David McCarthy (Le Cheile AC) competed in the second of two Semifinal races in the 400-metre event where the top three finishers advanced to the final. McCarthy did not get out particularly well finding himself in fifth position after the first lap as the runners left their assigned lanes. McCarthy, 23, ran an aggressive bend and passed two runners on the straightaway. The Le Cheile AC athlete was in fourth place at the 300m mark maintaining that position around the final turn where he was passed by one runner. McCarthy tied up in the finishing straight and was passed by another to finish in 47.11, the same time as fifth place Carlos Santos of the Dominican Republic. Christopher Brown, of the Bahamas won the race in 46.10. McCarthy placed 5th in the 2003 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham with a time of 46.61.

James Nolan was the most experienced competitor in the 1,500m final field and instinctively knew that this would not be a 1,500m race but a 500m sprint. Like in his qualifying race, Nolan went to the safety of the back of the pack. Whilst he appeared to be trailing, he was remained in contact until Komen sprinted to the lead.

Nolan's 29-year-old muscles slowly reacted to the surge. Nolan, who loyally competes for UCD, spent the first five laps in securely ensconced in ninth position. With 400m to go, Nolan was eighth place. He passed one runner and at the sound of the bell lap, Nolan was in seventh spot. He picked off one more runner on the backstretch and held on through the final bend to take sixth place in 3.43.98.

It was not a great race but it was not the catastrophe that his vocal detractors will describe either. The talented Offlay-man will next be judged by his performance at the European Championships which take place in Helsinki in August.

With yesterday's qualifying round cancelled, the women's 3,000m event was a straight final which resulted in fresh legs for all of the entrants. Despite Liliya Shobukhova recently setting a World Indoor record of 8.27.86, the prohibitive favourite was Ethiopian Meseret DeFar. Defar is the reigning Olympic 5,000m Champion and defending World Indoor 3,000 Gold Medallist and is known for her fierce finishing speed. Russian duo Olesya Syreva and Liliya Shobukhova led for the first two kilometres in 2.51.73 (Syreva) and 5.50.86 (Shobukhova) with Defar comfortable on their shoulder. She effortlessly pulled away on the penultimate lap to win in 8.38.80.

Unfortunately for the Irish, the race was over before it really started. Maria McCambridge and Róisín McGettigan were almost 20-metres adrift before they completed the second of the fifteen laps. They ran in the mortal pack as the battle for medals took place on the other side of the indoor track oval. Maria McCambridge, the recently crowned Irish Cross Country Champion placed 10th in 9.07.26. Róisín McGettigan placed 13th in a dismal 9.28.85. Both times were well off their personal bests which are 8.56.48 (McCambridge) and 9.03.11 (McGettigan).

Complete Results for the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships