her 100m hurdles semi-final this morning, bringing an end to her Olympic Games.
The Limerick hurdler ran 12.69 seconds at the Stade de France — three-hundredths of a second off her season’s best and seven-hundredths off her PB and Irish national record of 12.62.
In an absolutely stacked field, it would have taken the run of Lavin’s career by some distance in order to be in the mix for a place in Saturday night’s final.
Alaysha Johnson of the USA and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands were the two automatic qualifiers from Lavin’s heat with times of 12.34 and 12.43.
The two fastest non-automatic qualifiers came from the third semi, as Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent and Cyrena Samba-Mayela ran 12.44 and 12.52 respectively.
Lavin, visibly disappointed after the race, showed journalists a cut on her trail leg from hitting the eighth hurdle.
“You don’t have that hundredth of a second in a game where the margins are the finest,” she explained. “And, normally, I come through those last hurdles. Obviously, that didn’t happen there. That’s what’s disappointing to be honest with you. If I was walking off here and hadn’t qualified but I had a clean race, you know, that I guess is where the frustration will come from.”
Speaking about the depth of the competition, Lavin acknowledged that even without clipping that obstacle, the slowest qualifying times of 12.52 may have been beyond her.
“It’s the greatest field in history,” she said of the finalists. “I think maybe you can account for 0.1 off a hit of a hurdle which still brings me to 12.59 which still means you’re out. So, that’s the reality. You know what I mean? And that’s where this event is at the moment.”
The hurdler said she was satisfied with her push off the blocks, as well as her decision to go with the quick pace of those around her.
“I wouldn’t have run a 12.69 if I hadn’t gone for that,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had a shot at making the final if I really hadn’t gone for it.
“You know, I guess when you’re looking for a time you haven’t run before you have to do things you’ve never done before.”
Reflecting on her Olympic experience, which included being one of Ireland’s flagbearers at the opening ceremony, Lavin said she is both grateful to the travelling fans for the noise they created in the stadium, and “immensely proud” of herself.
“I think ultimately this is sport and there’s components of this experience the last two weeks that have touched me and will stay with me long more than a gold medal ever could because of the people you meet, and the experiences and the feelings you have and the emotions you have.”
Despite the hard slog of the four-year cycle, retirement is far from the Limerick woman’s mind.
“I’ll stay racing,” she said without a flicker of doubt. ”You know, being in the form of your life which you can’t deny that I am when I’m throwing out a 12.69, you have to be very grateful for that.
“There’s a lot of exceptional athletes sitting at home so when you’re in good form, I think absolutely utilise it. We’re the ticking time bombs here as athletes. Journalists can be journalists for as long as they like; coaches can be coaches; physios can be physios. The athletes are the ones with time around their neck. So absolutely, if my body stays healthy I’ll 100% be out there racing.”
She just has to lift that trail leg higher from now on, she jokes, but the disappointment is still etched on her face.
With reporting by Niall Kelly; written by Sinead O’Carroll and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
Any chance of luring all Taliban into one place and nuking them.
They’re defending there country would you liked to have put all the IRA men fighting in the troubles in the 70s in one place and nuke them.
@shane. If by ‘defending their country’ you in fact mean ‘ want to set up a neo caliphate and believe its their right to kill non believers’ then youre right. Otherwise no. ( wonder what they’ll do to beliebers?)
I know what you mean,but you can’t say that they don’t have a right to defend there land,alot of times is a farmer shooting at them because he’s pissed off at them for attracting attention of the taliban by trampling through his fields.not all muslims are extremist
@ Shane. Wow what an amazing like for like analogy!! Last time I checked, northern Irish paramilitaries were not burning down schools, refusing to allow women to be educated after the age of eight, forcing child marriage, or banning women from general hospitals.
Catholics were burnt out of there homes they could not get jobs and were basically excluded from politics.is that the reason the UN is there then,why arnt they in all the other Muslim countrys that this happens in.If say for instance Scotland invaded Ireland in the morning through no fault of your own would you just try and make the most of you and your family’s life or would you try do something about it.
The Taliban are not representative of the Pashtun people or the other diverse peoples of Afghanistan. Read up on your Afghan history.
So you think that there glad to have the UN there after all they can grow opium again after the taliban had banned it.Does anybody want foreign soldiers in there country I doubt it somehow
Yes actually I would Shane, they’re all scvm
Also learn the difference between there, their and they’re. What age are you? You clearly haven’t a clue about what’s going on. It’s NATO who are in charge of operations in Afghanistan, not the UN
I was replying to your nuke them all question
Shane – defending their country my hole. A bunch of nuts hiding behind a ‘religion of peace’ the majority of whom Re not even from Afghanistan. A bunch of thugs who terrorised a local populace.
The UN are there at the request of the Government of Afghanistan to assist it and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development. As for your opium comment, Between 1996 and 1999 Mullah Omar reversed his opinions on the drug trade, apparently as it only harmed kafirs. The Taliban controlled 96% of Afghanistan’s poppy fields and made opium its largest source of taxation. Taxes on opium exports became one of the mainstays of Taliban income and their war economy.
Any more ‘facts’ Shane, or will you admit that your analogy is based on assumptions and poor research?
No mate I come here for questions and answers I can admit when I’m wrong.I thought the Americans went in after bin laden that they weren’t invited wasn’t the taliban in government they were fighting the northern alliance.
Germany rules large tracts of western European the early 40′s yet, would you agree that they were the rightful rulers?
Read what they (Taliban) did in Mazar-i-Sharif. Is this behaviour that is acceptable when assuming power?
I’m not saying I support the taliban any group that wants sharia law should not be aloud near politics at all.my point is that you can’t blame people who want to defend there land from invaders the farmers hate when troops come into there area becauae it attracts the taliban in for a fight,they just want to be left alone from both sides
Where are the bleeding hearts now…… Guess we have a good idea what the outcome of this will be…….
have your say