ATHLETICS: News round-up Derval O'Rourke is slowly but surely transferring her medal-winning form from the world indoor championships to the outdoor track. And last night, at the IAAF Super Grand Prix meeting in Lausanne, she did what she had promised, lowering her own Irish record for the 100-metre hurdles.
The 25-year-old Corkwoman clocked 12.92 seconds to finish fourth behind the experienced Frenchwoman Eunice Barber - her time a notable improvement on the national mark of 12.96 she set three years ago and equalled at the Cork City Sports last Saturday week.
It was a run that suggests she is now building on what she achieved in Moscow last March, when she became the first Irishwoman to take a world indoor title, winning the 60-metre hurdles in 7.84 seconds.
Barber took the win last night in 12.80, and second was Glory Alozie of Spain, who was among those to finish behind O'Rourke in Moscow.
Yet O'Rourke is only slowly reaching her potential after suffering a nagging groin injury between the indoor and outdoor seasons that limited her technique work over the hurdles.
Daniella Carruthers of the US, who was fourth in that Moscow final, was also ahead of O'Rourke last night, albeit by just a hundredth of a second.
O'Rourke is now back on course to challenge for a medal at next month's European championships in Gothenburg. After Cork she raced in Athens and after a poor start finished fifth in 13.01, but last night's run - in perfect weather with just a light following breeze - will renew her confidence as she builds toward Sweden.
O'Rourke is likely to run four more races, including the national championships at Santry on Sunday week, before Gothenburg, where she is almost certain to be faster and more confident and where, she reckons, she will be ready for a time close to 12.80.
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