Almost 41 and mother of three, Fionnuala McCormack rallies again to finish ninth in World Championship marathon

Elsewhere in Tokyo Sunday, Nicola Tuthill reached the final of the women’s hammer, Andrew Coscoran advanced to the 1500m semi-finals and Sarah Lavin survived an early scare to power into the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles.

DEFIANT: Ireland's Fionnuala McCormack competing in the women's marathon final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

IT HAS long been the case in Fionnuala McCormack’s career that when the going gets tough, she gets going. So it proved on a sweltering Sunday morning in Tokyo as the mother-of-three from Wicklow produced her best ever performance at a global championships, finishing ninth in the women's marathon in 2:30:16.

Ten days shy of her 41st birthday, this was a performance that typified the class, courage and commitment that has defined her illustrious career. It capped a superb second morning for the Irish at the Japan National Stadium, with 21-year-old Nicola Tuthill reaching the final of the women’s hammer, Andrew Coscoran advancing to the 1500m semi-finals and Sarah Lavin surviving an early scare to power into the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles.