Latest news with #Lavin
The 42
6 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
'You have to level up' - the curse and blessing of running in a golden era for women's hurdles
SARAH LAVIN SOMETIMES tells her parents that she wishes she was born a few years earlier. It's all in jest, of course, but there's a veneer of truth behind the joke. Lavin is the queen of women's hurdles in Ireland. She took the crown from Derval O'Rourke at the 2023 World Championships when she blasted through the 100m hurdles semi-final in a time of 12.62. It was a milestone moment for her. A long-term target. But her literal best performance was not enough to see her through to the final on that occasion. The upside for Lavin is that her career coincides with a golden period for women's hurdles. The downside for Lavin is that her career coincides with a golden period for women's hurdles. 'The greatest who have ever done women's sprint hurdles are all around in this era now,' Lavin says, summing up the challenge she faces every time she steps on the track. 'The records that were there in the 80s are gone. So many of us are national record holders and the best who have ever done it from our country. The world record holder, the European record holder, the Olympic record holder and the world indoor record holder . . . everyone is in this cohort. 'And when you bring them all together, it means mad stuff is happening timewise. You have to level up.' Advertisement It was a similar scenario for Lavin at the European Indoor Championships in March. She clocked a season's best of 7.92 in the final of the 60m hurdles, which was good enough for fourth. Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji set a European record of 7.67 to take gold, while Nadine Visser broke the Dutch national record to win the silver medal in 7.72. Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland clinched third in 7.83. 'Who's happy with fourth?' Lavin told RTÉ's David Gillick after the race. 'It's not the end of the world in the fastest European race ever. Last year I was in the fastest world final ever.' The World Championships in Tokyo are the main goal for Lavin in 2025, and the good news is that qualification is already assured for the Limerick athlete. The bad news is that the bar remains nauseatingly high. She ran a season's best of 12.76 in the 100m hurdles at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava last month. She also won the 100m hurdles at the European Team Championships in Slovenia in a time of 12.82. But she knows that 12.5 is the aim if she wants to make the final in Japan. 'It's not beyond my realm of possibility, but again, you could also run 12.5 and not make it,' she adds. Along with chasing the clock, Lavin has been working on some technical aspects that have been affecting her performance. The first hurdle has been particularly problematic for her. At the World Indoor Championships in China, she failed to reach the final after clipping the first barrier. 'It's clear as day to anyone sitting on the couch, whether you know anything about it or not, that that's an area I could definitely improve on. 'We really tried to zone in on that. The biggest thing I'm trying [to do is] get up to speed sooner in my race between hurdle one and two, to increase my flight times to get under the 0.33 of a second that you're in the air.' Lavin has also been sampling relay running to help with preparation for Tokyo. Along with Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville and Lauren Roy, she ran the fourth leg of the 4x100m at the European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia. Together, they clocked 43.97 to come third. 'Relay running is really good to work on your flat speed which is obviously really crucial and probably my my biggest strength when it comes to the hurdles,' she continues. 'We're trying to hold on to those strengths and then tidy up a few of the technical things like the the hurdle crossovers.' Lavin will compete in the relay again at the London Diamond League this weekend. The National Championships will then come into view on the August Bank Holiday weekend where she is contemplating the 200m or 100m along with the hurdles to get into Tokyo mode where she will be racing on back-to-back days. Everything is geared towards 14 and 15 September. 'Record,' she responds when asked what would be a good World Championships in her book. 'I can't control what anyone else is going to do but if I run quicker than I've done before, that's something that I can't but be proud of.' Sarah Lavin was speaking at an event to announce Spar and Eurospar as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Ciara Mageean is the queen of our team' – Sarah Lavin's heartfelt tribute to Irish ace amid cancer fight
SARAH LAVIN says Ciara Mageean 'doesn't leave her mind' after learning that her fellow athlete has cancer. Mageean, 33, Advertisement 2 Ciara Mageean became a European champion in June 2024 2 Lavin was speaking at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as Official Retail Partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland Credit: Sportsfile The European 1500 metre champion — who Hurdler Lavin, two years her junior, admitted she had been stunned by the news and stressed how much the Portaferry woman had been a rock for her and others on Team Ireland. Lavin said: 'Ciara is the queen of our team. She has always been such a stellar person and is obviously one of our most prolific athletes. 'She's your safe person that you talk to before your race and makes you feel better. She's a very special person, an incredible athlete and she doesn't leave my mind at the moment. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport 'What can you say? There's just shock and I'm sending everything possible, well wishes and healing, her way.' Earlier, the Limerick woman — who has competed at the last two Games — stressed how the camaraderie among Irish competitors across sport has reached a new high. Lavin said: 'There was a camaraderie level to Paris that really has held. That's also testament to Team Ireland and the actual body. 'They're so people-focused. We need to deliver results, perform and be operating at the highest possible level. Advertisement Most read in Athletics 'But we're human and it's really important that we see each other as humans and that we're there for each other.' Their exploits have also struck a chord with the public with Lavin targeting a place in the final of the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Donald Trump reveals he's keeping Club World Cup trophy after gatecrashing Chelsea celebrations as Blues get replica And she believes track and field is now being viewed as a desirable career option in a way it had not when she was growing up. The Lisnagry woman explained: 'I don't know if that's to do with social media. It's a fantastic sport for girls to participate in and is an attractive lifestyle. Advertisement 'It's difficult but if you're going to try to be one of the best in the world at what you do, it's going to be hard. 'But the fact you can be financially independent for yourself is a really important message that young girls can get. Growing up for me, the only visibility we had was pop stars and models. 'That was what was deemed to be attractive. We would make dances and stuff. And for guys, they wanted to play for Manchester United or Liverpool and they were your two dreams. 'What's really special is going out and seeing people want to be athletes, they want to be a professional athlete and to think that every young girl could believe that they could be a professional athlete. Advertisement 'Everyone's human and it's not just someone you see on the TV, there's someone there on the track.' NATIONALS PLAN Lavin revealed she is likely to race in the 200m flat, rather than the 100m, as well as in the hurdles, at the National Championships at the start of August because of a scheduling issue. She said: 'Ideally, I will run the two days of nationals. But they have changed the 100m in the timetable. "There will only be ten minutes between the 100m hurdles and the 100m so I don't know if that's going to be possible. Advertisement "I might go for the 200m on the Sunday. If a few of the 400m girls go in it, it'll end up being a really good race.' SARAH LAVIN spoke at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland. The partnership will see the leading retail group support Team Ireland as they build towards and compete at the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘She doesn't leave my mind at the moment' – Sarah Lavin's thoughts with Ciara Mageean following cancer diagnosis
Mageean publicly shared her shock diagnosis on Instagram earlier this month and wrote that she had started treatment. Lavin has been part of numerous Ireland squads with Mageean, including last year's European Championships where the Portaferry athlete won her European gold as well as the squad for the Paris Olympics when Mageean had to withdraw on the eve of her heat with an Achilles injury. Lavin says she was shocked to hear about Mageean's diagnosis. 'Complete and utter shock. Ciara is the queen of our team. She has always been such a stellar person, obviously one of our most prolific athletes ever,' Lavin said. 'She's your safe person that you go to talk to and that you go to before your race and eases you and makes you feel better. She's a very special person. Obviously an incredible athlete and she doesn't leave my mind at the moment. 'Just shock and sending everything possible, well wishes and healing, her way because it's just the injustice of life sometimes isn't it?' Lavin has been working with a new consultant biomechanist this year in an effort to break her national record and run as fast as she can in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Paul Brice is a former sprint hurdler who competed for Great Britain at junior and senior level and was part of London Olympic champion Jessica Ennis's specialist team. Along with her long-standing coach Noelle Morrissey, Brice is helping Lavin get up to speed sooner for the first hurdle which means altering her take-off point. They reviewed data and noted that her flight time over hurdle one was 0.330 when competitors can do it in 0.2/0.229. With her national record of 12.62 from the 2023 World Championships, Lavin believes she needs to run 12.5 to make the final in Tokyo. 'The biggest thing was I was getting too close to the first hurdle and then skying it so my angle of projection was off, not to get too technical about it. 'But we've pulled me back a little bit so the difference of me taking off at one metre 87 versus two metres is massive with regards to flight time. It's 0.15 on just one hurdle so it's just being able to do that consistently. 'It's really, really wonderful when it's working well and incredibly frustrating when you don't do it right. The first few races, you're trying to find confidence in that also and faith and trust in the change. 'But I do believe we're on the right path and so it's been enjoyable up to this point.' Lavin was the sole Irish winner at last month's European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia where she won the 100m hurdles in 12.82, just outside her season's best of 12.76. At the National Championships next month, Lavin is likely to double up for the 100m hurdles and the 200m as the schedule might inhibit her doing the 100m and 100m hurdles. If a 400m specialist like Sharlene Mawdsley or Sophie Becker decides to drop down to the 200m, it could make for a tasty head-to-head at Santry. 'I can see me running the 200m and the 100m hurdles. I will be terrified. When you see me on the start line for the 200m, just know that the fear of god is within me. 'If a few of the 400m girls go in it, it'll end up being a really good race.' *Sarah Lavin was speaking at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Mary Lavin, J.D. Salinger and her path to The New Yorker's pages
We present an extract from Gratefully & Affectionately: Mary Lavin & The New Yorker, the new book by Gráinne Hurley. Between 1958 and 1976, the Irish American writer Mary Lavin had sixteen stories published in The New Yorker, after J. D. Salinger introduced her to the magazine. It was a prolific time for Lavin, helped in no small part by her close working relationship with her chief editor there, Rachel MacKenzie. Gráinne Hurley's debut, draws extensively from Lavin and MacKenzie's letters, offers a fascinating insight into the lives of two brilliant 20th-century literary women. When The New Yorker first made overtures to Mary Lavin in November of 1957, she was a 45-year-old widow tasked with the sole responsibility of raising her three young daughters (the youngest of whom was aged four), caring for her elderly mother and managing the family farm in Bective, County Meath. At this stage, Lavin was an internationally established writer, with six volumes of short stories, two novels and a children's book under her belt, but she had only resumed writing the previous year, following her husband's untimely death in May 1954. Lavin's creative hiatus was not due to writer's block but because, as she later explained to The New Yorker, she 'didn't think life itself worth living'. Her Atlantic editor, Edward 'Ted' Weeks, visited Lavin two weeks before her husband, William Walsh, died and witnessed first-hand the devastating effect his illness had upon her. He was doubtful 'that she would have either the time or the energy to write after her husband's death. Certainly, she did not have either now, but the difficulty ran deeper than that. She had lost faith in her ability to write.' As the family's breadwinner, Lavin relied heavily on writing for her livelihood. There was some income from the farm but the bills were beginning to rack up. In the spring of 1956 she had written to her literary mentor, the Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany, about lecturing opportunities in England but he recommended that Lavin consider reading in the US instead as it was more profitable and would be a better fit for her. Dunsany gave Lavin the address for his lecture agents in New York and let her know that Curtis Brown in London could put her in touch with lecture agents in London. That summer Lavin consulted her friend Eudora Welty, the celebrated American writer from Jackson, Mississippi, about the possibility of giving readings in America. Welty advised Lavin to contact Elizabeth Bowen ('you know how she esteems you') about potential opportunities, given that she had embarked on a series of lucrative literary lectures and readings in universities and colleges across the United States. She also thought that Jean Stafford and the Anglo-Irish writer and critic James Stern would be able to give her good advice and she offered to write to the Poetry Center in New York. Lavin was a great admirer of Bowen's work and Bowen was very pleased to have finally made Lavin's acquaintance and grateful to Welty for opening up the lines of communication between them. Bowen informed Lavin that the National Concert and Artists Corporation in New York managed her readings in the US and she had 'no doubt, knowing how your work is admired "over there", that you would have an enthusiastic reception'. Bowen suggested that Lavin contact the firm directly or get Edward Weeks, Eudora Welty, Jean Stafford or James Stern to do so on her behalf. She sympathised with Lavin on the death of William, having lost her own husband, Alan, four years earlier. Bowen invited Lavin to meet her for lunch upstairs in Jammet's, the famous Dublin restaurant, on 13 September: 'I could then tell you far more about America, besides the pleasure of seeing you and being able to talk.' The two women evidently met on this occasion because on 10 October Welty wrote to see how their meeting went and expressed how much she wished she could have been present also. Lavin also reached out to the American novelist and New Yorker contributor Nancy Wilson Ross, who likewise advised her to get in touch with Stern. She raised the possibility of Lavin reading, à la Dylan Thomas, at the Poetry Center where John Malcolm Brinnin was the director. Welty duly contacted the National Concert and Artists Corporation for Lavin but the agency was non-committal about the prospect of taking on Lavin on as a client because it felt that she was not very well known in the US, having had only one book published there. In fact, the Boston publisher Little, Brown and Company had published two collections of Lavin's short stories: Tales from Bective Bridge in 1942, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1943, and At Sallygap and Other Stories in 1947. It also reprinted her first novel, The House in Clewe Street, in 1945, which had been serialised in The Atlantic Monthly under the title 'Gabriel Galloway', and published her second novel, Mary O'Grady, in 1950. In 1957 Lavin began corresponding with the renowned American writer J. D. Salinger, best known for his 1951 literary classic The Catcher in the Rye, about potential American markets and publishing opportunities. Salinger and Lavin had never met but they had mutual friends in Eudora Welty, Jean Stafford and the theatre director and playwright John Beary, who likely initiated their communication. Although Salinger revealed to Lavin that he only faintly knew Welty, he passed word to her through friends they had in common that he and Lavin were now acquainted. Lavin was on much more familiar terms with Welty. The two women greatly admired each other's work over the years and they finally met on Welty's first trip to Ireland in 1950, while she was extending her Guggenheim-funded tour of Europe. Welty visited Lavin at her farm and the pair became lifelong friends, sending each other copies of their latest publications. Stafford was also a fan of Lavin's writing and in a letter expressed a desire to meet her on a planned visit to Dublin 'because I admire your work enormously'. She subsequently stayed with Lavin and William in Meath in 1949. Incidentally, Salinger had also been hoping to visit Ireland, but he explained to Lavin that it was no longer possible due to illness in his wife's family and also because he had returned to work that he had begun a few years earlier. Salinger sympathised with Lavin on the precariousness of a literary career and her financial situation and encouraged her to contact The New Yorker, with which he had strong ties, because it paid well. Welty and Stafford were among the many female authors, including Maeve Brennan, Mavis Gallant, Elizabeth Hardwick and Dorothy Parker, who were contributing fiction to The New Yorker at this time. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, made his debut appearance in Salinger's first New Yorker short story, 'Slight Rebellion off Madison', published on 21 December 1946. However, in 1951 The New Yorker had declined to publish an extract from the novel because 'the precocity of the four Caulfield children was not believable, and that the writing was showoffy – that it seemed designed to display the author's cleverness rather than to present the story'. The rejection did not colour Salinger's opinion of the magazine and he continued to submit stories and encouraged Lavin to do likewise. Lavin subscribed to The New Yorker and Salinger was grateful for her praise of his recent story 'Zooey', which featured in its 4 May 1957 issue.
Irish Independent
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lavin stars in 100m but Ireland fall short in their top tier promotion bid in Slovenia
The Irish amassed 349 points across the two-day event, leaving them adrift of the top-three nations who were promoted to the first division: Belgium (451.5), Slovenia (402.5) and Norway (400). Lavin was the sole Irish winner across the weekend, her winning time of 12.82 in still conditions just shy of her season's best of 12.76, which she ran in Ostrava earlier in the week. On Saturday, she also helped the Irish women's 4x100m team to third place. Ireland had been slumming it in division three at the last edition of this event in 2023, but finished top of the standings to bounce straight back. They had been relegated to the third tier due to their no-show in 2021 because of the quarantine requirements at the time. Since the European Cup was replaced by the European Team Championships in 2009, Ireland has otherwise occupied the mid-table positions in the second tier, never lower than 10th, but never likely to get promoted, with this being their best result in that time. Ireland is undoubtedly a division one nation on the track but the relative weakness in field events, coupled with the absence of many star names, makes it hard to make that a reality. 'Of course we'd love to be top three,' said Lavin. 'I think, particularly in recent years, Ireland belong in that first division with the powerhouses of Europe.' Lavin is never one to turn down an Irish vest and she again made a key contribution here. 'To get maximum points for the team was the priority – I was number three on season's best,' she said. 'It's 11 weeks today to Tokyo round one and that's the big one this year, but any opportunity you can take to put on your country's singlet, you want to represent it to the maximum of your capabilities.' Another of their leading performers was Nicola Tuthill, who produced the second biggest throw of her career to take third in the women's hammer. The Cork athlete survived some nervy moments after opening with two fouls before unleashing a 68.30m throw to ensure three more chances. She threw her leading mark of 70.50m in the fourth round, and one of her subsequent fouls was a huge throw, close to her recent Irish U-23 record of 71.71m in Finland. 'It was not my best competition,' said Tuthill. 'I am proud of myself for getting one in (in the third round) because I was getting really stressed there, but then I got over 70. I'm disappointed the fouls weren't in the sector.' The action concluded with the mixed 4x400m where Jack Raftery, Cliodhna Manning, Callum Baird and Sharlene Mawdsley finished second in their heat, and fourth overall, in 3:14.81. Elsewhere, Cian McPhillips showed impressive closing speed to come from well behind and finish third in the men's 800m, the Longford native clocking 1:46.37. 'It's been a bit of a rough season, I'm only getting back from injury after the European Indoors,' he said. 'I wasn't sure what shape I was in, but I knew whatever I did run would be a start point and hopefully I'll go a bit quicker over the coming months. The two guys ahead of me are 1:44 flat (800m) and 3:31 (1500m) guys, I'm up there with the best. I couldn't ask for much more.' Laura Nicholson turned in an impressive front-running display in the women's 1500m and battled strongly for fourth place in 4:20.48. Finley Daly finished a fine fourth in the 3000m steeplechase in 8:51.89, while Róisín Flanagan finished sixth in the 5000m in 16:04.21. Adam Nolan suffered a dangerous fall in the 110m hurdles and insult was added to injury when he was disqualified for failing to clear the final barrier. Lauren Roy came home fifth in the women's 200m in 23.32, while Marcus Lawler was sixth in the men's race in 20.81. Niamh Fogarty threw a personal best of 14.29m to finish seventh in the shot put.
