ATHLETICS:WE TOOK one final trip up Montjuic last night, the only Irish action at the closing of these European Championships involving Derval O'Rourke stepping on to the medal podium. There was a brief moment when we thought the slight pity here was she hadn't won the title outright.

It would have cemented O’Rourke as one of greatest sprint hurdlers of her time, and that’s the sort of plaudit she actually deserves.

Not that there was any disappointment whatsoever in her receiving a second successive silver medal – which, as O’Rourke later reminded us, means she’s now medalled at four major championships.

So there’s some big motivation, up to and including London 2012. At the age of 29, O’Rourke is still plenty young too.

“Medals, I’ve always said, are very special, and I’m unbelievably happy to have another one. All year I thought I was going to win, sure. I didn’t say that to too many people, because hype doesn’t win anything. But it was close. Very close. So I can’t really complain.”

Close indeed – and it was only watching the rerun during the medal ceremony that O’Rourke first realised exactly how close it was.

The 24 hours afterwards had been the inevitable whirlwind (RTÉ exclusives, dinner at Burger King, etc) but standing on the podium under the imposing pillars of the old Olympic Stadium allowed her to fully embrace the moment: 12.63 seconds for Nevin Yanit, a Turkish record; 12.65 for O’Rourke, an Irish record. Beaten by a Turk’s head.

“Maybe if I was in the lane next to her, I could have pushed her over, or something,” joked O’Rourke, wondering what it might have taken to win.

“I really thought Carolin Nytra was the one to beat. (And O’Rourke did that, with the German third in 12.68.) But I didn’t think Yanit would go 12.63.

“I could be negative about her. But it’s not that she’s come from nowhere. It’s just that she’s never performed in a major senior championship before.”

Yet at only 24, the Turkish athlete has made remarkable improvement, having dropped a full second off her personal best in 2008 (she’d failed to finish her heat at the last Europeans).

When O’Rourke first saw Yanit this season she thought “maybe I should be in the gym a lot more” – but that at least, she ( O’Rourke) could still wear a dress.

Indeed it will be interesting to see how much faster the Turk does go in the coming years.

Interesting too to see how much faster O’Rourke can go:

“Well, I wouldn’t care if I never run quicker, but had a medal from every major. I’m not too hung up on times. But I still think I can run 12.4. Because sometimes you do have to shoot higher than looks physically possible.

“And I swear one day I am really going to nail one very fast time. Even though Jerry Kiernan says I never will. But I suppose they have to hang on to something negative.”

What there is no disputing now is O’Rourke’s amazing championship record.

She extends to 11 the elite list of Irish medallists at European outdoor level, which is led by Sonia O’Sullivan (with five) and also includes Ronnie Delany, Frank Murphy and Eamonn Coghlan (over 1,500 metres), Mark Carroll (over 5,000 metres) and of course O’Rourke’s previous silver from the 100 metres hurdles in Gothenburg, 2006. Only O’Sullivan has also won medals across more than one championship, plus O’Rourke has her World Indoor title from 2006, and European Indoor bronze from 2009. So how does Barcelona compare?

“Well in 2006 it was all about relief. Like, thank God. I just didn’t know if I was that good outdoors. Berlin, to come fourth at a World Championship, was a breakthrough too. But I think finishing third in the European Indoors last year, after two bad years, was very important. Ever since then I don’t expect to be too far away. And coming here I fully expected to be in the medals.

“There was something about it being Barcelona too. I always remember the 1992 Olympics here. I was just starting in athletics, in Leevale, and it all seemed so magical. Gail Devers was this superhero to me, and she hit the last hurdle, and fell. I remember thinking that’s so awful. But that I wanted to do that event.”

Truth is O’Rourke has turned into something of a superhero too – flying over the hurdles to save these championships for the Irish.