THE book was closed on Sonia O'Sullivan's pre-Olympic programme after she securely banked a ninth consecutive win when run fling away from her rivals over the last 400 metres of the 5,000 metres race at Crystal Palace last night.

It might have been an action replay of any of her earlier races this season, as the world champion toyed with her rivals, among them Catherina McKiernan before slipping into overdrive on the last lap.

Without any apparent stress, it took her 30 metres clear of her closest pursuers, Paula Radcliffe and Sally Barsosio, in a time of 14 minutes 48.36 seconds with McKiernan just failing to break 15 minutes in fourth place.

During the 62 seconds it took her to cover the final circuit, O'Sullivan fitted the description of an Olympic champion in the making, sharp and decisive when she chose to go, wholly imperious in the manner in which she widened the gap down the finishing straight.

Yet, it held only glimpses of the grandeur of her recent runs, lacking the style of her 1,500 metres win in Oslo and the singular sense of purpose which propelled her to victory over 3,000 metres at Nice on Wednesday.

At times, in the middle stages of the race, she appeared, to be trapped in a crisis of priorities whether to push for a fast time or run to win the race as comfortably as possible. In the end she did neither and it left her mildly agitated.

There was so much bounce left in my legs at the finish that I was annoyed at having had to work so hard in the race," she said. "For 3,000 metres, it went pretty well to schedule but after that, I became a bit indecisive and it worried me.

I couldn't make up my mind whether I wanted to go on battling into the wind for a fast time or run just to win. Eventually, I settled for the second option but it wasn't easy.

"Perhaps it is that I'm now settled into a championship frame of mind in which sub-consciously. I'm, geared to race rather than time trial. That's the way it should be in the last race before the Olympics, but overall, I've had easier races."

In terms of quality, it was significantly better than her only other 5,000 metres run in Rome this season, but suggestions that she was geared to attack Fernanda Ribeiro's world record of 14:36.2 never had any real validity.

It is possible that she will get close to it in her post Atlanta programme, but for the moment at least, the name of the game is winning, with times of secondary importance.

For McKiernan, the going was even more difficult. Right from the start, she was struggling to go with the leaders and it showed in the closing stages when her legs just couldn't respond to O'Sullivan's injection of extra pace.

There was a point, some three laps out when she was close enough to the leaders to surge and gamble on her long rhythmic stride carrying her home. That chance was spurned, however, and as the winner opened up on the last lap, so McKiernan receded to finish almost 100 metres adrift of her.

The 10,000 metres championship in Atlanta will, of course, demand different priorities but this was scarcely a performance to reassure.

The American pacemakers, Ruth Wysocki and Annette Peters discharged their responsibilities sufficiently well to tow the champion through the 2,800 metres metre mark in 8:15.04 but once they had departed, O'Sullivan was curiously adrift.

An eighth lap of 73 seconds, followed by two of 74, betrayed her growing uncertainty and while she picked it up again when racing clear of Radcliffe and Barsosio shortly after the hell, all hope of a sub 14:40 had long since been lost at that stage.

Elsewhere, Linford Christie was pipped by Michael Green in the 100 metres and Jonathon Edwards, still some way below last season's astounding form, won the triple jump much as he liked.

Allen Johnson, technically proficient as ever, took the 110 metres hurdles from fellow American, Jack Pierce but in some respects, the most significant result of all was the eclipse of Moses Kiptanui in the 3,000 metres.

Returning to competition after pulling out of his last two races because of illness, Kiptanui searched in vain for the old power when he came to challenge fellow Kenyan, Philip Mosima off the last curve and eventually had to settle for second place.