O'Sullivan withdraws from Helsinki showpiece

ATHLETICS: There won't be any repeat of Gillian O'Sullivan's medal-winning performance at the World Championships in Helsinki.

Without much choice, it seems, O'Sullivan yesterday announced that her current state of fitness wouldn't allow her compete in Helsinki, where the championships begin in under six weeks' time, and as a result she won't be defending the silver medal won in the 20-kilometre walk in Paris two years ago.

Although the news was far from unexpected, O'Sullivan's withdrawal does deny the Irish team of one of their preciously few medal opportunities. And yet the Kerry athlete was stoically accepting her fate, consoled by the fact that her chronic injury problems of the last year are now behind her, and she can finally start building again for the future.

"I've managed to get back to regular training over the last few weeks," explained O'Sullivan. "But it will be much later in the year before I'm ready to compete again. It is disappointing of course to be missing Helsinki, but I don't want to wreck another whole year, and I certainly don't want to go there just for the sake of competing."

O'Sullivan's injury problems started early last season, and eventually forced her to withdraw from the 20km walk at the Athens Olympics just days before she was due to compete.

That problem was eventually diagnosed as a leg imbalance, but then in March a fresh injury appeared in her lower leg, which soon had her sidelined once again.

"I didn't think the leg injury would be that bad, but suddenly I was missing two or three days. Now I've got that sorted, but there's just no point in rushing back into now. I'm happy to be back training, and I'm happy to take my time rather than force the thing again.

"What I am looking forward to now is the European Championships next summer, which will help ease me back into the major championships, and hopefully be right back to my best for the 2007 World Championships."

O'Sullivan's absence was felt at the Dublin International Race Walking Grand Prix last Sunday, but that didn't prevent fellow Olympian Olive Loughnane from scoring a fine Irish victory in 1:32:28, her fastest time in two years and well inside the A-standard for Helsinki.

Organisers of the Cork City Sports, meanwhile, are busy this week finalising the starting line-ups for Saturday's meeting at the Mardyke.

Britain's double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has confirmed her participation in the 1,500 metres after getting over some recent injury problems, while Sonia O'Sullivan will have her first major track test of the season over 3,000 metres.

DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL RACE WALKING GRAND PRIX (at Phoenix Park): Women 20km - 1 O Loughnane (Loughrea) 1:32:28, 2 E Nunez (Guat) 1:35:19 (NR), 3 M Gomcales (Por) 1:35:27. Men 20Km - 1 M Berger (Ger) 1:25:33, 2 J Albrecht (Ger) 1:26:30, 3 M Didoni (Ita) 1:27:27.