“It’s hard to be so close” for Sarah Healy

Sarah Healy finished in fourth place in the final of the women’s 5000m at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Tuesday evening.

The race was won by Italian Nadia Battocletti, the world number 5 ranked 5000m female runner, who spreadeagled the 23-runner field in the final 200m to stop the clock at 15:37.84. Marta García from Spain took the silver medal with a time of 15:39.38 – a season’s best for her, while Italy also claimed the bronze through Micol Majori in 15:40.65.

Battocletti’s victory adds to a growing list of medals for the 26-year-old, who already had Olympic and World Championships silver medals, World Indoor gold and two European golds prior to this evening’s success.

A case of what might have been for Sarah Healy, with ‘a little bit of inexperience’ she told @DavidGillick after finishing fourth in the 5,000m final at the #EuropeanAthletics #rtesport @RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/yaHGOKvhLO

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026

Dubliner Healy returned to track action in June, having missed the 2026 indoor season. She broke her own 5000m best time at the Diamond League meeting in Rome when running 14:48.88.

“I will try and stay positive but it’s hard finishing fourth. I’ve never really come that close before so it’s frustrating. It’s hard to be so close but it was a tough race and hard running. I think I could have been a bit stronger in the last 200m. I really thought I could fight for the bronze.

“It’s only my second 5k and I still find it really hard to judge. In the 1500m I know exactly how to race but this is still tough for me to get a gauge on.

“It was crazy because I actually heard more cheers for me than for anyone else, even the British girls. It feels more like a home champs. Irish athletes always have this kind of support wherever we go. We’re so lucky.”

While she will be disappointed to finish just outside the medals, the UCD AC athlete will return to the track on Saturday for the first round of the 1500m.

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