MARCUS O'SULLIVAN will decide today whether to challenge for an unprecedented fourth success in the world 1,500 metres indoor championship in Paris on March 9th.
After finishing eighth in a 3,000 metres won by Moses Kiptanui in Birmingham yesterday, O'Sullivan said he would consult with his coach before deciding if his form was right for the Paris championships.
Mark Carroll, in his last race before the championships, finished fifth in seven minutes 47.07 seconds, over eight seconds behind the Kenyan. His more experienced Irish teammate ran seven minutes 50.48 seconds.
It was a deeply disappointing performance by O'Sullivan, who, in Stockholm on Thursday, ran his fastest 1,500 metres of the season (three minutes 37.43 seconds) when finishing second behind Kenyan William Tanui.
"It showed that, in a truly run race, I can still produce a fast time but the reality is that very few championship finals come into that category," he said.
When the finish comes down to a big sprint, I no longer have the legs to go with the younger guys but in fairness to myself, I need time to think my position through.
"The word on the grapevine is that neither Morceli nor El Gerrouj will be in Paris but that still leaves some exciting athletes in the entry."
Mark Mandy, the Irish high-jump record holder, finished fifth in Birmingham after clearing 2.20 metres in the competition won by Britain's Steve Smith - he had a career best of 2.34 metres.
A new name was added to the Irish squad yesterday after James Nolan, the 20-year-old UCD student, sat a stadium record of one minute 48.18 seconds in winning the national 800 metres championship at Nenagh, Co Tipperary, yesterday.
Needing to break one minute 48.50 seconds to achieve the qualifying standard for the world championships, Nolan achieved it in impressive style after running the first 400 metres in 52.8 seconds. From then Nolan was on schedule for a place in the Parisian squad and he duly achieved it with a last 200 metres of just under 28 seconds.
Gary Ryan, the Nenagh runner whose entry for the world 200 metres championship has already been confirmed, recorded a highly-popular local win with a time of 21.65 seconds in the last event on the programme.
Double Olympic gold medallist Svetlana Masterkova will miss the world indoor championships, Russian selectors said yesterday when naming a 42-strong party to travel to Paris. Masterkova, winner of the 800 and 1,500 metres in the Atlanta Olympics, is still resting after last year's hectic season. The team for the championships was chosen after a lacklustre national indoor championships in Volgograd at the weekend.
Ato Bolden passed a self-imposed trial with flying colours yesterday by speeding to world best times in both the 60 and 200 metres at the Birmingham indoor grand prix.
The Olympic 100 and 200 metres bronze medallist equalled Jamaican Michael Green's 60 metres mark of 6.49 seconds before taking to the boards less than an hour later for the 200 metres. This time the Trinidadian was even more impressive, clocking a season's best of 20.35 seconds ahead of Norway's European outdoor 200 metres gold medallist Geir Moen.
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