Everything pointed towards a big one. Every metric Sarah Lavin could measure suggested an Irish record was coming her way in Paris, the kind of time that’d put her into an Olympic final. But it just didn’t happen.
The 30-year-old Limerick athlete clocked an Irish 100m hurdles record of 12.62 in the world semi-final last year and needed 12.52 in Paris to make her first global outdoor final.
But in her bid to find the extra fraction, she ended up getting too close to the eighth barrier and clattered it with her trail leg, Lavin still running the fourth-quickest time of her career, 12.69. How does she reflect on the Games now? “You come home and you’re underwhelmed by your performance and that’s the truth, simply because I know what I did a year ago,” she says.
“It was 12.62 and 0.1 (faster) would have put me in that Olympic final.
Of course I think I’ve improved by 0.1 this year. Did I put it out at the right moment, the right time? No.
Did all my markers suggest I would? Yeah. And that’s the nature of this level of sport; precision is absolutely required. “You’re better in all your markers: your flat speed is faster, your flying 30s, your technique, you’ve worked with your biomechanics specialist on your start – that’s where all your expectations come from.
” Still, the Olympics proved magnificent in other ways, with Lavin carrying the Irish flag during the opening ceremony alongside Shane Lowry and returning to a surreal level of support. “You’re kind of overwhelmed because you have 500 messages on your phone, you’re running into Dunnes to get your groceries and someone is doing a double-take, you’re out for lunch and people come up for a photograph. It’s beautiful.
” Lavin took a day trip to Electric Picnic last weekend and lost count of the number of people who asked for pictures and hugs, with members of An Garda Síochána also asking for a picture. “The warmth that we’ve been greeted with, it’s been so special and how much it’s touched people here, we had no idea.” Subscribe today Offer available on annual digital subscriptions only.
Ts&Cs apply. Hang On. Get a FREE €50 Intersport Elverys Gift Card with an Irish Examiner annual subscription Subscribe today Still, it’s now business as usual for Lavin, who will race a new team event in Fribourg, Switzerland on 1 September, then compete in Rovereto, Italy on 3 September and in Bellinzona, Switzerland on 9 September.
She’s also “in the long grass waiting for any withdrawals” for the upcoming Diamond Leagues, needing just a few extra points to get into the top-nine positions and secure a spot in the final in Brussels on 13-14 September. At training yesterday morning in UL she was reminded of the impact she’s had. Lavin was doubled over, between reps, when she was approached for a photo with a young girl and she was happy to oblige.
That of course kicked off a chain reaction. “There was an influx of different families, and it was beautiful,” she says. “The excitement it’s caused, it’s so special.
” Virgin Media Television ambassador Sarah Lavin was speaking as VMTV's coverage of top-class athletics continues in the coming weeks with the conclusion of the Wanda Diamond League. Watch Ireland's top stars take on the world's elite as the Wanda Diamond League continues at 3pm on Sunday 25th August on Virgin Media Two..
