O'Sullivan leads strong women's team

No athlete can come away from a championship with two crippling performances and not have their confidence undermined significantly. For Sonia O'Sullivan, the problem is perhaps even worse considering she arrived at last weekend's World Indoor Championships in Lisbon in such a positive frame of mind.

The question remains as to why she attempted such a farfetched double in such a narrow schedule, but with the World Cross Country Championship in Ostend now just 11 days away, there is no time to dwell on it. O'Sullivan was confirmed yesterday as team leader for the 4km short-course event, and the quest to regain form and refocus with a positive mindset begins immediately.

As expected, Rosemary Ryan and Anne Keenan-Buckley - the first two finishers at last month's national cross country championships - will also join her on the Irish team. The other three places went to Maria McCambridge, Una English and Freda Davoran.

There is no doubt this combination is capable of nailing a team performance that can bring home a medal. Along with O'Sullivan, English was part of the scoring quartet that claimed bronze from the 1997 long-course race in Turin.

According to the Irish team coach Jerry Kiernan, it was decided a number of weeks ago that O'Sullivan would target only the shorter race - which takes place on the second day - and that she would be joined by the strongest possible team in order to maximise their chances of a medal.

That means no head-to-head between O'Sullivan and Paula Radcliffe in the longer 8km race, or another showdown with the Ethiopians, Gete Wami and Derartu Tulu. But in her current form and frame of mind, it does offer the Irish athlete her best chance of an individual title.

"O'Sullivan has been targeting the shorter race over the last couple of weeks," said Kiernan, "and to be honest I think that the races she ran in Lisbon were good preparation for her. The Portuguese packed all their best runners in the short-course race in Vilamoura last year and ended up winning medals and I very much believe that we are capable of doing similar."

The Irish selectors have decided on the opposite for the senior men, which also takes place on the Sunday, March 25th, and have targeted the long-course race of 12km as the best option for a strong team performance.

Seamus Power leads the sixman squad along with the next four athletes who finished behind him at the championships in Monaghan last month: Peter Matthews, Vinnie Mulvey, Noel Berkeley and Cathal Lombard. The sixth team place goes to American NCAA cross country champion Keith Kelly, who just last weekend finished an impressive third in the NCAA indoor 5,000m championships.

It was expected that had the championships remained in Leopardstown, and not moved to Belgium because of the foot-and-mouth outbreaks, then the Athletics Association of Ireland would have also entered a full men's team in the short-course race. But those trials also had to be postponed, and instead the AAI have entered just two individuals, Gareth Turnbull and Fiachra Lombard. That race takes place on the Saturday.

The first five finishers in both the men's and women's junior races at the national championships have also been selected, while Maureen Harrington completes the Irish entries as an individual entry in the women's long-course event.

O'Sullivan was back in Dublin yesterday for a promotions appointment, while a cloud of disbelief still hung over her attempt at a double which went so awfully wrong. There were no lack of theories floating around the athletics media, not least of all that, at 31, she no longer has the legs to go with the pace of a world-class 1,500 metres race.

But Georgina Drumm, the Irish team manager for the event, once again made it clear that O'Sullivan had been given the best advice possible. "We made sure she understood exactly what she was taking on," she said. "And we assured her of all the pros and cons. But it was her decision and she was prepared to fully stand over it."

The executive of the Schools' International Athletic Board have cancelled the Schools' Cross Country International between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to be held at Denby, Wales, on March 31st due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.