CORK STUDENT PHIL Healy is still coming to terms with becoming an overnight sensation after she helped UCC claim an impossible victory in the women’s 4x400m relay at the Irish University Athletics Association Championships in Morton Stadium, Dublin at the weekend.

Taking the baton for the final leg of the event, the third-year nursing student was so far off the lead she felt the best she could hope for was fifth, but a monstrous 400-metre dash saw her pass all of those in front of her.

The race has been viewed on YouTube over 300,000 times while Healy has been interviewed by the likes of the Washington Post as well as featuring on sports websites as far away as New Zealand.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable,” she said last night, 72 hours after the event.

I didn’t think it was going to be that crazy at the time. I just went out to bring the baton home for UCC and had no idea it would get this attention.

“It’s great to see us in the spotlight and athletics getting a lot of coverage in the University Championships because it’s so hard to get funding and they got unbelievable publicity out of it.

“I’m just off the phone from the Washington Post, they just rang me for 20 minutes. I have an interview with 2FM today, RedFM in Cork the morning and evening.

“It’s been crazy, my phone has been hopping since Monday,” she added.

Whoops!

We couldn't find this Tweet

Ironically, though she’s one of the country’s best sprinters over 100 and 200 metres, she was only drafted in to run the event about 20 minutes before the start.

Suffice to say, she wasn’t optimistic they’d have any chance of a medal, let alone be catapulted into the spotlight in the manner she has been.

“I ran the 200m about 20 minutes before the 4×400 and just after finishing, I was putting down my gear and one of the girls came over and asked would I have any interest in running the relay.

“I said, ‘Throw me into the last leg and I’ll see what I can do.’

“I was thinking I could try and hold the position we’d be in.

“There were 400m athletes there and they ran the first three legs so I said, ‘We might as well go out hard and catch who we can catch.’

“I got the baton in fifth and DCU were ahead of me,” she explained.

In fact, there were four girls ahead of her, the furthest being maybe 80 metres in front with around 230 metres to go.

Going around the first 200 I was so relaxed I could hear the commentary (at the other side of the track).With 200 metres done, I felt good and wasn’t dying too much but going around the top bend I was getting closer and closer.It felt to me I was continuing the same pace but with 130 metres to go I was thinking, ‘Jesus these are slow,’ and I picked off fourth place.

But third was really close so I said, ‘Let’s go for third.’

I moved out wide on the bend, got the baton and with the crowd and the adrenaline I was thinking, ‘Get me to the line!’

It didn’t feel like I was dying with lactic, I reckon it was the adrenaline and the momentum. I had the burn but didn’t feel it but I crossed the line and fell.

Healy has had plenty of wins in her career to date – and she’s tipped for a bright future, but few moments have given her as much joy as Saturday’s gold medal-winning performance.

“I just went out to run but it’s the reaction that has blown me away.

“I made no deal of it, I just went out to race.

Whatever I had in me, I put it all on the track. I went home Saturday night thinking, ‘That’s done, good job, it is what it is.’

“But the media frenzy has blown it out of proportion and the attention it’s gotten worldwide … it’s all over America, (top US athletics website) Flotracker gave it kick of the week, American colleges, European Athletics have put it on their Twitter.

“It went absolutely crazy, I had an assignment due this Friday and I was doing the work for it earlier this week but they gave me an extension because this thing has just gone off the wall!”

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

Watch: Incredible finish to college relay is going viral for good reason