Sarah Lavin has qualified for her third major championship final in the space of a calendar year.
The Limerick athlete finished in third place in her semi-final on Sunday morning, to gain automatic qualification into the European indoor final, which takes place at 5.55pm Irish time on Sunday evening.
Having qualified for World indoor and European outdoor finals in recent times in the sprint hurdles, Lavin will have had medal hopes coming into these championships.
And those medal hopes are well on track in Istanbul.
The Emerald AC runner ran a sharp 7.99 in her semi-final, which was just two hundredths of a second behind the PB she set in the world championships last March.
You can watch the race below, where Lavin showed tremendous speed off the last hurdle to earn her automatic qualification. She speaks about her slow start in her interview with David Gillick below.
Sarah Lavin is into the final of the 60m hurdles in Turkey!
READ: https://t.co/VzW0WK6Irb
Watch the European Indoor Athletics championships now on @RTEplayer https://t.co/58N1nTXdAZ pic.twitter.com/Nk0xB0sDrr
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 5, 2023
'I'm so happy to have a ticket to tonight'
Sarah Lavin reflects on making the final of the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Athletics Championships with @DavidGillick
READ: https://t.co/VzW0WK6Irb #RTESport pic.twitter.com/hBTSeXpfb1
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 5, 2023
Elsewhere on the short track, there was disappointment for fellow Irish sprinter Israel Olatunde, who finished in seventh place in his 60m semi-final.
Olatunde had some passport issues on his way to the Turkish capital, issues which resulted in him only landing in Turkey just 12 hours before his Saturday morning heat.
The 20-year-old was disappointed not to qualify, but ‘proud’ on the progress he has made.
“Hopefully I can built on this for the outdoor season,” he said in an interview with David Gillick.
“It was tough (the passport issues) but I can’t be making too much excuses,” he added.
'It wasn't really the preparation I wanted before these championships, arriving in 12 hours before my heat this morning'
Israel Olatunde reacts to his performance, which wasn't helped by passport issues en route
Watch now on @RTEOne and @RTEplayer https://t.co/VgKAMJ3KiK pic.twitter.com/8mon5yViIQ
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 4, 2023
Meanwhile, on the longer track, Cork athlete Darragh McElhinney goes in the men’s 3000m final on Sunday evening. The race takes place at 5.00 Irish time, live on RTE 2, with the 22-year-old aiming to win his first senior major championship medal.
