Irish runners wash out at championships

By Mark Jones

DUBLIN — After the Sydney Olympics and that precious silver medal, Sonia O’Sullivan had turned a corner. There would never be a repeat of her disastrous performances in Atlanta in 1996 and in Athens a year later; track and field could see that this was a more confident, more mature Sonia. And then there was last weekend.

No one was too surprised when O’Sullivan announced her intention of doubling up in the 1,500 and 3,000 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, because this was the more confident, more mature Sonia.

She made decisions based on her vast competitive experience, so even if her program was both ambitious and physically demanding, she accepted the challenge eyes wide open.

What followed revived all those memories of the bad old days. First, last Saturday, O’Sullivan was quickly off the pace in the 3,000 final and could only close the gap on the final lap to finish a disappointing seventh. Then, a day later, things went from bad to worse as she trailed home a distant last in the 1,500 final in a time she could have run as junior back in the 1980s.

If an Irish record of 8:44.37 took away some of the pain of her failure in the 3,000, as her rival Gabriela Szabo and Olga Yegorova of Russia tussled for the medals some 50 meters in front of O’Sullivan, there was no rationale for an appalling 4:19.40 in the 1,500.

"I have nothing to say about that," was all she could muster following one of her worst championship performances in an 11-year career.

As she left the track, O’Sullivan had that painfully familiar look of bewilderment as another tactical decision went seriously wrong. The 3,000 final on Saturday was run just an hour and 45 minutes after her 1,500 heat, and by the time the 1,500 final came around on Sunday, she was clearly feeling the effects of four races in just over two days.

If the schedule was designed to help her prepare for the World Cross-Country championships, which have been moved from Dublin to Belgium because of the foot-and-mouth crisis in Ireland, it backfired badly. For a dejected O’Sullivan, there were no crumbs of comfort as she left Lisbon.

"Well I did feel very ordinary out there," was her reaction after the 3,000 final. "I was trying to catch up, but it was hard to close the gap, but the most important thing for me at this time of year is the World Cross-Country championships." Following just two laps, O’Sullivan had slipped to last place as the Romanian Szabo forced a fast pace, and even though the Irish athlete made up some ground, she was a full 7 seconds adrift of Yegorova, who surprised the favorite Szabo to take the gold medal in 8:37.48.

Then O’Sullivan was never in the hunt in the 1,500 decider despite leading through 800 meters. Once the pace quickened, she was unable to respond and cut a forlorn figure as she jogged in last of nine behind Morocco’s Hasna Benhassi, who won the gold in 4:10.83.

Whatever logic O’Sullivan decides to apply to her choice of events in Lisbon, on the basis of results, the decision to double up proved disastrous. Quite what will follow now at the World Cross-Country championships in Ostend where she is expected to go in just the 4k event, is anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, Mark Carroll couldn’t live with Hicham El Guerrouj as the Moroccan won gold in the 3,000. Carroll was in contention but the European Indoor champion could only finish seventh of 13 in a time of 7:46.79.

Irish record holder Daniel Caulfield qualified for the semifinals of the 800 meters but had to settle for fifth place in 1:47.79.