Cork City Sports July 2002

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Cork City Sports 2002

Mardyke Arena, Cork

Saturday July 6th 2002

Presentation - Women's 3000m

Photos from Marathon Magazine, Vol 40 No 1, Christmas 2002

Irish Times Preview Saturday July 6th 2002

Sonia’s return eagerly awaited

By Ian O'Riordan

Any time Sonia O'Sullivan competes in her native Cork it's a homecoming, but after a four-year absence her appearance in this afternoon's Cork City Sports will be especially welcomed. On recent form too, a winning return is almost certain.

The timing is also notable in that O’Sullivan's last appearance in 1998 was part of her build-up to the European Championships in Budapest, where she would collect double gold over 5,000 and 10,000 metres. She's now building towards a similar double attempt in Munich in a month, and in a similarly determined mood.

The scene is now set for a memorable 51si staging of the sports at the newly opened and vastly improved UCC Sports Complex at The Mardyke

With a budget of around €150,000, the meeting organisers have assembled some quality athletes for the 19 events, which start at 2p.m. and conclude three hours later with the women’s 1.500 metres.

The main event, though, is set for 4.20, when O'Sullivan lines up for the 3,000 metres.

Even with the presence of the experienced American Amy Rudolph, and an Ethiopian, in Mestewat Tuffa, there is little to suggest O'Sullivan won't be putting on a solo display. If anything it may be her Irish rivals Breda Dennehy-Willis and Ann Keenan-Buckley, who'll provide the greatest test.

O'Sullivan, though, is more likely to have her eye on the clock, and the meeting record of eight minutes 40.30 seconds she set in 1996. Her winning time of 8:44.02 in Sheffield last weekend suggests it's possible, but much will depend on the weather.

Cork's other cherished athlete, Mark Carroll, goes in the 5,000 metres, where a more international field will make a home victory a little more difficult, with Daniel Gaehara the likely favourite.

Elsewhere, there is ample opportunity for further Irish success. Karen Shinkins is also on a sort of homecoming tour after her success indoors in winning European bronze over 400 metres, and she too is building nicely towards the Munich championships. Australia's Susan Andrews and Christine Amertil may draw a season's best out of ihe Newbridge athlete.

James Nolan drops down to the 800 metres where, again, the African presence is likely to dominate.

And although it may not have been scheduled, the final event is perhaps most certain to provide an Irish victory for Geraldine Hendricken. After her breakthrough run of 4:05.72 in Lausanne, earlier this week, the Carlow athlete is suddenly the clear favourite to take the 1,500 metres, and even with some capable opposition, including five Amcneans, there looks to be only one winner.

Irish Times Report Monday July 8th 2002

O’Sullivan runs home in style

Athletics / Cork City Sports

By Ian O'Riordan

Exactly how good is Sonia O'Sullivan running right now?

Good enough to break her own 3,000 metres meeting record at the Cork City Sports, on her own.

Good enough also to eclipse the fastest ever run in Ireland, and her own fastest anywhere since the memorable pre-Olympic effort in Zurich two years back.

Maybe it was the hype of the home crowd or maybe the conditions at The Mardyke. Most likely though it’s that O'Sullivan is probably running ans well as ever.

No surprise then that Saturday's performance of eight minutes 38.99 seconds took the loudest applause on an afternoon of quality athletics in Cork. Geraldine Hendricken came close with her own showboating in the 1,500 metres, but alter a four-year absence it was all eyes on O’Sullivan’s homecoming.

“Of course the crowd helped a lot in the home straight,” said O’Sullivan, who had just run almost the entire seven and a half laps on her own. “I said I wouldn’t look at the clock and just go with the crowd instead, run as hard as I could. And I’m glad I did that because sometimes if you look at the clock from too far out you can slow down."

O'Sullivan took great satisfaction in improving the 8:40.30 meeting record she set six years ago. “Well it’s as good as 1996. isn’t it? Better actually. Whatever that means. But yeah, things are going really good. Of course l'd much rather have run as fast as they did in Paris last night (where Gabriela Szabo won in 8:31.88) but it’s not easy to do that by yourself." We remind her it was the fastest she’s ever run in Ireland. “That’s the fastest anyone’s ever run in Ireland" she reminds us. "Except the boys, they’ve gone a little bit quicker."

Next up comes the National Championships in Santry at the weekend, then a 5,000 metres in Holland the following Saturday. And that’s it done before the European Championship in Munich, starting on August 6th, when O’Sullivan will try to defend both her 5,000 and 10,000 metre titles.

“I can get a good hard week’s training in now, and relax a little the week after before the 5,000 metres the following Saturday where I still need to get the qualifying time for the European's.

“Right now though the priority for Munich is the 10,000. Simply because it’s on first. I definitely want to get the 5,000 qualifying time because I want the option of doing that as well."

Fellow Cork-bom runner Una English ran a lifetime best of 8:54.73 in second place and is now chasing the qualifying time for Munich, and back in fifth Ann Keenan-Buckley clocked 9:11.93.

Ahead of the last event, the women's 1,500 metres, it seemed O'Sullivan would provide the only Irish victory of the meeting (though Mullingar’s Mark Christie also won the junior 1,500 metres). Though Hendricken was coming off her breakthrough run (4:05.72 last Tuesday) the international field looked a little sleep for the Carlow athlete.

Instead she took the field apart one by one. Also acting as her own pacemaker, Hendricken showed again that at 32 her best years are only starling. Five leading Americans, three Africans and some useful Europeans were all left in the dust as she won in 4:06.59.

“I feel now like I can just press a button and take off," said Hendricken, gaining in confidence with every race. “But there's definitely more to come, because that was cruising speed."

Hendricken’s joyous mood was in direct contrast to an inconsolable Mark Carroll, whose own homecoming ended prematurely after he dropped out of the 5,000 metres with just under three laps remaining (Kenya's Willy Kirui won in 13: 13.95). Complaining of lustiness and lethargy, Carroll is still hopeful he can get his season back on track, starting with the 5,000 metres in Rome on Friday.

"I could give you 10 reasons right now as to why I’m not running well,” said Carroll. "But there's no one reason. I missed the winter with injury and missed the indoor season and I’m very out of touch at the moment.

There are others who remain bang on course Tor the European championships, including Robert Daly (taking third in the 400 metres in 46.20) and Ciara Sheehy (one better in the 200 metres in 23.37). Injury forced Karen Shinkins to miss the women’s 400 but she remains intent on mixing it with the best in Munich.

Irish Times Results

Marathon Magazine, Vol 40 No 1, Christmas 2002

Finish of Men's 100m	Presentation - Women's 200m
Presentation - Women's High Jump	Presentation - Women's 110m Hurdles
Presentation Fanahan McSweeney Memorial 400m	Jean McSweeney
Presentation Women's 400m	Presentation Women's High Jump
Geraldine Hendricken Leading Women's 1500m	Geraldine Hendricken
James McIllroy Wins Men's 800m	Mark Christie Wins Junior Men's 800m
Men's Pole Vault	Sonia O'Sullivan Wins Women's 3000m
Presentation - Women's High Jump	Presentation - Women's 400m

Brendan Moran / Sportsfile Photos

Results of BUPA Cork City Sports 2002

Archived Articles

Irish Runner

Marathon Magazine

Looking Back - 25 Years of BLE in Cork

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