SARAH LAVIN BROKE Derval O’Rourke’s Irish 100m hurdles record in the World Championship semi-finals on Wednesday night.

The Limerick hurdler ran a new personal best of 12.62 seconds, bettering the national record set by O’Rourke 13 years ago by three-hundredths of a second.

But it was not fast enough to see her through to the final as she finished fifth in a fiercely-competitive field in Budapest.

𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗟𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗮 𝟭𝟮.𝟲𝟮 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱! 🔥

A phenomenal performance and achievement for Sarah! 👏

Such a worthy breaker of @DervalORourke's 100m Hurdle record. 💚#TeamIreland | #WorldAthleticsChamps | #Budapest | @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/LzUkijXT79

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 23, 2023

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Kendra Harrison of the United States won in an impressive 12.33 seconds, with Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas taking the second automatic qualification spot in 12.49.

To break the national record without progressing was “bittersweet”, Lavin said afterwards.

“We got it,” she told Virgin Media’s Will Dalton. “I’ve dreamt of getting that national record since I was that size.

“I made a mistake on hurdle nine and it cost me, but I was up there with some of the best in the world, and I guess 12 months out from the Paris Olympics, that’s where you want to be.”

She added: “It was a brilliant race – it was the best race by an Irish person ever. Sorry, Derval… she made me work hard enough for it now, let’s be honest.”

"We got it! I've dreamt of getting that National Record since I was that size. We have it!

"Sorry Derval! She made me work hard for it!

"It's been difficult, but I've had something wonderful around me."

- @sarahlavin_. 💚#TeamIreland #WorldAthleticsChamps @WillDalton01 pic.twitter.com/TRzLc36ilg

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 23, 2023

Defending champion Tobi Amusan (12.56) and Ackera Nugent (12.60) were the two automatic qualifiers from the second semi-final, while Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.41) and Nia Ali (12.49) qualified automatically from the third semi.

Danielle Williams and Ditaji Kambundji, both of whom ran 12.50 seconds, progressed as the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

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