Jack Kelly misses out on medal but targets European success in favoured 200m breaststroke on WednesdayOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nHere\u2019s what Sarah Healy had to say to David Gillick after the race:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very difficult I guess, because it was so chaotic and packed. This was my second 5k (5,000m), so I haven\u2019t ran like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very disappointed with fourth … I know I gave it my best go but I just know that last few (hundred meters), it was just a bit of inexperience, I think, because I felt like I was coming on the home straight, but I find it hard to judge my effort in the 5k.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it feels like 800 to go is a kick-finish, whereas in my normal race (1,500m) it\u2019s still in the depths, so I\u2019m always afraid of not having enough left. I think I could have just held my position. If I had been in a medal position coming into the home straight, I think I could have held on. But it\u2019s easy to say that now, of course. It\u2019s particularly disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GW4CHYMXKJH3FBWDEZ63VQOWTQ.jpg\")
Sarah Healy (centre) after finishing fourth in the 5,000m. Photograph: Sam Barnes\/Sportsfile via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Gillick remarked that the slower pace meant there was a lot of traffic to negotiate in the packed bunch, on which Healy said: \u201cI would have backed myself in a kick-finish, I think I just at 300m to go needed to be a little tougher. It\u2019s still a good run, but the difference between fourth and third is drastic. It just would have been so nice to have a medal, so it\u2019s going to be hard. Obviously I can\u2019t dwell, because I\u2019ve got the 1,500 this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healy said the 5,000m is \u201cprobably something I\u2019ll do more of\u201d, adding: \u201cI\u2019m proud of myself for giving it a go, but I definitely have a little bit of regret with just my last lap there, I think I could have been a bit, I don\u2019t know… I\u2019ve been telling myself all year I need to do more of that, and I just amn\u2019t doing it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
A hard result for Healy. Not her tidiest race, she might rue her positioning in parts, but she\u2019ll have another go at it in the 1,500m on Saturday.<\/p>\n
![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/OLDVMJ2DIRDNBPZOKW4P2OJWOA.jpg\")
Sarah Healy after crossing the line. Photograph: Sam Barnes\/Sportsfile via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s confirmation of the final top-five finishers:<\/p>\n
Nadia Battocletti, Italy (15:37.84)Marta Garc\u00eda, Spain (15:39.98)Micol Majori, Italy (15:40.65)Sarah Healy, Ireland (15:40.95)Hannah Nuttall, Britain (15:41.27)<\/p>\n
Sarah Healy falls back to fifth down the home straight but sprints hard to the line to bring it back for a fourth-place finish. Battocletti takes the win for Italy, followed by Marta Garc\u00eda of Spain in second and Italy\u2019s Micol Majori taking bronze.<\/p>\n
![\"Italy's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TKEOAQLHXIXMO5NXL5L7LBDDGY.jpg\")
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti after winning the 5,000m. Photograph: Mike Egerton\/PA <\/p>\n
Healy slips back to fourth but pull back up to third as they take the bell. Now they\u2019re motoring.<\/p>\n
Battocletti pushes to the front, Healy gets stuck on the inside to fall back to fifth.<\/p>\n
Two laps, 800m to go. Healy still third. Koster leads, with Battocletti in second.<\/p>\n
The runners bunch up again as they hit 4,000m in 12:57 flat.<\/p>\n
Healy still towards the front in third. Now they up the tempo at the front led by Koster.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Nadia Battocletti, Maureen Koster of the Netherlands, Spain\u2019s Marta Garc\u00eda (Spain) and Ireland\u2019s Sarah Healy out in front as the field starts to draw out.<\/p>\n
Healy\u2019s really dropped back the field because of her inside position, so she\u2019s made the jump around the outside and has pulled herself back to about sixth by going wide.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s Nadia Battocletti goes to the front, she\u2019s done with this slow pace.<\/p>\n
Healy\u2019s found herself in a tricky position, falling back to get stuck on the inside of the track. She\u2019ll be hoping a gap opens up before any attack is launched.<\/p>\n
Healy is tucked in right behind Maureen Koster of the Netherlands, who\u2019s one of the medal hopefuls.<\/p>\n
They hit the 2,000m-mark at 6:38.03, a little pick up in the last km.<\/p>\n
The bunch close the gap to Bakra\u00e7i at the front, but they\u2019re coasting here. First km clocked 3:20.95.<\/p>\n
Healy still up front, sitting fifth at 1,400m.<\/p>\n
Gresa Bakra\u00e7i of Kosovo is out in front, the rest of the field letting her go. The punch holding their comfortable pace as they hit the 1,000m-mark.<\/p>\n
Fairly pedestrian pace to start. This will suit Healy, who gives her bit of space on the outside, well-placed in seventh.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re off. It\u2019s 12.5 times around.<\/p>\n
Healy in the outside group and tucks in near the front when they round the first bend.<\/p>\n
Looking like a lovely evening in Birmingham as the 5,000m field is introduced at the Alexander Stadium.<\/p>\n
Sarah Healy\u2019s looking calm, a few Irish flags in the crowd to cheer her on.<\/p>\n
Five minutes to the starting gun now. Here\u2019s the full 26-strong field:<\/p>\n
Gresa Bakra\u00e7i (Kosovo)<\/p>\n
Nadia Battocletti (Italy)<\/p>\n
Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann (Luxembourg)<\/p>\n
Nathalie Blomqvist (Finland)<\/p>\n
Federica del Buono (Italy)<\/p>\n
Innes Fitzgerald (Britain)<\/p>\n
Maria Forero (Spain)<\/p>\n
Marta Garc\u00eda (Spain)<\/p>\n
Jennifer Gulikers (Netherlands)<\/p>\n
Sarah Healy (Ireland)<\/p>\n
Maureen Koster (Netherlands)<\/p>\n
Amina Maatoug (Netherlands)<\/p>\n
Micol Majori (Italy)<\/p>\n
Vanessa Mikitenko (Germany)<\/p>\n
Hannah Nuttall (Britain)<\/p>\n
Elisa Palmero (Italy)<\/p>\n
Idaira Prieto (Spain)<\/p>\n
Lisa Redlinger (Austria)<\/p>\n
Amalie S\u00e6ten (Norway)<\/p>\n
Anna Marie Nordengen Sirev\u00e5g (Norway)<\/p>\n
Vera Sj\u00f6berg (Sweden)<\/p>\n
Aino Suni (Finland)<\/p>\n
Elise Vanderelst (Belgium)<\/p>\n
Eloise Walker (Britain)<\/p>\n
Madel\u00e8ne Wanvik Holum (Norway)<\/p>\n
India Weir (Britain)<\/p>\n
The 5,000m is a straight final event, so Healy hasn\u2019t had a chance to gauge her competition up close.<\/p>\n
The main contenders are Italy\u2019s Nadia Battocletti, who took gold in the event two years ago, and Maureen Koster of the Netherlands, the fasters European over the distance so far this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery 5,000m race ebbs and flows between the struggle and the sustainable, the tactics and anxieties, and any sudden premonitions between success or failure,\u201d Ian O\u2019Riordan writes. \u201cFor Sarah Healy, Tuesday\u2019s final at the European Championships is also about staying the distance long enough to deliver her already proven finishing kick.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting prospect, the 25-year-old rounding into the sort of form which saw her win the European Indoor 3,000m title in March last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Healy is still far more experienced as a 1,500m runner, and therein lies the intrigue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read Ian\u2019s preview of this evening\u2019s 5,000m in full below:<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Sarah Healy out to continue strong Irish 5,000m tradition at European Athletics ChampionshipsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nThere\u2019s also Irish interest over in Paris, where the European Aquatic Championships are taking place.<\/p>\n
In this morning\u2019s session, Daniel Wiffen was third fastest overall in the men\u2019s 800m freestyle heats to qualify for Wednesday evening\u2019s final.<\/p>\n
![\"Mona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AKTTM22YRVHIDOPPT5NHO6X67A.jpg\")
Mona Mc Sharry after winning her semi-final in the women’s 100m breaststroke at the European Aquatic Championships in Paris. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Mona McSharry and Ellie McCartney both got through this morning\u2019s heats in the women\u2019s 100m breaststroke, and were back in the pool this evening for the semi-finals. An Olympic bronze medallist in the event at the Paris Games, McSharry comfortably qualified for Wednesday\u2019s final, second fastest across the two semi-finals, while McCartney finished 16th to miss out on progression.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jack Kelly\u2019s first senior international final ended in a seventh-place finish in the men\u2019s 100m breaststroke, and John Shortt was fifth fastest among the semi-finalists in the men\u2019s 200m backstroke to earn a lane in tomorrow\u2019s final.<\/p>\n
Good evening everyone and welcome along to our live blog for the evening session on day two at the European Athletics Championships.<\/p>\n
Four Irish athletes are in action in Birmingham this evening, but we\u2019ll be focusing on Sarah Healy in the women\u2019s 5,000m.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a straight final, so medals are on the line, and the Dubliner will be looking to continue the fine form that saw her capture gold in the 3,000m at the European Indoor Championships last year.<\/p>\n
Healy\u2019s race is off at 7.25pm, with Toluwabori Akinola and Israel Olatunde to follow in the semi-finals of the men\u2019s 100m (8.32pm and 8.46pm respectively), before Jack Raftery takes to the track for the semi-finals of the men\u2019s 400m at 9.08pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That\u2019s all from me for this evening, thanks for following along. Toluwabori Akinola and Israel Olatunde are up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[163615,61,60,14939,112],"class_list":["post-590285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-european-athletics-championships","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sarah-healy","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}