European Games: Sarah Lavin wins 100m hurdles bronze

Sarah Lavin has won Ireland’s second medal of the European Games, taking bronze in in the 100m hurdles.

The event was completed on Saturday. It consists of three divisions that form part of the European Athletics Team Championships, which are being held in conjunction with the European Games.

Having raced on Wednesday morning, Lavin’s impressive time of 12.82 was fast enough to earn the Limerick athlete a podium place. Her time is the second fastest of her career; just 0.03 seconds off the personal best she clocked at the European Championships in Munich last summer.

Gold went to home favourite Pia Skrzyszowska [Poland] who ran a time of 12.77, while Nadine Visser [the Netherlands] took silver in 12.81. Both athletes competed in the Division One race in Krakow on Saturday afternoon.

France’s Laeticia Bapté also clocked a time of 12.82 in the Division One race but Lavin’s time was faster by one thousandth of a second. The 29-year-old is the first athlete who won a Division Three race to take an athletics medal at the European Games.

"I’m so so happy," she said. "I’ve dreamt of winning this, winning a major senior medal since I was a kid. It’s a really strange way to do it, to have that run by myself the other day and to have to play that waiting game to watch all the best from every country compete against each other."

Referring to her support team, and her late partner Craig Breen, Lavin said: "I’ve had incredibly special people helping me over the last few months, over last years, but ultimately I think someone very special up there is helping me… they like the drama obviously today to bring it right one thousandth of a second, to get that bronze when the best were there."

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