Breaking yet another barrier in her still fledgling career Sarah Healy clocked the second fastest 1,500 metres ever run indoors by an Irish woman, her second-place finish at the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Birmingham also displaying another level of tactical maturity.
Having just turned 21 last Sunday, Healy lined up in the world-class field and moved up steadily over the closing laps, finishing in 4:06.94, breaking the 4:10 barrier and her own Irish Under-23 record of 4:10.83 set in Mondeville in France last week.
It actually improved her outdoor 1,500m best also, the 4:07.12 she ran last summer to help her in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Indoors however only Ciara Mageean with her national indoor record of 4:06.42, set in Boston two years ago, is faster on the Irish all-time list, Healy clearly closing in fast on that time too.
Taking the win after kicking off the front at the bell was the Ethiopian Davit Seyaum, who ran a season best of 4:04:.35, with Healy taking a number of more senior scalps. The Australian Lindan Hall also setting a personal best of 4:07.36 in third.
It again leaves Healy well inside the qualifying time for next month’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, the law student at UCD is likely to race next at the Irish Indoor Championships this coming weekend. She also clocked 4.11.00 in Ostrava in her first race at the start of the month.
Also enjoying a fine run in Birmingham was Georgie Hartigan, the Dundrum South Dublin athlete improved the Irish indoor 1,000m record to 2:40.01 when finishing fifth. That race was won in 2:38.25 by Britain’s Isabelle Boffey. The previous Irish indoor best of 2:41.29 belonged to Nadia Power, set in 2020.
Sarah Lavin finished a close fifth in the 60m hurdles, clocking 8.15 seconds, with victory there going to Zoe Sedney of the Netherlands in 8:02. While Molly Scott took sixth in the 60m flat, running 7.33, victory there going to the five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica in 7.08.
Looking to build on his 3:53 mile in New York earlier this month, Andrew Coscoran also lined up in a world-class 1,500m, only looking somewhat tired he finished ninth in 3:41.46, the win there going to Kenya’s Abel Kipsang in 3:34.57.
The track interest ended with the fastest 800m run anywhere indoors for 20 years, when 19 year-old Keely Hodgkinson improved the British record to 1:57.20, on her indoor season debut, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:57.91.
