O'Sullivan still has a score to settle

ATHLETICS: When Sonia O'Sullivan makes her last track appearance of the season in this evening's London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, it will also be her first chance to revisit the great rivalry with Gabriela Szabo over 5,000 metres since the Sydney Olympics two years ago.

Though they've twice crossed paths since Sydney - the World Indoors in Lisbon last year, where O'Sullivan's form slumped, and the Balmoral Road Race last March, where O'Sullivan's form triumphed - it is the rematch over their Olympic distance that promises a true contest.

And, right now, there is no excuse for defeat. Only a stride separated Szabo's gold from O'Sullivan's silver in Sydney, and there's no reason why this evening should be any different.

The Romanian has concentrated mostly on 1,500 metres this season, but appears set for a fast 5,000 metres, while O'Sullivan has been intent on a fast time over the distance - perhaps an Irish record - since taking silver in the European Championships in Munich earlier this month.

On current form then there is little to separate the two.

Just last Friday night at the Golden League meeting in Zurich, both athletes were close to their peak. Szabo came from behind to win the 1,500 metres, clocking the fastest time in the world this year of three minutes 58.78 seconds.

O'Sullivan was caught in the last lap sprint over 3,000 metres by Ethiopia's Berhane Adere, but in finishing third in 8:33.62 she clocked her fastest time since just before the Sydney Olympics.

O'Sullivan makes no secret of her desire to give Szabo a good race. She spent last week in the high Swiss altitude of St Moritz.

"There's not very much you can do training-wise with such a short time between meetings," she said, "but it all looks very pretty and promising and we'll go back there next year for a real training spell".

All 17,000 seats at Crystal Palace were sold out weeks ago.

The domestic athletics season, meanwhile, concludes on Sunday with the Mazda League final.

In the premier division, Crusaders and Dublin City Harriers look set to defend the men's and women's titles respectively.