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LAST UPDATE
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\n 10 hrs ago\n <\/p>\n
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\n The 42<\/p>\n
SARAH HEALY FINISHED just outside the medals, placing fourth in the 5,000m at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
Stepping up in distance from her 3,000m\u00a0gold medal at the European Indoor Championships last year, Healy\u2019s time of 15:40.95 was just three-tenths of a second behind surprise third-placed finisher\u00a0Micol Majori.<\/p>\n
So close to a medal for Sarah Healy as she finished fourth in the women’s 5,000m final, clocking 15:40.95, with victory going to Italy’s Nadia Battocletti in a time of 15:37.84 #rtesport<\/a> #EuropeanAthletics<\/a> #Birmingham2026<\/a>@RTE2<\/a> @RTEplayer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mfCfzjz0Er<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Majori\u2019s Italian compatriot Nadia Battocletti surged away to claim a third European gold in 15:37.84, while Spaniard Marta Garc\u00eda was second at the Alexander Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so chaotic and packed and this is my second 5k so I haven\u2019t run like that,\u201d said Healy. \u201cI\u2019m very disappointed with fourth because it was definitely a bit of inexperience.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I was coming on the home straight but I find it hard to judge my effort in the 5k.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always afraid of not having enough left. If I had been coming into the home straight in a medal position, I think I could have held on, but it\u2019s easy to say that now. It\u2019s just really disappointing.<\/p>\n A case of what might have been for Sarah Healy, with ‘a little bit of inexperience’ she told @DavidGillick<\/a> after finishing fourth in the 5,000m final at the #EuropeanAthletics<\/a> #rtesport<\/a> @RTE2<\/a> @RTEplayer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/yaHGOKvhLO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cAt 300 to go, I just needed to be a little tougher. It\u2019s still a good run, but the difference between fourth and third is drastic and it just would have been so nice to have a medal. It\u2019s going to be hard. I can\u2019t dwell now because I\u2019ve got the 1500 this weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m proud of myself for giving it a go, but I definitely have a little bit of regret with my last lap there.<\/p>\n The conservative pace suited Healy\u2019s strengths, but the closely packed field mitigated against her at times, finding herself boxed in around the midway mark.<\/p>\n Morgan Treacy \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n An injection of pace allowed her to locate some open track, sitting fourth heading into the final four laps.<\/p>\n After tracking Dutch athlete Maureen Koster and Battocletti, the 25-year-old Monkstown native nudged into third at the bell.<\/p>\n As Battocletti made her move, Healy sank to sixth entering the home straight.<\/p>\n In a four-way fight for bronze, she came back strong to pass Britain\u2019s Hannah Nuttall and Koster with 50m to go, but couldn\u2019t get close enough to Majori.<\/p>\n Akinola and Olatunde<\/p>\n There was also disappointment for the Irish hopefuls in the 100m semi-finals.<\/p>\n Bori Akinola improved on his heat time this morning to finish fourth in 10.38 seconds (-1.7 m\/s), which wasn\u2019t enough to qualify for tonight\u2019s final.<\/p>\n Bori Akinola came home fourth in his 100m semi-final, posting 10.38, but it just wasn’t enough to make the final #rtesport<\/a> #EuropeanAthletics<\/a> #Birmingham2026<\/a>@RTE2<\/a> @RTEplayer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QmIGp2njHB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n After a blistering start, the 25-year-old iOS engineer was second behind home favourite Romell Glave.<\/p>\n He was passed in the final metres by 2024 silver medallist, Chituru Ali from Italy, and German Heiko Gussmann, finishing just four hundreths of a second behind Ali and one hundredth of a second behind Gussmann.<\/p>\n The two European medallists, Glave (10.13) and Ali, took the automatic qualification berths, with Gussmann and Akinola left to sweat in the hotseats with two more semi-finals to follow.<\/p>\n In the second semi-final, Dominik Kope\u0107\u2019s time of 10.32 ended Akinola\u2019s final hopes. Ultimately, 10.30 was required to qualify outside the automatic spots.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I executed the race the way I would have liked, so I\u2019ll need to look back at it again,\u201d said Akinola.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have loved to run a bit quicker and make the final, but it\u2019s probably been my most consistent season and I\u2019ve been putting together some good races.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wish I had come into this form a little earlier in the season so I could have built on it. There\u2019s a lot of experience gained, and now I\u2019ll shift my focus to the relay on Saturday. Hopefully we can put in a good performance and I can leave here with something better.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel Olatunde, who got a bye through this morning\u2019s heats, finished seventh in his semi-final to miss out on a European final return.<\/p>\n A decent start for Israel Olatunde but he had to be content with a seventh-placed finish in the 100m semi-final #rtesport<\/a> #EuropeanAthletics<\/a> #Birmingham2026<\/a>@RTE2<\/a> @RTEplayer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8zhSKEPJm5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The 24-year-old Dundalk native, who has endured an injury-disrupted campaign, didn\u2019t look in contention as he clocked 10.49 (-0.6m\/s).<\/p>\n Akinola\u2019s time ranked him 16th overall, with Olatunde 20th.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting year for me with injuries one after another, but I wanted to come here and compete and do my best,\u201d said Olatunde. \u201cI feel like I did that today. It wasn\u2019t enough, but I\u2019m really proud of myself and the journey I\u2019ve been on this season.<\/p>\n \u201cBack in May, I tore two different tendons in my quad, grade three, and it was meant to be season-ending. But myself, the physios, Paul and Ciara worked really hard to get me to the start line. There were setbacks along the way, so I\u2019m really grateful for all the support I\u2019ve received and thankful just to have made it to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n Olatunde\u2019s semi-final was won by defending champion Marcell Jacobs in a fastest time of 10.08.<\/p>\n However, the Italian pulled up in the final, with Glave (10.09) storming to a shock British 1-2 ahead of Jeremiah Azu.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jack Raftery put in an aggressive performance to contend for 300m before tailing off into seventh in the 400m semi-finals. His time of 45.81 placed him 21st overall.<\/p>\n Brave run by Jack Raftery in his quest to make the 400m final at the #EuropeanAthletics<\/a>, eventually finishing seventh in 45.81 #birmingham2026<\/a> #rtesport<\/a>@RTE2<\/a> @RTEplayer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mfclCaO9bM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The Donore Harriers athlete will turn his attention to the 4x400m relay team, who take to the track on Friday morning.<\/p>\n Written by Stephen Barry and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won\u2019t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women\u2019s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ![\"sarah-healy\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786519948_656_.jpeg\")
\n Sarah Healy. Morgan Treacy \/ INPHO<\/p>\n