SONIA O'SULLIVAN yesterday pledged to put the trauma of the 5,000 metres final behind her when she lines up tomorrow morning for the heats of the 1,500 metres in the Olympic stadium.

O'Sullivan awoke after a troubled night to meet the press and to attempt to put the depth of the dilemma which shook her self belief to its very foundations in perspective.

Just 18 hours later, she confronted her nightmare and spoke of her hopes of repaying the faith of her supporters.

The first question which demanded answering was the cause of the dramatic collapse which saw her drop down to the back of the field 100 metres off the pace in Sunday's final before she eventually dropped out with 900 metres remaining.

And it came in just one word diarrhoea. She confessed that it struck even before the heats on Friday and it still affected her on Sunday.

But I never, at any stage, gave serious thought to withdrawing from the final," she said. "When I came onto the track I was ready to run and my only problem which pre-occupied me at that stage was being in the right position to cover the breaks. But as the race progressed I gradually felt worse and I reached the point where I wanted to get off the track as soon as possible. I wanted to eliminate all thoughts of the race as soon as I could and by getting off the track I felt I was doing the right thing O'Sullivan said.

Questioned if the burden of expectancy in Ireland had been a contributory factor to her problem, she said. "The first occasion I was aware of that was when I was leaving the stadium after the race. There were hundreds of Irish supporters there wanting to know what happened and I didn't have any real answers for them. And the first thought which came to my mind was what can I now do for them.

"I ran back from the track to my hotel just to clear my mind and get things in their proper perspective. I awoke at times during the night to find myself totally soaked and it was the same this morning. But now I think the problems under control I have decided to be positive 100 per cent positive when I start racing again. At this stage I have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

"I have to go back to the track and put the blinkers on. I've got to be focused and, no matter what comes up, be able to deal with it. I've had my bad day now it's time to start doing some real running again. Yesterday is over, tomorrow is another day and I am ready and determined to start all over again."

O'Sullivan confessed that she had not taken medication for the problem for the simple reason that she did not wish to upset her body system. That is still a view she holds strongly, but she said that she would be speaking with the Irish medical team over the next 48 hours.

Asked if she would withdraw from the 1,500 metres if there was no improvement in the intervening period, she replied with an emphatic "No". Her view is that, when you've been to the bottom rung, there is only one way to go and she is committed, fiercely committed to putting things right before she leaves Atlanta.

The presence of the Chinese winner of the race, Wang Junxia, was not, she said, an inhibiting factor. In fact it was a real source of motivation for me. I had waited three years for the chance to race her again and my only regret is that I was not in a condition to take advantage of it.

"The race as it was run, would have suited me perfectly on any other day. The pace was comfortable and, while there was some heavy traffic around in the early stages, I think I would have coped in other circumstances."

Later O'Sullivan became embroiled in the controversy between the Olympic Council of Ireland and BLE over the gear to, be worn by members of the track, "and field team. O'Sullivan wash made to change her gear provided by her sponsors, Reebok, and switch to the official BLE apparel of Asics when she arrived in the stadium last Friday. Pat Hickey, the president of the OCI, saw fit to call a conference and explain his side of the story.

Hickey contends that it was only after an Irish official made complaints that the technical officer in charge at the Olympic stadium refused to allow O'Sullivan to run in her Reebok gear.

O'Sullivan said that she had been made to strip and change gear in a tunnel in full view of both males and females and that this was an unnecessary distraction for her just before competing in a big race.

Hickey deplored the fact that an official with the track and field team had consciously, or otherwise, put her chances at risk by demanding action be taken against her, and intimated that he would be pursuing the matter.

He referred repeatedly to the fact that the OCI had an agreement with BLE that athletes were free to wear the singlets and shorts of their choice and that O'Sullivan had been denied this choice.

The hostile mood of the questioning portrayed a different version of events, however time and again he was reminded of the decision that all track and field athletes were obliged to wear the official apparel of the team irrespective of private sponsors.

One questioner wished to know why he had put O'Sullivan's appearance in these games at risk by informing her that she had an option of wearing gear other than the official products when it was laid down in the IAAF rules that such was not the case. Again he referred to a deal worked out with BLE last month.