Sarah Lavin: Craig's memory gives me strength to get through the day

If the darkest hour is just before the dawn, Sarah Lavin's bronze medal performance in the 100m hurdles at the European Games in Krakow provided the Limerick athlete with shafts of light after the most challenging period of her life.

Lavin lost her boyfriend Craig Breen on 13 April, with the Waterford rally star killed in a crash while preparing for Rally Croatia.

Having raced on Wednesday morning in the European Athletics Team Championships as part of the European Games, the hurdler had to wait until Saturday for confirmation of her podium placing due to an unusual format comprising of three separate divisions.

The 29-year-old became the first athlete to win a Division Three race to medal at the event, with her time of 12.82 seconds just outside the personal best of 12.85 that she clocked at last summer's European Championships in Munich.

Lavin, who was able to enjoy pizza and champagne at home with her parents as the result was confirmed told RTÉ's Sunday Sport: "It was a big honour to win a major medal. It is something that you always wanted to do.

"These European Games are a new inception, but the field was particularly strong.

"The team obviously performed out of their skin out there and we're getting promoted to the next division so we'll have one less round to wait next time hopefully to figure out if we're in the medals."

"He is, I think, giving me strength because I don't know at times how to get through every day."

Breen's absence cast a long shadow over what would otherwise have been a day of unbridled joy, with Lavin revealing: "It's been difficult. Even yesterday, the one smile you wanted to see was Craig's, it was so infectious.

"It's hard. Everyday is really difficult and you're just trying to be as strong as you