SONIA O'SULLIVAN may make her first appearance in the World Indoor Championships at Paris in March.
Shortly after winning the second race of her Australian outdoor tour, over 800 metres, at Sydney on Monday evening, O'Sullivan said that she may now compete in the indoor tests which are scheduled for March 7th-9th.
"It's not something for which I am specifically preparing but I'm certainly looking at them in a different light since coming down here" she said.
"I am more than happy with the way my training has gone and if I continue to be as satisfied over the next four weeks, then the likelihood is that I will go to Paris and run in the 3,000 metres championship. A final decision is still some weeks off but if I decide to compete, I will probably travel out with the Australian team and arrive there a week or so before the start of the competition.
"It would give me an early season goal and an excuse to take a mini break in April before getting down to the serious business of developing a racing edge for the world outdoor championships at Athens in August.
"By stating my interest in Paris, it doesn't mean that I've written off the World Cross-Country Championships in Italy. That's still at the back of my mind but for the moment, I'm more attracted by the prospect of running indoors.
O'Sullivan surprised many by her decision to run in the World Cross-Country race at Boston in 1992 when she finished seventh. But in spite of her record in indoor competition during her sojourn at Villanova University, she has consistently shunned the other big early year event.
Her decision to change tack now, may be influenced by a number of factors apart from her current form in Australia. For one thing, the indoor championships, thanks to the active marketing of the IAAF, now enjoy a higher profile than before. And for the first time, prize money will be on offer in Paris.
Those changes are likely to be reflected in the improved quality of the entry for this year's championships but O'Sullivan is adamant that it will not deflect her from her primary goal of retaining her world title in Athens.
A BLE official said they were still awaiting clarification of her plans but added it was highly likely that Ireland would be represented in Paris. Others who are hoping to mount meaningful title challenges there, are Niall Bruton and David Matthews.
O'Sullivan plans to run five races during her stay in Australia but stresses that it will not compromise her training. "That was the primary purpose in coming out here," she said. "I've been doing very little track running but a lot of work away from it, including circuit sessions with David Matthews."
All five of her races in Australia will be over different distances. She opened her programme by winning a 5,000 metres in Canberra and on Monday, displayed her versatility by winning an 800 metres event in two minutes 03.18 seconds.
In a highly competitive race it wasn't until the last 50 metres that she finally broke the challenge of the Australian, Celine Roberts who was timed at 2:03.22.
Her next run will be in Adelaide in the early hours of Sunday morning when she will compete in the 1,500 metres. Among her rivals there will be the Australian, Kate Anderson who ran in Cork last summer and who has a best time of four minutes 10.2 seconds.
Hobarth will he the venue for O'Sullivan's 3,000 metres run on February 16th and she ends her programme by competing in the mile at the Melbourne Grand Prix meeting four days later.
