Derval O'Rourke finishes 4th in 60m hurdles at Euro Indoors

A mere one one-hundredth of a second separated Derval O'Rourke from the medals in the final of the womens 60m hurdles at the European Athletics Indoor Championships today. When you consider that it takes the average person 0.2 seconds to blink, i.e. twenty one-hundredths of a second...then it gives some idea of the tiny difference between finishing 4th and 3rd.

From the gun, Derval got a cracking start with the second fastest reaction time of 0.141 seconds although it was slower than the 0.139 and 0.133 starts that she recorded earlier in the day.

In the end, her seasons best time of 7.95 seconds just wasn't enough with the Italian Borsi just pipping her to take the bronze.

In a post race interview with Will Downing, Derval gives her reaction to the race...

In another interview, Derval said..."It’s the most disruptive season I’ve had, Only for Sean, Terry and Martina McCarthy, I wouldn’t have run here. I got a sinus infection in December and I lost 4 kilo’s in a week, I got an injection in my achilles in November. I came here and I believed I had a chance to win it. I got a fantastic start, to be honest I didn’t do much wrong in that race, I am just gutted, I only like getting medals I don’t like finishing fourth. The preparation was the only thing I could change. The shape I’m in I think I can break my Irish outdoor record”

She is without doubt still one of the country's best athletes. 4th best in Europe is still something to be proud of.