Adam McMullen as unable to qualify for the men’s long jump final at the European Indoors in Prague.

Declan Murray is looking forward to taking on Mark English in the men’s 800m at the GloHealth National Indoor Championships in Athlone this weekend and make amends for a questionable lane infringement call at the Athlone International last Wednesday. 

Athletics: The national indoor championships take place in Athlone this weekend with two headline acts having travelled very different paths to star in the midlands and then, hopefully, on the European stage next month.

IT was a return to Kenyan dominance at the SSE Dublin marathon yesterday but not without an Irish twist in the tale.

Gary O’Hanlon will be the star attraction of the 7,000 runners set to descend upon St Patrick’s Street at the Cork City Marathon at 9am on Bank Holiday Monday when he bids to win his third marathon in the space of 15 days.

Robert Heffernan was placed 23rd (1:21:00) over 20km at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Taicang, China yesterday.

Sligo AC retained their men’s title while Leevale’s women went on the roll of honour for the first time at the Woodie’s DIY National Road Relay Championships in Raheny, Dublin yesterday.

Sean Hehir became the first Irish winner of the Dublin marathon in 20 years this morning.

Kelly Proper was the star of the Woodies DIY national track and field championships taking three gold medals in Santry Stadium.

A trickle of blood from the occasional stumble, lots of dribbling sweat, but no sign of tears as the fitter citizens of Cork and Dublin took to the streets to give each other’s city marathon a run for its money.

European Cross Country champion Fionnuala Britton is playing down her chances at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg this weekend.

The Woodie’s DIY National Senior Indoor Championships are set for a major facelift this weekend in Athlone with some of Ireland’s top class athletes set to compete alongside the country’s leading club athletes.

Jason Smyth’s attempts to become the first individual athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic games came to an end in Santry Stadium today, but it was the extent of a possible injury to Derval O'Rourke that occupied Team Ireland's minds.

Eddie McGinley (Annadale Striders) yesterday won his first Irish senior cross country title after leading from the gun in the Woodie’s DIY Inter Clubs Cross Country Championships in Santry.

LINDA BYRNE (Dundrum/South Dublin) claimed her place at next year’s Olympic Games in London when she finished sixth in yesterday’s National Lottery Dublin Marathon in 2:36:21 which was just inside the “A” standard set by Athletics Ireland at 2:37.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN got his preparations for London 2012 back on track at the IAAF Racewalking Challenge Final in La Coruna on Saturday, breaking his own national record for the 10k walk when finishing sixth behind the world and Olympic champion, Valeriy Borchin, in 39:19.

PAUL HESSION returned to the scene of his fastest run to claim his place in the 200m at next year’s Olympic Games in London.

AFTER big runs over 1,500m (3:41.02) at the weekend and 10,000m (28:32.30) two weeks ago, Ciaran Ó Lionáird is all set for a return to Stanford on May 1 to tackle 5,000m.

David Gillick, who has high hopes of a podium finish in Barcelona, comfortably negotiated the opening round of the 400 metres at the European Athletics Championships this morning.

DAVID GILLICK believes he is in with ‘a shout’ of a medal in today’s 400m final at the world indoor championships in Doha (3.05pm, Irish).

PAUL HESSION (Athenry) got exactly what he wanted in the form of a smart 6.75 second victory in the 60m final at the Woodies DIY Indoor Championships of Ireland at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast yesterday.

MARK CHRISTIE, one of the country’s most exciting athletes, is all set to bring down the curtain on his junior career with a stylish performance at the European Cross-country Championships in Heringsdorf, Germany, on Sunday.

CATHERINA McKIERNAN yesterday heralded her return to form when capturing the national inter-club cross-country title which she last won 11 years ago.

DERVAL O’ROURKE has set two national under-23 records in three meets so far this season, and should she maintain this type of improvement the Cork starlet could be faced with something of a dilemma come August when the World Student Games in Korea clash with the IAAF world championships in Paris.

NOEL BERKELEY (Dundrum South Dublin) may be going for his seventh win in Ireland’s premier road race, the Nike Ballycotton 10, on Sunday, but his enthusiasm hasn’t waned.