O'Sullivan is taking nothing for granted

ATHENS 2004/ATHLETICS: After the deconstruction and thought process and the final dissertation, now the possibilities begin to shine. Whatever is left in the great career of Sonia O'Sullivan, she can make the final in tonight's second heat of the women's 5,000 metres, but she'll need to run her best race of the summer, writes Ian O'Riordan in Athens

So 12 years after innocently finishing fourth in Barcelona, eight years after painfully bombing in Atlanta, and four years after winning silver in Sydney, O'Sullivan steps into Olympic arena once again. That she's even in Athens at the age of 34 deserves to be applauded.

Not that she's here to make up the numbers. A place in Monday's final has been the least of O'Sullivan's ambitions since the start of the season. At times she might have been tempted to think beyond that, but her form over the summer months never settled. What she does boast though is a fine send-off, the swift 3,000 metres she ran in Zurich exactly two weeks ago.

And she's had a day now to assess what is required. Two heats, 41 runners, 15 places in the final. That she's out in the second heat, 21 runners and marginally less loaded than heat one (and set late, 11.55 Athens time - 9.55 Irish). That only the top five in each heat and the next five fastest losers get to move on.

Weighing it all up she can feel optimistic. Only three athletes in her heat are now truly in a class above her: Turkey's recent world-record breaker Elvan Abeylegesse, Ethiopia's world indoor champion Meseret Defar, and the in-form Kenyan Isabella Ochichi. And only another two athletes have run faster than O'Sullivan this summer - the 14:58.43 she clocked in California back on April 30th.

Yet she came here knowing tonight's heat is the real thing, a race that will demand all her strength, experience and ability to stay focused: "The most important thing is to get to the final. In the past that was a formality. Something you tell everyone is that you're not thinking about the final until you're in it. Now I have no right or reason to expect to be in the final. I have to go and work so hard, especially based on the heats in Paris."

Heat one, which also features Maria McCambridge, has another spread of potential medallists. Tactically the first heat is inclined to go out fast, and with the Chinese runner Yingjie Sun among them, there won't be a shortage of pacesetters.

It means O'Sullivan could find herself part of an even more determined set of front-runners, chasing qualification as the fastest losers. Still, she'll have an idea of what's needed to go through on time. And running so late at night won't bother her, by then the draining heat of Athens no longer a factor. "If you have all the pieces, eventually they'll come together," she added.

Her 8:41.42 for 3,000 metres in Zurich, where she finished third, comfortably equates to the sort of 5,000-metre time that will make the final.

These are the races that bring down the curtain on the opening session of athletics, with five of the Irish in action, which also contains some tempting appetisers for the days ahead. And none more than the heats of the men's 1,500 metres, where Hicham El Guerrouj begins his final journey in search of an Olympic title. Atlanta (where he fell) and Sydney (where he took silver) can only be redeemed by gold.

El Guerrouj has confirmed his intentions to attempt a 1,500m-5,000m double. No prizes for guessing which title he'd prefer. But what is certain is that he believes he can win both. At a Moroccan press conference he could hardly have been more buoyant.

"I reckon I must be one of the most unlucky athletes around as regards Sydney and Atlanta. If you look at the stats, I was a favourite but it wasn't to be. This is my last chance to get a gold medal in the Olympics, so I really want to do it.

"And the thing is with our distance over three rounds, anything can happen. Even athletes who have run 3:30 cannot make it to the final, so we all have to be ready. But I don't really want to speak about anyone else. I am ready and I think the 1,500 metres will be the race of the Games."

It was in Athens in 1997 El Guerrouj, now 30, first proved himself the new king of the metric mile - winning the first of his four successive world titles. Incredibly he only lost three 1,500-metre races between 1996 and the end of last season, and two of those were the Olympic finals.

The man who beat him in Sydney, Noah Ngeny, failed to make the Kenyan team, but there are several new threats around, starting with another Kenyan, Bernard Lagat, and his former Moroccan team-mate Rashid Ramzi, now running for Bahrain. Both athletes have beaten him this season, and last month El Guerrouj also struggled with a breathing complaint. "I am 100 per cent okay," he said. "I don't want to think about it now. If there was 0.01 per cent of a risk then I wouldn't even be here."

James Nolan will get to experience up close exactly how well El Guerrouj is running. The Offaly athlete has also been drawn in heat one, where 10 of the 14 starters will line up with faster times this season. But with 24 athletes to progress across the three heats (top five in each, and the next nine fastest losers) Nolan's season's best of 3:38.75 still leaves him in the mix for a place in Sunday's semi-finals.

First of the Irish in action is Robert Heffernan, who has a 9.0 start Athens time, in the 20km walk. And 20-year-old Adrian O'Dwyer is sure to put on a show in the men's high jump qualification.