Sarah Healy storms to stunning Diamond League win in Rome
The in-form Dubliner clocked 3:59.17 to secure a famous win at the Stadio Olimpico.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ'๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ซ!
๐ฎ๐ชโฆ๏ธ
pic.twitter.com/3pjHINCAlt
โ Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE)
June 6, 2025
Healy, 24, timed her run to perfection, finishing strongly to claim her first-ever Diamond League victory.
Having opened her outdoor season with a 3000m PB in Rabat
two weeks ago, the UCD AC star dug incredibly deep in a thrilling close to the race.
Australian duo Sarah Billings (3:59.24) and Abbey Caldwell (3:59.32) both clocked personal bests as they settled for second and third respectively.
'I'm obviously really happy to come away with the win,'
Healy told Diamond League channels afterwards.
'It was a really competitive field. I kind of thought it wouldn't be crazy quick tonight, and it wasn't. It was quite crowded, I think we're all capable of running around the same time so there were a lot of bodies. I was a little further back, I wanted to be the whole time. I just tried to stay patient.
Advertisement
'In the last lap, I had to make a good few moves, which I'm happy with, especially on the home straight.'
Athletics Ireland.
Athletics Ireland.
'I know my shape is good,' she continued. 'I ran a big 3k PB three weeks ago, so I know I'm really fit. Hopefully a PB in the 1500m [currently 3:57.46] is coming for me soon, but today I wanted to just compete for the win.
'I know I'm good at hard, fast races, but races like this have probably been more where I struggled, so I'm really, really happy to win tonight. It's really cool.'
Healy said she hopes to compete in the 1500m at World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, and she is really enjoying racing at the minute.
'I'm having a lot of fun, which is the main thing, and probably why I'm running so well,' Healy added, while confirming her attendance at the Paris Diamond League on Friday, 20 June.
Elsewhere at the meet, Cathal Doyle knocked over a second off his 1500m personal best and secured his first automatic qualifier for a World Championship.
The Dubliner ran 3:32.15 as he finished 14th, clocking the second fastest 1500m ever by an Irishman, behind only national record holder Andrew Coscoran (3:30.42).
Written by Emma Duffy and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe
here
.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Dan Sheehan: 'The best way to connect with supporters is to give them a win'
Dan Sheehan insists a winning series against Australia is the best legacy his British and Irish Lions can leave behind. The Lions are strong favourites to complete their first triumphant tour since 2013 when they toppled the Wallabies 2-1 and they enter Saturday's opening Test buoyed by a perfect record Down Under of five wins. Fans will start streaming into Brisbane over the coming days and in the face of criticism in the Australian media that Andy Farrell's tourists have shown limited willingness to engage in community events, Sheehan declares winning is the only currency that matters. 'The best way to connect with supporters is to give them a win,' the Ireland hooker said. The best way to connect with supporters is to give them a win 'Performance is the way to do that. Yeah we can give them a cheer and a clap after the game but ultimately that's not what they came for โ they came for a good game of rugby. If we do that, they'll feel part of it. 'A goal of ours is to make sure that if we have a big crowd on Saturday โ which we probably will โ we bring them into the game and make it feel almost like a 50/50 game that could be anywhere in the world. 'But I still think it's down to what we put out on the pitch, that's how you get the crowd in behind you. 'It would be a good story and a good legacy to have a winning series. We haven't delved too much into the wider picture. Henry Pollock has ruffled feathers by revealing the Lions' intention to whitewash the Wallabies 3-0 (David Davies/PA). 'We did at the start when we were trying to frame the mindset, but this week has been all about Saturday. 'There's going to be no holding anything back, or waiting for the next two Tests. It's all about Saturday. 'We're in a good spot. The lads are hungry, and we're expecting the Wallabies to be hungry. There will be fireworks on Saturday.' The Lions ruffled feathers in the wake of their 48-0 victory over Saturday's AUNZ Invitational XV when flanker Henry Pollock revealed their intention to whitewash Australia 3-0 and become the best team to have represented the elite of British and Irish rugby. Captain Maro Itoje then doubled down on the desire to put the Wallabies to the sword โ and Sheehan believes there is no reason why they should not aim high. Tom Curry (centre), pictured with team-mates Henry Pollock (left) and Josh van der Flier, is expected to get the openside flanker nod of Jac Morgan when the Lions team is named for the first Test in Brisbane (David Davies/PA). 'I don't think that's anything too crazy. It's a massive goal of ours to make sure we reach our potential,' he said. 'If we do reach our potential we have the possibility to be one of the best teams. I think they're fair comments.' Farrell names his team on Thursday with Tom Curry expected to be given the nod in the ferociously competitive openside position ahead of Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier. Tadhg Beirne appears to be winning his battle with Ollie Chessum at blindside flanker, while Sione Tuipulotu has now edged ahead of Bundee Aki in the race to start at inside centre. With Blair Kinghorn losing his battle with a knee injury, Hugo Keenan is favourite to be picked at full-back with Marcus Smith potentially supplying cover from the bench.
RTร Newsโ
3 hours ago
- RTร Newsโ
Dan Sheehan: These are the games you think about
The final selections meetings have been held and, by now, the players will have been told if they've made the cut of 23 for Saturday's opening British and Irish Lions Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane. Tomorrow, Andy Farrell is expected to name a side with a heavy Irish presence, even if injuries to Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen may reduce the level of green in the matchday squad. While spaces in the centre and back row appear to be up for grabs, other positions have been nailed down for some time. After captain Maro Itoje, Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is possibly the next automatic name on the team sheet. Of all the predicted line-ups doing the rounds, only Ronan O'Gara has been so bold as to leave Sheehan out of his starting team, and the La Rochelle coach caveated his selection by saying he was keeping his stronger front row back in reserve. There's a nervous energy in the air, and Sheehan wants to soak it all up. "It's just an exciting week," the hooker (below) says of the mood-shift in Lions camp. "These are the three games you think about when you talk about a tour. "Everyone has been trying to put their best foot forward to be selected and it is a bit of an anxious wait to see what the selection is, but all we can do is put our best foot forward in training and do what's best for the team as a collective. "Everyone has gone up another level, and the hunger is there to make sure you're on the teamsheet and produce a win on Saturday." The 26-year-old has emerged as one of the key leaders in this Lions squad, even on his first tour, and was captain for the opening game of the tour against Western Force in Perth, scoring a try just three minutes into the game. The Lions will come into their Test series against the Wallabies as heavy favourites to win, something they haven't done since their previous visit to Australia in 2013. With Australian rugby at something of a low ebb, the expectation is to win well, rather than just win. And while it risks offering free motivation to the Wallabies, Sheehan (below) says his side have set themselves a high standard to reach. "Every team in the world wants to be the best team they've featured in. It hasn't changed in my mindset. "You can juice up anything. I don't think that [expectation] is anything too crazy. "It's obviously everyone's goal to win a Test series, and to try to be a step beyond the last squad. "The way rugby has evolved, every team should be better than the last, and it's a massive goal of ours to make sure we reach our potential. "I think if we do reach our potential, we have the possibility to be one of the best teams [in Lions history]. "It would be a good story and a good legacy to have a winning series. We haven't delved too much into the wider picture. "We did at the start when we were trying to frame the mindset, but this week has been all about Saturday, and how our prep goes into winning this game on Saturday, and we're going to throw everything at that. "There's going to be no holding anything back, or waiting for the next two Tests. It's all about Saturday. "We're in a good spot. Lads are hungry, and we're expecting the Wallabies to be hungry. I think it'll be a good Test and fireworks on Saturday. "We've seen it the last couple of years, they've probably been written up as underdogs and they've put in some massive performances, shaken some big teams." Having blown hot and cold in several of their warm-up games, the Lions finally moved up a gear in their final pre-Test outing against an Australia and New Zealand invitational side last week, with a 48-0 hammering in Adelaide. Sheehan wasn't involved, with the majority of the Test side rested ahead of this weekend in Brisbane. The tight schedule of the games has been cited as a big reason for the lack of consistency in performance so far, with the Saturday-Wednesday games and accompanying travel limiting the amount of pitch time for training. There will be one more midweek game in Melbourne next Tuesday, although the raft of recent call-ups will ensure the Test players won't have to double-up at Marvel Stadium next Tuesday against the First Nations and Pasifika XV. As tough as the schedule has been, Sheehan says it has given the group a tough skin as they had towards the business end of the tour. He said: "It's very unique, I think, because I've never in my professional career had to double up two games in a week and the amount of different games we've had to now. "It's quite similar to a World Cup, just on steroids in some ways with the amount of games we have. It's been so enjoyable. "Just talking to a lot of the lads, we've enjoyed the last two weeks of chaos and just having to make it work. "I think that brings teams a lot closer as well. You might be a bit bumped and bruised and you just have to go out and fight for the guy beside you. "He's only someone you've maybe known for four weeks and I think people gain respect that way. "There is a different feeling around it because it's so new and it's with so many unfamiliar faces and I think we've been putting our own stamp on it well so far. "I think we do have to find another level. "The quality of opposition has gone up a considerable amount, especially on the back of the last couple of weeks where a lot of those teams are missing their big internationals. "So we do have to be a lot better. We've had some close games in the last few weeks so we definitely need to step up."
Irish Post
3 hours ago
- Irish Post
Ben Healy claims the yellow at the Tour de France
IRISH cyclist Ben Healy wrote a new chapter in Tour de France history on Monday, storming into the yellow jersey with a daring solo effort through the Massif Central on Stage 10. The 24-year-old EF EducationโEasyPost rider crossed the line in third place atop Le Mont-Dore, earning enough time to leapfrog into the overall race lead by 29 seconds. 'I think that's it,' Healy said at the summit. 'It's a fairytaleโฆ beyond belief.' Healy's move was launched from a 29-rider breakaway that formed early in the 165 km stage from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore, with support from teammates Harry Sweeny, Alex Baudin, and Neilson Powless. Facing seven categorised climbs, Healy displayed trademark endurance, powering alone on the final slopes of the Puy de Sancy. Although Britain's Simon Yates took the stage win, the day belonged to Healy. His gritty performance made him only the fourth Irish rider ever to wear the Tour's iconic maillot jaune, joining Shay Elliott (1963), Seรกn Kelly (1983), and Stephen Roche (1987). 'It means a lot to wear this jersey. As an Irishman, I'll try to do it some justice,' Healy said, visibly emotional. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters hailed the moment as the product of tactical precision and emotional grit. 'It was tense,' he admitted. 'But Ben believed, and the team rode with their hearts.' Healy now leads defending champion Tadej Pogaฤar by 29 seconds heading into the Tour's second week. Up next is the much flatter Stage 11 among the Pyrenees mountains. See More: Ben Healy, Cycling, Tour De France
