Sarah Healy has finished sixth in the women's 3000m final at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
Thirteen days after becoming European champion in the event, the Dubliner lined up with genuine ambitions of adding to her medal haul, but when the pace was ratcheted up with two laps to go she had no answer to the power of the pre-race favourites.
Ranked fourth coming into the championships based on her season's best and Irish record of 8:30.79, Healy was up against formidable opponents in Olympic 1,500m silver medallist, the 2024 1500m world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu and Shelby Houlihan of the United States.
Healy settled into the pack midway in the early stages of the race, where the usual early jostling never came to pass.
The 24-year-old found an early rhythm in the 15-lap race where Australia's Jessie Hull, dictated matters from the front.
Hailu, the pre-race favourite, lurked at the rear before eventually moving up therough the field, tucking in behind the Irish runner as the Ethiopian surveyed her options.
Healy looked comfortable on the shoulders of the pacesetters as local favourite Yuan Li did her turn at the front, but with two laps to go, the injection of pace aplintered the group.
The European champion fell off the back of the challengers as Hailu showed her class to power to gold, with Houilhan pipping Hull for silver.
Healy eventually came home in sixth in a time of 8:40.00.
"I'm not overjoyed but I feel like it was solid," Healy told RTÉ's Greg Allen after the race. "I probably expected to be really fast from the gun.
"I was hoping I'd get involved and try to run as fast as I could but it wasn't really that type of race. So I think I made a few mistakes with positioning. So, I got caught on the back foot when the move was made.
"If I had my best race, fifth or potentially fourth might have been on the cards. But at the same time, the girls who got the medals are really, really good."
Healy, who suffered plenty of heartache in recent years, especially at the Paris Olympics, has enjoyed a stellar start to 2025, with today's sixth and that glorious gold medal in Apeldoorn.
"I'd like to think I've conquered a lot of the mental demons I've had. And I feel really excited, I just want to get better. So, I do think it's a bit of a turning of the page."
Andrew Coscoran and James Gormley were both in action in the men's 3000m final.
Coscoran, who competed in the 1500m heats on Friday and narrowly missed out on a place in the final, stuck with the bunch as the expected battle between Jakob Ingebrigsten and Berihu Aregawi led to a cagey affair midrace with a number of runners leading from the front.
Balbriggan native Coscoran was one of those to take a turn, before the pre-race favourites upped the gears and duked it out to the line, with Ingebrigtsen edging out his rival in the final 30 metres.
Coscoran was forced to take a wide line on a couple of occasions but dug deep to finish strong for sixth place with a time of 7:48.53.
Gormley crossed the line 13th in 7:56.43.
Reflecting on his best ever championship performance, Coscoran told Allen that things were starting to click for him.
"I think I've had times over the last couple of years, I've had pockets where I've been very good and then some races that weren't ideal.
"The difference there was my immune system. For some reason, the last two years I got sick coming to the championships.
"This year, I managed to keep the immune system in place. As a result, I've been consistent throughout the whole season.
"There's a lot of things at the moment that are clicking. I think I've been quite close to being a competitive athlete before but a few minor setbacks prevented me from getting there. Sixth in the European, sixth in the world championships. That's another step-up today. We're heading in the right direction."
Watch the World Indoor Athletics Championships on the Eurovision Sport website, free with registration required
