Ciarán O’Lionáird produced a personal best of 7.50.40 to claim a bronze medal in the final of the Men’s 3000m at the European Indoor Championships in Sweden today.
O’Lionáird, who ran a tactical race throughout, looked like he might have had enough in reserve to take the gold with a lap to go.
However, he was just outpaced over the final 100m by Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan and the veteran Spaniard Juan Carlos Higuero.
Still, a personal best and Ireland’s first medal of the games are just reward for a superb effort.
Earlier, 400m hopeful Brian Gregan crashed out of the Men’s 400m after picking up an injury in a collision early in the race.
To make matters worse, Gregan also lost his title as fastest man in Europe in the process.
There was mixed news for the Irish athletes in the Women’s 800m with Ciara Everard just doing enough to claim the last place in the final, out dipping Lenka Masná of the Czech Republic at the line.
However, there was disappointment for Rose Anne Galligan in the other semi-final as she could only finish fifth behind a dominant display from Great Britain’s Jenny Meadows who will surely now be favourite to win the even outright and defend her title.
