Sarah Healy breaks Irish 3,000m indoor record
RECORD-BREAKER: Ireland’s Sarah Healy. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Sarah Healy smashed the Irish indoor 3000m record with a superb runner-up finish at the World Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Metz, France, on Saturday afternoon. The 22-year-old Dubliner finished behind Ethiopia’s Hirut Meshesha to carve seven seconds off the previous record of 8:43.74, set by Mary Cullen in 2009.
It moved Healy second on the overall Irish all-time list, behind the national outdoor record of 8:21.64 by Sonia O’Sullivan. It also secures her qualification for next month’s World Indoors in Glasgow, while she is also qualified in the 1500m.
It marks a magnificent start to 2024 for Healy, who last year smashed the Irish U-23 1500m record, clocking 3:59.68 to narrowly miss out on the world final in Budapest. Since completing her studies at UCD last May, she’s been based in Wigan, training under coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who also guide British 800m star Keely Hodgkinson.
“It does feel like I’ve adjusted seamlessly (to the new setup) and that’s a credit to my old coach, Eoghan (Marnell), in helping me make the move,” she said last year. “He’s given me the best foundation I could ask for to go into any new training and I’m so grateful now that I have that. Trevor and Jenny are adding to it.”
Elsewhere, Rhasidat Adeleke continued her strong start to the year by taking victory over 400m at the University of New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque, clocking 51.12 to finish clear of Lanae-Tava Thomas (51.67). The Irish record remains the 50.33 she ran in Texas last February.
Adeleke broke two Irish records at the same venue a fortnight ago, clocking 7.15 for 60m and 22.49 for 200m. She will next be in action at the Millrose Games in New York next Sunday, taking on a world-class field over 400m. She has yet to decide if she’ll compete at next month’s World Indoors where she would be a medal contender, although challenging for gold would be a tough task, given Dutch star Femke Bol opened her season with a blazing 49.69 in Metz on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Metz, Darragh McElhinney and Nick Griggs turned in fine performances in the men’s 3000m, with McElhinney going second on the Irish indoor all-time list, clocking 7:39.92, behind only Alistair Cragg’s 7:38.59. That placed him third in a race won by reigning European cross country champion Yann Schrub of France in 7:38.41. Griggs broke the Irish U-23 indoor record by clocking 7:45.57 to finish sixth. Cragg’s record could again be under threat on Sunday as training partners Andrew Coscoran and Brian Fay race the 3000m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. In Stockholm, Clonliffe’s Cathal Doyle clocked an indoor 1500m PB of 3:40.66.
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