UCD’s Sarah Healy has continued on the current theme of U23 national record breaking with a fantastic run at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in the Czech Republic on Tuesday evening. Healy ran an impressive 4:02.86 for 1500m to take almost 3 seconds off the previous mark of 4:05.81 set by Sonia O’Sullivan in Monaco in 1991. The time also sees the 2020 Tokyo Olympian secure standards for both the European and World Championships this summer. Healy now goes to 4th on the Irish All-Time list.
At the same meeting in Ostrava, Dutch sprint sensation Femke Bol took over a second off the world best for the 300m hurdles, coming home unchallenged in 36.86 despite being a little untidy over the third last hurdle.
Also in Ostrava, Ethiopian Lamecha Girma became the first man to go under 8 minutes this year for the 3000m steeplechase, registering an 7:58.68, crossing the line with almost 10 seconds in hand on his closest competitor.
It has been a bad week to be an Irish U23 record as Healy’s run in Ostrava marks the third to have been smashed in the past number of days. The first came early on Saturday afternoon in Belgium with Galway City Harriers man Robert McDonnell clocking 20.51 for 200m to break the 10 year-old Irish U23 record of 20.57, previously held by Steven Colvert of Crusaders.
Also in Belgium, Darragh McElhinney of UCD broke the 44 year-old U23 record for 5000m which had been set by John Treacy. McElhinney registered a hard-fought 13:17.17 late on Saturday evening at the IFAM Oordegem meeting in which a large contingent of Irish athletes travelled to take part.
