By T. Patrick O'Dowd
Paul Brizzell (Ballymena & Antrim) was continued his Sydney build-up with a swift 20.65 in the 200m in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Tuesday, 25 July.
Barcelona IAAF Permit Meeting, Barcelona, Spain - 25 July 2000
Sinéad Delahunty (Kilkenny City Harriers) ran a brilliant 1,500m race coming home in 4.05.28. Delahunty led double-Olympic gold medallist Svetlana Masterkova through 800m (2.10.3) and 1200m (3.16.9) before the Russian champion pulled away with 200m remaining to win 4.02.78. Delahunty lost second place at the line to Helen Pattison (Great Britain) in 4.04.82. The Kilkenny star who has badgered by illness since the indoor season now has the fastest Irish 1,500m ahead of Sonia O'Sullivan's 4.08.00 run in March in Melbourne and O'Sullivan's 4.06.39 which isn't official since she ran against men in the Watford BMC meeting this past weekend. Delahunty's time surpassed the Sydney Olympic A standard of 4.08.00 and was her best race since she set her personal best of 4.02.22 in Brussels, Belgium on 28 August. Waterford's Elaine Fitzgerald placed fourteenth in 4.19.67.
James Nolan placed fifth in the men's 1,500m in 3.36.80 - matching the Olympic A standard. The UCD star has an A standard in the 800m and this opens the door for competition in both events at Sydney. The pre-race hype had Mark Carroll chasing the Irish record held by Ray Flynn (3:33.50) set in 1982 in Oslo, Norway. The travel-weary Leevale star was unable to deliver but will be after Flynn's mile record (3.49.77) on Friday night at the Bislett Games. Flynn, who is Carroll's agent, set the record at the 1982 edition of the Bislett meeting. Colm McLean, the young St Malachy's grad placed thirteenth in a personal best time of 3.40.42.
After a bit of a slow start this season running 57.30, Susan Smith Walsh ran another seasonal best in the 400m hurdles placing third in 55.69. The windy conditions at the Olympic stadium made her performance more impressive and it is Smith Walsh's first time under the Sydney A Standard this season putting her on the plane to Australia. Ulrike Urbansky of Germany won the race in 54.57. The Waterford Olympian has improved six times in a row this season showing she is finding her form in this exceptionally long seasonal buildup to Sydney.
MalCup IAAF Permit Meeting, Budapest, Hungary 22 July 2000 Karen Shinkins (Dublin City Harriers) ran an Irish seasonal best of 51.69 in her 400m victory. Sarah Oxley-Reilly (Birchfield) also ran an Irish seasonal best in the 200m where she placed second in her heat and third overall in 23.12 (-0.5) and ran 11.55 (+1.2) and 11.59 (-0.9) in the 100m. Double-Irish record holder, Paul Brizzell (Ballymena & Antrim) won his heat and placed fourth overall in the 100m with a time of 10.44 (0.9) and third in his section and fifth overall in the 200m in 20.89 (-0.5). Tom Comyns (Limerick AC) placed third in his section and fifteenth overall in the 200m in 21.22.
In the 800m, Leevale's Darren Dinneen got an introduction to the jostling involved in international racing when he placed sixth in the 800m 'B' race in 1.47.92 and Niall Dunne (Crusaders AC) was tenth in 1.49.15. The news wasn't quite as good for Crusader hurdler Peter Coghlan who was unable to finish his 110m-hurdle race because he felt a twinge. The Irish record holder who had a grand season last year has been hampered by injuries including a stress fracture this winter.
Other Irish performances included DCH's Eugene Farrell (48.30, 400m); UCD's Brian Liddy (51.55, 400m hurdles); UCD's Antoine Burke placed third and Belgrave's Brendan Reilly got fourth in the high jump with both leaping 2.18m; UCC pair in the 800m Freda Davoren (2.05.42, 3rd) and Maura Prendiville (2:07.64, 5th); Limerick AC's Olivia Kelleher (50.64m, hammer) and Dublin City Harrier Terry McHugh (73.56m, javelin).
BMC Nike Grand Prix 2000 GP3 Meeting, Watford, England 22 July 2000 Cobh's Sonia O'Sullivan displayed her strength at the Watford meeting by placing eighth in the men's 1,500m in 4.06.39 and then just two hours later won the women's section in 4.08.08. Unfortunately, the time she ran in the first race will not count as an official mark because it was run in a mixed race. Not to fret, Sonia is racing a 1,500m on Friday evening at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway against reigning Olympic 1,500m champion Svetlana Masterkova and will certainly run faster. Una English (DCH) finished third in 4.15.66 followed by Geraldine Nolan (KCH) in fourth (4.16.82), Maria McCambridge (DSD) in sixth (4:17.48), Maria Lynch (DSD) in ninth (4.18.79), Elaine Fitzgerald (Waterford) in eleventh (4.20.25), Ann-Marie Larkin (UCD) in thirteenth (4.35.88) and Finn Valley AC's Catriona McGranaghan running 4.30.79 for sixth in the second section.
In the men's 1,500m Patrick Davoren (Brighton & Hove A.C.) placed fourth in 3.43.13 with Ken Nason (Clonliffe Harriers) in tenth (3.44.55) and DSD steeplechaser Cormac Smith placing twelfth in 3.45.54. In other sections Eoghan Marnell (DCH) ran 3.52.22 and frequent contributor to Irish Runner.com who now works KIM sports agent, Ricky Simms ran 3.55.59.
Aoife Byrne (DSD) won the 800m in 2:06.67 with DCH's Deirdre Fleming placing fourth in 2:09.34. In the men's 800m races David Kelly, U23 (DSD) ran 1.51.79, Andrew Knight ran 1.52.24 and David Campbell U20 (Maynooth A.C.) ran 1:55.15.
While Rosemary Ryan recently achieved the A Standard for 5,000m, for the second time this season she narrowly missed the Sydney 2000 10,000m A Standard, which is 32.30.00. The Bilboa AC star ran 32.36.13 in Lisbon on the first of April and ran 32.31.9 here in Watford for third place. Anne Keenan-Buckley (North Laois) placed seventh (33.05.5) and marathoner Teresa Duffy (Beechmount) placed thirteenth in 35.22.5.
In the men's 10,000m race Seamus Power (Kilmurray/Ibrickane A.C.) was chasing the A Standard 28.10.00) and came up just short finishing eighth in 28.23.11. He did reach the B Standard of 28.28.00 but it has been stated on many occasions recently that an A Standard is needed for Selection. Power missed the 5,000m A Standard (13.29.00) by 2.32 seconds when he ran 13.31.32 in London on 25 June. Primarily a cross-country runner the past few years, Power has made excellent progress on the track this season. The same can be said for Peter Matthews (DSD) who placed ninth in 28.27.32. Noel Cullen (Clonliffe Harriers) placed fifteenth in 29.20.19 and Dermot Donnelly finished in sixteenth in 29.36.91.