Agony for McElhinney after near-miss in Istanbul

An emotional Darragh McElhinney was gutted with his fourth place finish in the 3,000m final at the European Indoor Championships. 

PERSONAL BEST: Darragh McElhinney gutted with his PB fourth place finish in 3,000m final. Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Sometimes there simply are no words – no gloss, no shine, that can polish away the pain of fourth place. Yes, Darragh McElhinney is just 22. Yes, he was up against an Olympic champion, a former European champion, and, yes, it was the best race to date in his burgeoning career. But try telling any athlete to smile about coming up one, single poxy place shy of their first senior international medal and you’ll be met, correctly, with a vacant, dead-eyed stare.

After McElhinney made his way to the bowels of the Atakoy Arena in Istanbul on Sunday evening, having finished just outside the medals in the European indoor men’s 3000m final, he held his face in his hands, his eyes a red, watery reservoir of hurt. When the questions came, as they must, he looked at the ground, took a deep breath, and tried to verbalise what he felt. Tried and failed. On he quickly walked, the first man home who wasn’t holding his nation’s flag. The place that so many forget.