A disappointing day for Irish athletes

AFTER the euphoria that surrounded Gillian O’Sullivan’s silver medal performance on Sunday morning, it was all gloom for the three Irish athletes in action at the World Championships in Paris last evening.

Karen Shinkins was down the field in her semi-final of the women's 400m, Gareth Turnbull was equally disappointing in the 1,500m heats, and Derval O'Rourke suffering from a bad ankle sprain since the European Under-23 championships limped away after she finished last in the heats of the women's 100m hurdles.

For Karen Shinkins, who came looking to salvage something from what has been a frustrating season, the experience was worthwhile in the context of next year's Olympic Games, and that was also the object of the exercise for Derval O'Rourke, who was appearing in her first major championships.