No joy for Sarah Lavin in 60m hurdles semi-final

But in a race of such fine margins, Lavin got that one wrong, clattering the hurdle and as a result her chance was gone, with a knocked barrier by one of her rivals also hampering her late in the race. 

Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska took victory in 7.79 ahead of Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent (8.00) and China’s Wu Yanni (8.01), the frustration for Lavin being that a reproduction of the 7.92 she ran in the European indoor final two weeks ago would have been enough to advance.

There are some disciplines at the World Indoors where fields are diluted in quality, but the hurdles is certainly not one of them, the majority of the world’s best toeing the line at a time of unprecedented quality in the event. 

That was underlined in the final, with world record holder Devynne Charlton winning gold in 7.72 and the first six finishing withing four hundredths of a second.

Lavin has twice reached the world indoor final in the past, finishing seventh in Belgrade in 2022 and fifth last year in Glasgow. Earlier in the day, she had clocked 8.04 to finish second in her heat. At the recent European Indoors, she finished fourth in the 60m hurdles final, less than a tenth of a second away from a medal.

For the Irish team it closed what was nonetheless a hugely successful championships, with Kate O’Connor winning the first Irish medal since Derval O’Rourke’s 60m hurdles gold 19 years ago, the Dundalk athlete taking silver in the pentathlon to add to her recent European indoor bronze, while Sarah Healy and Andrew Coscoran both finished sixth in the 3000m finals – their best ever finishes at a global championships.

Elsewhere on the final day in Nanjing, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen underlined his status as the greatest middle-distance of his generation, kicking off the front to win the men’s 1500m in 3:38.79 and add to his gold in the 3000m. 

Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay produced the performance of the day to win the women’s 1500m, soloing a remarkable championship record of 3:54.86, with Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell – a training partner of Sarah Healy – claiming bronze in 3:59.84.

The US took facile victories in both 4x400m relays, their men’s team clocking 3:03.13 and the women running 3:27.45.

Athletics Ireland High Performance Director Paul McNamara said it was “another highly successful championship for Irish athletics,” adding: “Kate O’Connor’s silver medal is undoubtedly the standout moment for so many reasons. To reproduce such a high-calibre performance so soon after her exploits at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, and in such an attritional event, is phenomenal.

“To claim a global medal is hugely significant for Kate, but also indicative of where we stand as a nation currently, where these things are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Andrew Coscoran and Sarah Healy have put hugely positive championships back-to-back, and have certainly enhanced their reputations.

“Sarah Lavin was very unlucky to have hit the first hurdle and I’ve no doubt she would have sealed yet another final spot with a clean run. James Gormley and Sophie O’Sullivan will have gained significantly from their experience and both are set to continue to progress. It’s been an outstanding start to 2025 for Irish athletics.”