Toruń, Poland — Tarleton State Track and Field senior sprinter Lauren Roy placed 19th in the women’s 60 meters representing her country of Ireland at the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena.
Roy raced in a 54-women field as the 22nd seeded time. The Ballymena, Northern Ireland, native, needed a top 24 time in the first round to advance to the 24-woman semifinals. The top three times in each of the seven heats and then the next three best times earned a spot in the semis. In the first round, Roy clocked in at 7.25 seconds to place fourth in her heat and had to wait out her fate across the next five heats.
The senior held the best qualifying time after the first two heats with just three of the next best times after the automatic finishers in their heat. She held the top qualifying time until the sixth heat where a German athlete clocked in at 7.18 seconds to place ahead of her. In the final heat, another competitor from Trinidad and Tobago passed her in 7.22 seconds to slide Roy to the 24th and final spot in the semifinals.
The semis featured three heats with the top two times in each and next best two heading to the finals. Roy’s heat was the second fastest with the winner from Jamaica crossing in 7.03 seconds. Roy placed sixth in her heat in 7.23 seconds. Overall, Roy ran the 19th fastest time in the semis, quite an accomplishment for a collegiate senior competing in a field of professional athletes. She was the top Irish finisher with her countrywoman placing 31st in the first round.
“I am so happy to be in the top 20 in the world, and to consistently run 7.2 seconds all year, it is just amazing,” said Roy in a post-race interview. “I know there definitely is more in me, but indoors is pretty short and I will look forward to outdoors. I wasn’t nervous at all. I have had so much fun these whole championships. I just came out here having fun, and I am happy out it went.”
In the finals, Italy’s Zaynab Dosso ran the third fastest time in the world this year to win the gold medal in 7.00 seconds. USA’s Jacious Sears earned the silver medal blazing through in 7.03 seconds. Right behind her, Julian Alfred of Saint Lucia, who entered with the fastest time in the world, placed third in 7.03 seconds as well.
The world indoors are only held every two years. A total of 674 athletes from 118 member federations are entered for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 from 20-22 March. It was the conclusion of the global indoor season, with 81 medals heading home.
Roy will return to the US to open her outdoor season with the Texans. It will be her final collegiate season and the two-time indoor Second Team All-American is in search of her first individual All-American recognition. Last year, she was a member of the Second Team All-American 4×100 relay squad that placed 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
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