Hurdles proving no obstacle to O'Rourke's progress

Irish Times/Vhi Healthcare Sports Woman Award for February/Derval O'Rourke (Athletics): Mary Hannigan talks to the Cork athlete who is in the form of her life as she heads to Moscow

When Derval O'Rourke set off for Moscow at the crack of dawn this morning for the World Indoor Championships the 25-year-old from Douglas, Cork, did so in the knowledge that she goes there in the form of her life.

But that contentment, she says, is in marked contrast to her mood back in January when she was training in Portugal, working on her hurdling technique.

"At first it was a disaster," she says, "I just sat there looking at my coach saying 'this is a nightmare, it's not working'. He was saying, 'no, no, we have to have some faith', but I had none. But since I started racing, at the end of January, it's all fallen into place."

Indeed, O'Rourke's form since running at the AAA Championships in Sheffield last month has been dazzling. That weekend she ran her first sub-eight second 60 metres hurdles, her time of 7.98 seconds an Irish record.

A week later she lowered that mark at the Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast, running a time of 7.90 seconds, the sixth fastest in the world this year. And she completed her build-up to Moscow by equalling her Irish record in the Gaz de France meet in Lievin last weekend.

Not surprisingly, then, the Dublin-based Leevale athlete, who has been coached by Jim Kilty for the past five years, is the winner of The Irish Times/Vhi Healthcare sportswoman of the month award for February.

But while her times so far this year have elevated her to world-class status (Danielle Carruthers won the same event in a time of 7.93 seconds at the US Indoor Track and Field Championships last month) she's downplaying talk of her being a medal prospect in Moscow.

"I'm fairly relaxed going there, the thing is I have nothing to lose: I'm not the defending champion, I've never made a world final, I'm not ranked in the top three in the world. I just want to run as fast as I can go and see what happens, if I do that I'll be happy with myself, regardless of the result, there's no pressure."

"And I don't get pressure from anywhere else, my parents are just very supportive, but they're down to earth. And all my mother kept asking me was I going to get my hair done before Moscow. It's a very grounded family," she laughs.

"She told me I looked lovely after I won on Friday night (in France), she saw it on Eurosport. I said 'thanks, but how was the race?'. 'Fine,' she said, 'but you looked lovely'."

O'Rourke finished her studies in UCD last May and is now working part-time at the DCU sports club.

"You put your life on hold for this," she said.

"I did an Arts degree, then a post-grad course, so when everyone else in my class was going on to get big jobs and starting to earn money you start to wonder what you're doing with your life, but now things are working out I know it was the right decision, definitely."

"I'm getting to do what I love, and not many people get that chance. I felt that in France, it was such a great race, and I really appreciated the moment, the fact that I have the opportunity to do what I love.

"And I love to race, I really do, I do all that training simply because I get to race."