Sarah Lavin finished fifth in the final of the 100m Hurdles on the final day of the European Athletics Championships in Munich.
The Limerick woman, who was only competing in her second ever European outdoor championships, clocked a time of 12.86s.
After posting a personal best in the 100m hurdles semi-finals earlier in the evening, Sarah Lavin finishes a fine fifth in the final at the European Athletics Championships. pic.twitter.com/CbVGlO7BfN
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 21, 2022
The journey to making the European final for Lavin makes her fifth place finish all the more sweeter.
Back in 2014 she was 29th of the 31 athletes who competed in the heats. For years Lavin suffered with injury after injury, missing the Olympic Games in 2016.
Her dream of becoming an Olympian finally came true in Tokyo last summer and in 2022 she has continued her fantastic progression.
Earlier in the evening in the semi-finals the 28-year-old set a new personal best of 12.79s, to move ever closer to breaking Derval O'Rourke's Irish record of 12.65s.
Lavin gave her reaction to David Gillick on RTÉ after the final:
You want the medal, it's the only currency any of us speak.
But if I think back to the start of the year, if you would've said that I was fifth in the European final, I'd have to have been happy.
I want more, of course I do, that's just who I am.
In some was your kind of like 'am I really here?'
A medal was just so close tonight, I could feel it and smell it.
I've been watching on the other side of this camera for eight years so that in itself...if there's anyone at home keep going.
An ebullient Sarah Lavin analyses her performance in 100m hurdles final at the European Athletics Championships, where she finished fifth. pic.twitter.com/Y12HxfmrIx
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 21, 2022
Sarah Lavin has had a phenomenal season
Lavin has had the season of her life.
In March she made the world indoor final against the odds in her first ever appearance at the championships.
She has since made a world semi-final and tonight just missed out on a European medal by 0.12s.
Earlier in the programme, Efrem Gidey and Hiko Tonosa competed in the 10,000m final.
Gidey who is only 21, ran a sublime race to finish in sixth, breaking 28 minutes for the first time.
At just 21, Ireland's Efrem Gidey is an athlete going places. pic.twitter.com/Z09ziI5dAk
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 21, 2022
The former European U20 Cross Country medallist proved he can mix it with the very best in Europe at senior level.
Tonosa struggled in the final three laps to finish in 18th.
It has been a record breaking championships for Ireland. Along with the two medals won by Ciara Mageean and Mark English, more top eight finishes at a European Championships than ever before have been achieved.
The future of Irish athletics certainly is bright.
SEE ALSO: Mark English Says He Has The Hunger For More After Winning European Bronze
21 August 2022; Mark English of Ireland after winning bronze in the Men's 800m Final during day 11 of the European Championships 2022 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
