Sarah Lavin on her way to winning her heat. Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Sarah Lavin wins her heat to make a strong start at European Indoors

The Ireland mixed relay team finished fifth in tonight’s final.

SARAH LAVIN MADE a strong start as she won her 60m heat this evening at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in the Netherlands.

Lavin finished first in heat 4 with a time of 7.93 seconds seeing her ahead of France’s Laeticia Bapté, the current European number one, who finished in second place and Austrian’s Karin Strametz in third.

She will now compete in the semi-final tomorrow afternoon at 12.45pm (Irish time), and then potentially a final apperance tomorrow night at 8.43pm. The championships are taking place in Apeldoorn and will run until Sunday.

“It was a good run,” Lavin told RTÉ Sport afterwards. 

“Huge credit to everyone behind me because I haven’t had the easiest few weeks to be honest. It’s testament to the people around you. When you’re not feeling your strongest it’s up to the people who you love to make you feel strong.

“I will have to go quicker in the next round… but three-hundreths off my PB tonight, where you literally have to back yourself on little to no evidence in the last three weeks… I know I opened well but I had a bit of a tricky time after that. I’m happy. I love championships, I live for it. I love how immersive they are. There’s only a few of them a year, I love to maximise them.”

sarah-lavin-with-laetitia-bapte-after-the-race Ireland’s Sarah Lavin with France’s Laetitia Bapte after the race. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

Later the Ireland mixed relay team were unable to force their way into the medals, finishing fifth in the 4x400m event in  a time of 3.17.63.

Conor Kelly, Phil Healy, Marcus Lawler, and Sharlene Mawdsley combined for Ireland, with the Netherlands, inspired by Femke Bol, coming home first with Belgium in second and Great Britain in third.

Spain finished fourth, with Ireland ending up 0.12 seconds outside the medals with Mawdsley improving their position in the final leg, as Czechia finished in sixth place.

conor-kelly-sharlene-mawdsley-phil-healy-and-marcus-lawlor-on-the-track The Ireland team of Conor Kelly, Sharlene Mawdsley, Phil Healy and Marcus Lawlor on the track. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

Earlier there was disappointment for Ireland’s Cathal Doyle in the men’s 1500m as he finished ninth in his Round One race.

That meant Doyle will not progress to the final, with a stumble during the race costing him as he finished in a time of 3:52.33. The race was won by Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigsten.

cathal-doyle-tussles-with-jakob-ingebrigtsen Ireland’s Cathal Doyle tussles with Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

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