DERVAL O’ROURKE, cautious rather than spectacular, eased her way into the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles at the European championships in Gothenburg with a performance that earned her a centre lane in this evening’s semi-finals — and an outstanding chance of making the final later on where she will be a contender for the bronze medal at least.

Derval O'Rourke, Alistair Cragg and David Gillick are top of the pile in the 29-strong team chosen to represent Ireland at next month's European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.

WORLD indoor 60m champion Derval O’Rourke got her outdoor season off to a flying start before the home fans at The Mardyke on Saturday at the BUPA Cork City Sports.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will kick off her outdoor season at The Mardyke on Saturday, where she claims star billing at the BUPA Cork City Sports.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN will present the awards when the Irish Milers Club stages 1,500m races for men and women in conjunction with the Kit Kat Irish Schools Track and Field Championships in Tullamore tomorrow.

Alastair Cragg will lead the Irish team in the European Cross Country Championships scheduled for Tilburg in Holland on December 11.

MULLINGAR clubmates Martin Fagan and Mark Christie could be reunited on the Irish cross-country team for the first time since 2001 when the squad for next month’s SPAR European Cross-Country Championships in Tilburg is announced.

THE battle of the women sprinters took on a new dimension at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships in Morton Stadium yesterday when hurdler Derval O’Rourke entered the fray and almost pulled off what would have been a sensational double.

Brendan Mooney

IRISH High Jump sensation Adrian O’Dwyer from Kilkenny yesterday became the 13th Irish athlete to achieve the Olympic A standard when he set an Irish record of 2.30m at a meeting in Algiers.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN posted the second fastest time of his career for the 20k walk at the Grand Prix of Race Walking in La Coruna yesterday when he finished fifth in 1:20:55 to highlight his return to form in advance of the Olympics.

THE fact that AAI won’t be sending short course teams to the world cross-country championships in Brussels next month may have taken some of the gloss of yesterday’s championships at ALSAA, near Dublin Airport, but the keenness of the competition was reflected in sprint finishes to both the men’s and women’s races.

SÉAMUS POWER took the national Inter-counties Cross-Country Championships to a new level in Belvedere, Mullingar, yesterday, when he once again battled his way through the pain barrier to win the title for an amazing ninth successive time.

FREDA DAVOREN relaunched her athletics career in style when she finished third behind Kelly Holmes, the Commonwealth 1,500m champion, and Helen Clitheroe in the Event Scotland Mile at Balmoral.

SONIA O'SULLIVAN is noted for surprises and she produced another big one for fans yesterday in the form of an unique 800m/5,000m double at the national track and field championships at Morton Stadium.

SONIA O'SULLIVAN will compete in the 800m on at the national track and field championships at Morton Stadium, Santry, tomorrow, but there will be no head-to-head with Ireland's current middle distance sensation, Geraldine Hendricken.