'You have to level up' - the curse and blessing of running in a golden era for women's hurdles

The 42

4 days ago

SARAH LAVIN SOMETIMES tells her parents that she wishes she was born a few years earlier. It's all in jest, of course, but there's a veneer of truth behind the joke.
Lavin is the queen of women's hurdles in Ireland. She took the crown from Derval O'Rourke at the 2023 World Championships when she blasted through the 100m hurdles semi-final in a time of 12.62. It was a milestone moment for her. A long-term target. But her literal best performance was not enough to see her through to the final on that occasion.
The upside for Lavin is that her career coincides with a golden period for women's hurdles. The downside for Lavin is that her career coincides with a golden period for women's hurdles.
'The greatest who have ever done women's sprint hurdles are all around in this era now,' Lavin says, summing up the challenge she faces every time she steps on the track.
'The records that were there in the 80s are gone. So many of us are national record holders and the best who have ever done it from our country. The world record holder, the European record holder, the Olympic record holder and the world indoor record holder . . . everyone is in this cohort.
'And when you bring them all together, it means mad stuff is happening timewise. You have to level up.'
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It was a similar scenario for Lavin at the European Indoor Championships in March. She clocked a season's best of 7.92 in the final of the 60m hurdles, which was good enough for fourth. Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji set a European record of 7.67 to take gold, while Nadine Visser broke the Dutch national record to win the silver medal in 7.72. Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland clinched third in 7.83.
'Who's happy with fourth?' Lavin told RTÉ's David Gillick after the race.
'It's not the end of the world in the fastest European race ever. Last year I was in the fastest world final ever.'
The World Championships in Tokyo are the main goal for Lavin in 2025, and the good news is that qualification is already assured for the Limerick athlete. The bad news is that the bar remains nauseatingly high. She ran a season's best of 12.76 in the 100m hurdles at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava last month. She also won the 100m hurdles at the European Team Championships in Slovenia in a time of 12.82. But she knows that 12.5 is the aim if she wants to make the final in Japan.
'It's not beyond my realm of possibility, but again, you could also run 12.5 and not make it,' she adds.
Along with chasing the clock, Lavin has been working on some technical aspects that have been affecting her performance. The first hurdle has been particularly problematic for her. At the World Indoor Championships in China, she failed to reach the final after clipping the first barrier.
'It's clear as day to anyone sitting on the couch, whether you know anything about it or not, that that's an area I could definitely improve on.
'We really tried to zone in on that. The biggest thing I'm trying [to do is] get up to speed sooner in my race between hurdle one and two, to increase my flight times to get under the 0.33 of a second that you're in the air.'
Lavin has also been sampling relay running to help with preparation for Tokyo. Along with Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville and Lauren Roy, she ran the fourth leg of the 4x100m at the European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia. Together, they clocked 43.97 to come third.
'Relay running is really good to work on your flat speed which is obviously really crucial and probably my my biggest strength when it comes to the hurdles,' she continues.
'We're trying to hold on to those strengths and then tidy up a few of the technical things like the the hurdle crossovers.'
Lavin will compete in the relay again at the London Diamond League this weekend. The National Championships will then come into view on the August Bank Holiday weekend where she is contemplating the 200m or 100m along with the hurdles to get into Tokyo mode where she will be racing on back-to-back days. Everything is geared towards 14 and 15 September.
'Record,' she responds when asked what would be a good World Championships in her book.
'I can't control what anyone else is going to do but if I run quicker than I've done before, that's something that I can't but be proud of.'
Sarah Lavin was speaking at an event to announce Spar and Eurospar as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland