Top six in Dungarvan to make Irish team

ATHLETICS: The top six finishers in Sunday's intercounties cross country races in Dungarvan will effectively make up the Irish teams for next month's European championships.

Athletics Ireland (AAI) had originally guaranteed places for only the top three, with another three to be added at their discretion, but the unavailability of almost all the overseas-based athletes has cancelled the need for the stricter selection criteria.

Neither Alistair Cragg nor Mark Carroll, both based in the US, are available for the senior men's team, and it seems certain Sonia O'Sullivan will also be missing from the senior women's team. O'Sullivan withdrew from last Saturday's British cross country trial in London because of a shin injury and has little chance of making the European event in Helsingdorf, Germany, on December 12th.

Yesterday her partner Nic Bideau admitted her availability was "highly unlikely" although they still don't intend on travelling back to Australia for the winter until December 13th. O'Sullivan may yet compete in Sunday's London 10km road race and that could influence any late change of heart.

Cragg, meanwhile, is out of competitive running until at least the New Year after a hernia operation, while Carroll is in Germany for treatment on a lower back injury. Marie Davenport was another US-based athlete the AAI had hoped would be available, but she too has declined the offer because of the leg injury that forced her withdrawal from the New York marathon.

All this has taken some of the edge off the races in Dungarvan. The senior men's race has lost the attraction of Seamus Power attempting a record 10th successive intercounties title, with a lower back injury forcing the Clare athlete to withdraw. His absence should clear the way for Dublin champion Mark Kenneally to win his first title.

The junior men's race, however, does promise much, with the team set to travel to Helsingdorf as genuine medal contenders. Mark Christie, who was sixth in Edinburgh last year, is again the athlete in form, as indicated during Saturday's intervarsity road relays in Maynooth. Christie led Dublin City University (DCU) to an 18-second win over UCD.

Meanwhile, Canadian Dick Pound will remain as chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's foundation board for another three years following his unanimous re-election. The 62-year-old, who has been chairman since 1999 and a member of the International Olympic Committee for 26 years, was the only nomination submitted for the position.

Brian Mikkelsen, minister of sport for Denmark, was unanimously elected as vice-chairman of the board - which is the supreme decision making body of WADA. Pound reiterated his commitment to fighting doping in sport. He told wada-ama.org: "It is a pleasure for me to continue to serve WADA and the fight against doping for another term, as well as to work more closely with Brian Mikkelsen."

WADA has approved a $1.47 million increase in its expenditure budget for next year. The rise will lift WADA's budget to $21.7 million. WADA's foundation board considered the extra responsibilities it would have in 2005, including monitoring of compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and implementation of a computer-based Anti-Doping Administration and Management System.

IRISH UNIVERSITIES AA ROAD RELAYS (at Maynooth): Men - 1 DCU A (D Campbell, C Costello, M Christie, E Higgins, P Boylan) 42:04.88, 2 UCD A (F Kelly, G Coughlan, J Sweeney, A McCormack, P Conway) 42:22.82, 3 DCU B (D Greene, A Bailey, I Chaney, C Rooney, D Shaw) 43:06.21; Women - 1 DCU A (L Byrne, N Devlin, F Britton, A Brady) 33:10.56, 2 UCD A (O Malone, R Mills, A Byrne, E Connery) 34:03.15, 3 DCU B (T Williams, F McGreevy, L Reilly, K Duggan) 34:06.72.