ATHLETICS:MON DIEU, that was close. Maybe not close enough, but whenever an athlete finishes fourth in a championship final you have to wonder what might have been.

For Derval O’Rourke the question definitely hinges on the time she lost through injury: was that really the difference between standing on the podium or just off it? There was no disputing the medals, but only O’Rourke knows how much closer she’d have come to being among them had a groin tear last month not halted her training.

What is certain is it proved one of the most competitive 60 metres hurdles final in the history of the European Indoors. Gold, silver and bronze all required personal bests – and faster times than O’Rourke has run.

Her 7.96 seconds in fourth was a season best; two years ago in Turin she ran 7.97 and won the bronze medal. The event, inevitably, had moved on.

“In this event it’s never easy, never stops,” she said. “That’s why I know how hard it is to do well. I came here thinking I could medal. I always think I’m going well enough to medal. So to miss three weeks with the groin injury, and still run so well, I have to be happy. I’m just gutted it had to be fourth.

“But look, I didn’t even know if I was going to be here two weeks ago, with the groin injury. My hurdling was still rusty. But that’s not an excuse. I’m tough, and I’m not sure how many runners would have come out in my condition and still run. The three girls that ran better than me all ran better than my best. You have to take these days with the good days.”

Indeed this final was stacked – as we say in the business. Rarely in the history of these championships have six of the eight finalists run under eight seconds in their semi-finals, just to qualify for the final: it then took a photo finish to separate the first three in the last showdown.

In the end the victory was given to Carolin Nytra, the 26-year-old German, who clocked a European leader of 7.80. Olifi Tiffney, who at 23 recently switched allegiance from the US to Britain, was given the same time, and had to settle for silver. The bronze went to Christina Vukicevic, the 23- year-old from Norway, in a national record of 7.83 – just reward, too, given she had endured fourth place at the last two European: outdoors last summer, and indoors in 2009.

O’Rourke was seeking a fifth major championship medal to go with her World Indoor gold, her two European outdoor silvers, and her European Indoor bronze from two years ago. However, it was obvious from her semi-finals the time missed through injury had blunted her sharpness. Thus she was handed the outside lane, and that further handicapped her chances.

“Well, no, I never care about the lane,” she said. “Every lane is the same. The same five hurdles, the same 60 metres. That didn’t bother me. Okay, in a fairytale land I’d have liked to have been in the middle. But the biggest thing really was the injury. I’ve only hurdled twice in the last three weeks. The first time last Saturday. I mean, it was 50-50 just two weeks ago. That’s a hard way to prepare.

“It’s a dog-fight here, anyway, because those girls are running really quick. So it was difficult. I felt a bit like a split personality. The girl who was going to the Europeans, and the girl who wasn’t. But if this injury happened before the Olympics I’d still have to do it again. So I had to come and tough it out. And in so many ways this just totally refocuses me for the outdoors.”

A little earlier, Darren McBrearty found himself refocusing for today’s semi-finals of the 800m – typically one of the most cut-throat races in championship running – having unexpectedly progressed as a fastest loser.

Still a few days short of his 20th birthday, McBrearty went for broke, leading the field until the bell lap, before finishing fourth in 1:49.74. With another four heats to follow, McBrearty was in the second and last position to qualify as a fastest loser. As it turned out, no one in the remaining heats could break 1:50.

“Well, I knew coming here that sub-1:50 normally progresses,” he said, and as an actuary student at DCU, McBrearty clearly knows his figures.

It will require something special for him to make the final, but at least he can have no regrets.

Indoor running has always had zero tolerance for error, and unfortunately most of his team-mates, starting with Brian Gregan, discovered that the hard way.

Earlier, Gregan found himself eliminated from the heats of the 400m, with little excuse. He wasn’t alone either. The 21-year-old from Tallaght was hoping to follow in the footsteps of David Gillick, or at least make the final. Instead, he exposed his inexperience in high definition.

Thomas Scheneider of Germany took the win in 47.10, yet Gregan failed to make use of a prime lane draw, and finished fourth in 47.63 – “a time I could run in my sleep” he admitted.

Similarly disappointed at being eliminated in the 3,000m was Dan Mulhare, the 25-year-old from Portlaoise. Mulhare at least ran a mostly astute race, keeping himself in the mix right up to the last 200m before his opponents pressed on the accelerator.

Mulhare chased hard but ended up in sixth, in 8:04.57. That was close too. The order of the day, really.

100m Hurdles final

1.C Nytra (Ger) 7.80 secs

2.T Ofili (Brit) 7.80

3.C Vukicevic (Nor) 7.83

4.D O'Rourke (Ire)7.96