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Over the weekend, Irish colleges competed in the Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the final lap of the women’s 4×400 meters needs to be seen — and heard — to be believed.
After three legs, it appeared that University College Dublin (UCD, in yellow tops), was going to cruise to victory. They held a commanding 30-meter lead heading into the final lap.
On the back stretch of the final lap, just as the announcers began to comment on the tight race for second place, Sarah Miles of UCD began to tire and Michelle Finn of the University of Limerick (UL, purple and black tops) started closing in. With about 200 meters to go, Finn, who will compete in the 2016 Olympics in the steeplechase, passed Miles easily.
But wait. Just when it seemed like Finn would cruise to the win, there was another twist. Niamh Moore of the University of College Cork (UCC, red tops) wasn’t done either.
If we take a step back, Cork — no relation — was about 50 meters back with a little over one lap to go.
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And with about 300 meters to go, they still trailed by 30 meters, way back in fifth place.
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But as the runners hit the back stretch, that’s when Moore turned on the afterburners “from the depths of hell,” and the announcers go bonkers.
Here is the final half-lap.
Amazing.
In the end, UCD, who had the commanding lead, finished fifth, and UL finished second.
You can see the entire race here.