DAVID BURKE of Mullingar has, it appears, like John Downes, ruled himself out of the Irish team for the World Cross Country Championships in Cape Town on March 23rd by his decision to race over a distance of 9.5 kilometres in Italy last Sunday. Burke finished ninth place in that race.

The Mullingar man ran in the race despite the selectors' recommendation that athletes only compete in races below certain designated distances.

Gerry Curtis has withdrawn from the team for South Africa. Curtis actually retired two years ago but returned to finish fourth in Santry. However, given that he is in his mid 30s he probably feels that his best days are behind him and that he has nothing to prove by journeying half across the world.

The next man up would be Ciaran Lambe but he has intimated that the World Students' cross country event in Portugal is his immediate aim while Richard Mulligan is currently training for the London marathon. Burke's Mullingar team mate Tom McGrath finished tenth in the Nationals and could be in line for a ball up with Tommy Maher and Burke's younger brother, John, the next two across the line, not without hope of selection.

There was a defection from the women's team with the news that Sinead Delahunty has had to cry off. It appears that the Kilkenny woman was hit by a car while our training and is currently in Florida receiving treatment.