It began with Paul Robinson feeling desperately gutted at finishing fourth in his European Championship 1,500 metres final, and was soon followed by the 400 metres relay team feeling fairly elated at finishing fifth in their final.
There was also Ciarán Ó Lionáird, left to feel what might have been after he crashed out of the 1,500m, tripped from behind with just under a lap and a half to go.
So unfolded the mixed feelings for the Irish athletes inside the Letzigrund Stadium this afternoon, but in breaking their own national record in the 4x400m relay – set just yesterday in qualifying – the Irish quartet of Brian Gregan, Mark English, Richard Morrissey and Thomas Barr had every reason to feel good about themselves.
Their time of 3:01.67 easily bettered the 3:03.57 set less than 24 hours earlier, and left them in fifth overall – Great Britain winning gold as expected, clocking a European-leading time of 2:58.79.
Barr had to fight off the German team for fifth, but, like his team mates, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw their time.
“Even when we were out of the medals, placing and time still mattered,” said Barr. “I could feel someone coming up on me. I wasn’t sure who it was, and it was just about keeping my kick. Coming down the home stretch, I was looking at the clock, thinking what are we coming in for here?”
Gregan could hardly believe the time either: “I always knew top five was possible. To me, it was basically my European final, and my leg, and that meant giving it the best I can. But it took 12 years to break that, and 24 hours later we break it again, by two seconds.
“But a 3:01 isn’t far off making an Olympic final. And the average age here is only 23. So we’ve a great future ahead of us. If we can get camps together, practice baton changes, and roll it all on to Rio, because our aggregate times now are serious. I think we can only get faster and faster.”
Earlier, in a truly dramatic 1,500m final won by Mahiedene Mekhissi-Benabaad from France – the man disqualified after winning the 3,000m final for ripping off his running vest before the finish – Robinson briefly found himself in the bronze medal position as the finish line approached, only to have it snatched away by the marginally faster finish of Britain's Chris O'Hare.
Robinson clocked 3:46.35 – and O’Hare was just .17 ahead: “I really thought I had it, but in the last few seconds it was taken away from me, and I’m absolutely gutted,” said the 23 year-old from Kildare.
At least he got that far. Ó Lionáird was taken out coming around the top bend for the penultimate time, and three more athletes fell just before the bell
“I just got spiked badly, felt my right hamstring go, but then someone stood on me again, on my left Achilles,” he said. “My hamstring cramped right up, and I just couldn’t go on. But that’s sport. This happens.”
The Irish management did lodge an official complaint about the nature of the race, and how two extra runners were added after the qualifying heats, but this was never likely to have any bearing on the official result,
O'Lionaird was clipped and taken out from behind, but it looks unlikely to change the result and or affect Robinson's placing. Defending champion Henrik Ingebrigtsen from Norway took silver in 3:46:10.
