Silver For O’Rourke In Barcelona

Sports - Other Sports

Sunday, 01 August 2010 09:06

Written by Stephen Davis

Derval O'Rourke (Leevale AC) delighted Irish fans in Barcelona last night winning a silver medal at European Championships in the 100 metre Hurdles.

The former World Indoor champion added yet another major Championship medal and a new National Record in what was a lightning fast final. O’Rourke clocked 12.65 seconds taking .02 of a second off her previous best and National record.

The Cork athlete matched eventual winner Nevin Yarit (Turkey) stride for stride all the way to the finish line and eventually just missed out by .02 of a second. Yarit also clocked a new best time of 12.63 and a National record to add to her record achieved in the semi final.

O’ Rourke once again proved her amazing fighting spirit and reinforced her ability to perform at her peak in major championships. This silver adds to the silver medal she won at the last European championships in Gothenburg. Earlier in the night O'Rourke finished third in her semi-final in a time of 12.75 seconds which was a season’s best performance.

O’Rourke was delighted with her race “I just wanted to block everything out and run like hell”. Her fiercely competitive attitude shone through after insisting “I would love to be the champion”. When asked about her ability to step up her performance in major championships O’Rourke said “it’s bringing home medals that matters. I love to put on the Irish vest as it brings out the best in me”

O’Rourke’s record was the third Irish record yesterday in what was a very successful day for Irish athletics. The women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams both set Irish records but both just missed out on qualification to the final.

Later in the evening Alistair Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers AC) dropped out of the men’s 5000m final after matching the early pace in the race.