Gillick may be added to team for World Indoors

ATHLETICS IRELAND have announced a provisional team of six for next month’s World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, but the expectation is David Gillick will be added if he so desires. Gillick has yet to race 400 metres indoors and will test his form twice in the coming weeks before deciding if he wants to make the trip.

In the meantime, Derval O’Rourke is definitely intent on challenging for the World Indoor title over the 60 metres hurdles, which she won in 2006, and was yesterday named for Doha along with Claire Brady (60 metres), Kelly McNeice (1,500 metres), Deirdre Byrne (3,000 metres) and Kelly Proper (long jump). There is only one men’s qualifier to date: David McCarthy in the 800 metres.

Brady and McNeice qualified at the Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast over the weekend. Brady, who is now coached by former Irish sprint international Gary Ryan, ran a 60-metre best of 7.35 seconds, while McNeice ran an equally impressive 4:14.63 for the 1,500 metres.

Proper qualified on the back of her 6.62-metre Irish record last month, while Byrne has the required standard over 3,000 metres from last year.

McCarthy, surprisingly the only men’s qualifier to date, earlier this month ran an indoor best of 1:48.29 minutes, just inside the 1:48.50 qualifying standard for Doha.

For Gillick, who made history last summer in becoming the first Irish athlete to make the World Championship final of the 400 metres, two planned races in Birmingham on February 20th and in Greece 10 days later will likely determine his participation or otherwise in Doha.

However, even if he does compete, his main focus for 2010 remains the European Championships in Barcelona in July, where he has to be considered a significant medal contender.