Tradition was restored at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last weekend when the Irish had a voice in the much-coveted distance medley relay. Once again it provided one of the highlights of the three-day athletics festival, which this year attracted a record crowd of 108,638.

It was special, too, that the victory went to Villanova, who returned to glory after a long drought. The Philadelphia college, once a powerhouse in American running and fuelled by Irish distance runners, won the four-man relay for the first time in 20 years. Coach Marcus O'Sullivan provided the Irish input on this occasion. And interestingly, the last time Villanova won the race, in 1981, O'Sullivan was a member of the team. "You know what?" said O'Sullivan, clearly thrilled that Villanova had won. "I didn't even realise that."