Gavin Cooney reports from the Stade de France, Paris

THIS WAS A morning to balm the flaring issues for Ireland’s track team. 

Yesterday was a difficult morning, across which none of Ireland’s 400m or 1500m runners progressed to their respective next rounds, disappointment which played out in the shadow of Ciara Mageean’s injury withdrawal.

Today was a happier showing.

Sarah Lavin was the first out in the 100m hurdles, drawn in a daunting heat along with world champion Danielle Williams and European silver medalist Ditaji Kambundji. Lavin split them at the line, though, finishing second in 12.73, not far from her Irish record of 12.62. 

It means Lavin avoids tomorrow’s repechage and, crucially, has a day off before Friday morning’s semi-finals. It will allow her take a slight breath later today from the intensity of race preparation. 

“I get to go for a coffee or something with my parents today, because you can’t stay in it,” she said. “It’s exhausting at some stage and, for me, I can go into it for 24 hours.” 

Lavin will probably need the race of her life to make the final, and so will probably have to lower her Irish record if she is to have a third Olympic outing. There are, however, fractions for improvement on today’s impressive opening. And in her business, a few fractions is all she needs. 

“I think one maybe touched [hurdle], but not bad at all I think”, she said. “It might have cost me a couple of hundredths, but it wasn’t detrimental to anything. I think you have to risk it for a biscuit. Making that final, it’s not beyond me, judging by the times this morning. I’ll have to be absolutely firing on all cylinders.” 

Lavin’s Games have been unusual in the sense she was integral from the opening day as flag bearer at the opening ceremony, but quickly left the athletes’ village to return to the athletics camp in Fontainebleau. 

She is back in the village now, though, and feeding off the energy sparking from the Irish team. Though she is glad she didn’t watch Kellie Harrington’s final bout until this morning. 

“I didn’t see any of it, thank God,” she said. “I watched it over breakfast this morning and I saw her singing Grace and I was like ‘Oh my God’, thank God I was asleep for that’ because I would’ve been in bits before I went to sleep, bawling crying.

“It would’ve been the worst prep ever! It’s so special. Those seven medals are incredible and so well deserved. As well as being amazing athletes, they are such good people. It’s such an honour and a privilege to be on the same team as them.” 

Mark English, meanwhile, so often inconsistent on the biggest stages, delivered what former Irish Olympic team manager Patsy McGonagle called his best race at a global championship, finishing second in his 800m heat to qualify for Friday’s semi-finals without the need for a repechage. 

“The plan was to be in contention at 400 and 600 and I managed to do that,” he said. “I’m delighted to come through that without having to navigate too much and getting a clean enough ride through.

“This year I ran a PB over 400m, 600m and 800m. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, the difficulty of my event is it’s quite competitive at the minute so it’s another challenge in the semi-final but I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s my best finish ever at an Olympic Games, so it’s nice to get that.

“I felt really good, and that bodes really well for the semi-final. The first lap was the strangest thing, as I felt so comfortable. I think we ran 50/51 and it felt really easy. So it’s really good.

“I don’t want to give any [semi-final] tactics away but I’ll be in contention. And I am going to go for that qualification, hopefully.” 

Brian Fay did not progress from the 5,000m heats, however, finishing 13th in his heat after his customary kick across the final lap was undone by a gap that was simply too big. 

He remained defiant afterwards, however. 

“I ran it as well as I could have, but to call a spade a spade I’m just not good enough at the minute to really have that strong finish,” said Fay.

“I don’t think I’m that far off it. I just need to keep showing up and I’ll get it right eventually, by hell or high water I’m gonna fucking make a world final, it’s going to fucking happen. I’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

“If I keep failing, if I keep falling on my arse, so be it, but I’ll just keep showing up.”

The 1500m repechage, however, brought another round of anguish and near-miss. Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy needed top-six finishes to qualify from yesterday’s heats, and both finished seventh. Today they needed to finish in the top three… and both finished fourth. 

Sarah Healy. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

It’s particularly painful for Healy, whose talent and form is such that she was expected to make the semi-finals and push for a final. She ran a new PB of 3:57.46 only a month ago. (Ciara Mageean’s national record, for context, is 3:55.87.) 

“I don’t really feel like myself the last few days, something is a bit off and I’m not sure what,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s physical or mental. Obviously it’s a big moment and a  big occasion but I’ve been feeling pretty calm. It’s just something in the race – for some reason everything just feels harder than normal.

“The last [Olympic Games] was different as it was Covid and I was quite young, but I wanted a more positive experience this time and it’s not been great either. I wanted to step up from last year but that hasn’t happened either.

“But I am prone to being a bit overly-emotional, but I need to assess it objectively and while this hasn’t gone to plan, I’ve made a big step up this year. I’m just a bit disappointed and confused.

“This year I was full-time and I think that’s hard as it does put a bit more pressure on things. I found it hard just being focused on athletics because I’ve always been a balanced person and I feel like that creates a bit more pressure.

“It’s what you’re doing, you’re putting everything into it and its kind of hard when it’s your whole life, which obviously its not but it feels like that. Something for me to learn is to maybe be more balanced and have a bit more perspective but at the end of the day I didn’t perform here and I need to find out why.”