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Andrew Coscoran will race in Wednesday's 1500m final. Morgan Treacy/INPHO
European Championships
Update from Rome: Disappointment for Thomas Barr but Andrew Coscoran makes 1500m final
Aside from Dubliner Coscoran in the 1500m semis, there wasn’t much joy for the Irish on Monday morning in Rome.
ANDREW COSCORAN SURVIVED a messy semi-final this morning to reach Wednesday night’s 1500m decider at the European Championships in Rome.
The Dubliner hit the front on the turn into the final lap moments before a mass entanglement floored four trailing competitors behind him.
Coscoran, who required a top-six finish to reach the final, went to the well in the final 100m to clinch fifth in 3:38.52.
“I was pretty comfortable, ticked the box today, job done,” Coscoran told RTÉ post-race.
“A lot of the races I’ve been in this year have been scrappy. You kind of get used to a lot of pushing and shoving. I knew I wanted to stay out of that if possible.
The fitness is there. Now it’s time to show it off.”
In a separate heat within the same event, Tyrone native Nick Griggs didn’t manage to sustain his attack in a lower-tempo heat as he bowed out with a 14th-placed finish (3:46.66).
The contrast between Griggs’ more tactical semi and the speedier pace of Coscoran’s heat was stark; whereas Coscoran’s was won by Norwegian great 3:37.65 Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Griggs’ race was won by Britain’s Neil Gourley in 3:44.05.
Mixed-relay hero Thomas Barr was left disappointed, too, missing out on a place in 400m hurdles final in agonising circumstances.
Waterford’s Barr, who finished third by a hair in his semi-final (49.61), awaited to see if he would qualify among the best of the rest but ultimately missed out on a spot in the decider by four hundredths of a second.
Phil Healy failed to progress to the semis of the women’s 200m, finishing her heat in fifth place with a time of 23.51.
Healy’s fellow Cork woman Louise Shanahan found herself in a similar boat, her sixth-placed finish in an 800m heat (2:04:81) not enough to see her progress to Tuesday’s semis.
Originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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