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Reppin' The Tri-Colour

Sophie O'Sullivan wins 800m silver medal for Ireland at the European Championships

The 16-year-old produced a confident run in the final.

SOPHIE O’SULLIVAN has won a silver medal with an impressive run in the final of the 800m at the U18 European Championships.

Her finishing time of 2:06.05 came in just behind the winner Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain who clocked up a time of 2:04.84.

16-year-old O’Sullivan overtook three opponents on the final lap to put her in second place and it looked as though she was going to take the lead coming up to the final bend.

But the race leader Hodgkinson found another gear and stormed away from the chasing pack.

O’Sullivan maintained her position right down the home stretch with a confident run that was reminiscent of the final kick her mother Sonia often produced on big race days down through the years.

Speaking after the race, a delighted O’Sullivan said of her silver-medal finish in Hungary:

“I’m just really happy. Going through the rounds, I just wanted to get through the heats and the semis. Once I was here I was just so happy to be here and do as best as I could.

“It turned out well for me today.

“I was running and I think I was a little too eager to get going down the back straight but I managed to keep it going on the last 200 but I couldn’t quite catch [Hodgkinson], she was so good.

“There’s always that bit more you can give to go all the way and you’ve just got to really push hard for that.

It’s been a successful championships for Ireland, with 15-year-old Rhasidat Adeleke winning a gold medal in the 200m final on Saturday while Sarah Healy stormed to victory in the 3,000 metres on Friday.

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O’Sullivan coasts through to 800m final, disappointment for Jumbo-Gula

15-year-old Rhasidat Adeleke storms to 200m gold for Ireland at European Championships

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