Sonia O'Sullivan is to make an early return to competition in this country following her impressive win in the Nova 10 km classic in Milan on Sunday.
O'Sullivan confirmed yesterday that she is to run in the Dublin mini marathon over a similar distance on June 11th, her first appearance in an event which attracts thousands of entries annually.
It's a race which Catherina McKiernan has won on two occasions in the recent past but the prospect of Ireland's big two going head to head through the streets of the capital in just under three weeks' time is remote.
Although McKiernan, who also won at the weekend, has yet to announce plans for her next race the likelihood is that it will be in Europe as she seeks to step up her preparations for the Olympic marathon in September.
Originally there was some speculation that O'Sullivan would run at Castleisland in the meeting to celebrate the opening of the new track there on June 11th. She now believes, however, that the Dublin road race would be more beneficial.
"It's a race I've always wanted to run but for a number of reasons I wasn't able to do so. It now fits nicely into my schedule for June and I'm looking forward to the idea of competing in front of an Irish crowd once more."
It will be her last road race until after the Sydney Games. Having sharpened her early-season form with wins in Scotland, Holland and Italy, she feels primed for the start of her track season.
That will be in Helsinki, just four days after the Dublin race, when she is to due to face the starter in a 3,000-metres race. After that there will be a gradual build-up to Sydney with a cut-off point in late August.
Although she hasn't yet finalised her programme the certainty is that she will compete only sparingly, with most of the hard work being down in training.
"I intend to use every race I run for a special purpose," she said. "The only ones which really count this year are those in Sydney in September and everything I do must be geared towards that."
On her performance at Milan she said: "It was good to put down a few benchmarks with runners like Tegla Loroupe and Derartu Tulu in the race. Like me, they are focusing on the Olympics but psychologically it was important for me that I won it.
"It was a natural follow-on to my races at Balmoral and Hilversum and in spite of the extra pace I was happy with the way I handled it. Now I'm looking forward to another good run in Dublin."
McKiernan, likewise, will feel encouraged by her win in Liverpool. Her time was over three minutes slower than the winning figures in Milan but her primary aim was to get back among the winners. This was accomplished with reasonable ease and while all the bigger tasks lie ahead she will resume training today with spirits revived.
