Sarah Healy continues return to form with 1,500m victory in Finland

Settings for midsummer athletics don’t come much better than the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku in the south of Finland, and Sarah Healy made the most of it with a rare Irish victory in the 1,500 metres on the latest stop of the Continental Gold Tour.

Conditions were ideal too, and Healy timed her run to perfection, sitting in over the opening three laps before making her final push for victory with around 300m to go and holding it down the backstretch, winning in 4:03.85, edging out Italy’s Gaia Sabbatini and Britain’s Ellie Baker on the line.

Just shy of her season best of 4:03.57, it keeps the 22 year-old well in contention to qualify for the World Championships in Budapest in August, and underlines her full return to form after a stress fracture in her foot cut short her European Cross-Country hopes last December.

Earlier, Sarah Lavin was in fine form in her heat of the 100m hurdles, taking second in 12.87, just off her season best of 12.86 run last weekend in Poland. She couldn’t quite repeat that later in the final, running 12.94 to place fourth, the victory going to Ditaji Kambundji from Switzerland in 12.79.

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Thomas Barr is still searching for a return to something of his old form, finishing fifth in the 400m hurdles in 49.50, the win there going to Ludvy Vaillant from France in 48.50, a season best for him.

Likewise with Mark English, who found himself trailed off early on in the 800m, finishing 10th in 1:50.29, with another French win there, Benjamin Robert running 1:44.40.

Barr and Lavin will next week move on to the European Games in Chorzow, Poland, which will incorporate the European Team Championships. Ireland will compete in division three, with what is a largely developmental selection of 44 athletes, Irish 100m record holders Phil Healy and Israel Olatunde also there to help ensure promotion.