Lavin the shining light on frustrating weekend for Irish

The Limerick athlete producing the performances of her life on Saturday to power into the world indoor final

Ireland's Sarah Lavin celebrates qualifying for the final

For Irish athletes, lining up at a major global championships can all too often prove a chastening experience, an eye-opener of just how big a chasm they have to bridge to the world’s best. In Belgrade over the weekend, that was again the case for many.

One by one they walked into the mixed zone, their reactions ranging from frustration to fury. Not all of them, of course, but enough to form a trend that suggested – as the numbers supported – that so many had left their best performances behind them on a much smaller stage.