Athletics: Sarah Lavin smashes lifetime best in Bern

LIFETIME BEST: Sarah Lavin produced another scintillating run to smash her personal best at the Citius meeting in Bern, Switzerland tonight, the 29-year-old Limerick athlete finishing fifth in the 100m hurdles in 12.67. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Sarah Lavin produced another scintillating run to smash her personal best at the Citius meeting in Bern, Switzerland tonight, the 29-year-old Limerick athlete finishing fifth in the 100m hurdles in 12.67. 

That was just off Derval O’Rourke’s Irish record of 12.65, which the Corkwoman ran to win silver at the Europeans in Barcelona in 2010.

Lavin clocked a PB of 12.72 to finish third in her semi-final an hour earlier and in still conditions in the final, she produced the run that had seemed likely for several weeks, given her outstanding form which had culminated in her winning double gold in the 100m and 100m hurdles at last weekend’s nationals. 

The race in Bern was her last one before the World Championships, where Lavin will go with the goal of making the final. Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji led the way in Bern, smashing the Swiss record with 12.47.

In the 1000m, European U-23 1500m champion Sophie O’Sullivan produced another fine run to finish fourth in 2:37.08, going third on the Irish all-time list behind Ciara Mageean (2:31.06) and Sophie’s mother, Sonia, who ran 2:34.66 in 1993. The race was won by Australia’s Abbey Caldwell in 2:34.63, with O’Sullivan utilising her renowned finishing speed to power up to fourth in the last 100m.

Sharlene Mawdsley was in action over 400m, the national champion finishing third in 51.98, a race won by Britain’s Laviai Nelson in 50.83. Former Irish 100m champion Ciara Neville returned to racing in the pre-programme women’s 100m, the Emerald AC athlete putting two years of injury heartbreak behind her and clocking 11.90 to get her promising career back on track.