Derval O'Rourke has outlined the psychological strength which drove to a stunning silver medal in the women's 100m hurdles at the European Championships in Gothenburg on Friday.
The Cork woman, who eventually had to share second spot with Germany's Kirsten Bolm, had to run the race of her life from the notoriously difficult lane one.
But the 25-year-old, who finished 0.22seconds behind winner Susanna Kallur, revealed: 'I kept thinking about a girl that won world indoors and world outdoors from lane one and that was all I was thinking about and trying to give myself a boost and not be negative.
Speaking in today's Irish Sun, the World Indoors 60m hurdles champion continued: 'I had a bit of a problem coming off the 10th hurdle and almost staggered but at that stage I was only thinking about getting to the line and nothing was going to stop me.'
O'Rourke, who set a new Irish record with a time of 12.72secsonds, added: 'I went out to win it and that was all I could do and to get a silver medal is the greatest thrill of my life.'
O'Rourke was presented with her silver medal at an awards ceremony in the Ullevi Stadium at 4.05pm today.
