Ireland enjoyed a highly successful day six of the World Championships in Daegu as Deirdre Ryan, Alistair Cragg and Ciaran O’Lionaird all qualified for their respective finals.

CIARAN Ó LIONAIRD took another giant step forward in his fragmented athletics career yesterday when he finished sixth in his semi-final of the men’s 1,500m at the world championships in Daegu to qualify for tomorrow’s final.

Ireland enjoyed a highly successful day six of the World Championships in Daegu as Deirdre Ryan, Alistair Cragg and Ciaran O’Lionaird all qualified for their respective finals.

IRELAND’S hopes of a medal at the world championships in Daegu suffered a major blow yesterday when Olive Loughnane failed to replicate her silver medal performance in Berlin two years ago in the women’s 20k walk.

CIARÁN Ó LIONAIRD is set to take his place among the great middle distance runners after a cool, calculated and confident run in the 1,500m heats at the world championships in Daegu yesterday.

DERVAL O’ROURKE’S performance in Chaux du Fonds, Switzerland, on Sunday is all the more impressive considering she is right in the middle of a hard block of training, according to her coach, Sean Cahill.

DISMISS him at your peril was the clear message from Ireland’s Alastair Cragg as he put the pieces back together after dropping out of the record breaking Boston Marathon with a badly blistered left foot.

THE fallout from David Gillick’s disappointing performance in the 400m final on Friday night may have cost the Irish men’s 4x400m relay team a place in yesterday’s final and possible qualification for next year’s world championships in Korea.

Derval O’Rourke claimed Ireland’s first medal of the European Championships tonight but there was not quite such good news in the final of the men’s 5,000m, as Alistair Cragg, who had led the race with seven laps to go, dropped out before the finish.

WHEN Steven Colvert, a relative newcomer to the sport of athletics, develops the strength to see the race out, he is going to be a formidable force in 200m running.

Alistair Cragg had a nervous wait before his qualification for Saturday's 5000m final at the European Athletics Championships was confirmed.

AS about 1,400 of Europe’s finest athletes explode into action this morning in Barcelona’s big European Championships, the image in my mind’s eye is not of any of the 30-strong Irish team involved.

Hurdling star Derval O'Rourke warmed up for her Barcelona bid by securing her eighth national title in the 100m hurdles on the final day of the Woodie's DIY National Senior Track & Field Championships in Santry.

UNTIL last weekend, Robert Heffernan held every race walking record up to 50k. But along came his old training partner, Jamie Costin, who smashed his 3,000m time before his home fans at Cork City Sports.

MARK KENNEALLY had the honour of leading the Irish challenge home when he finished eighth in the senior men’s race at the SPAR European Cross-Country Championships at Santry Demesne, as the other more established members of the team flopped.

ALISTAIR CRAGG has made no secret of the fact that he fancies his chances in tomorrow’s SPAR European cross-country championships at Santry Demesne and his arrival yesterday added to the air of excitement that surrounds the Irish camp, situated just a stone’s throw from what is a resplendent course.

WITH individual and team medals within reach, Ireland’s cross-country team manager, Anne Keenan-Buckley, made no effort to hide her excitement when she introduced some of her athletes at Santry yesterday ahead of Sunday’s SPAR European cross-country championships.

ALISTAIR CRAGG is selected to run for Ireland in the SPAR European cross-country championships in Santry on December 13.

Alistair Cragg has been confirmed by Athletics Ireland as part of the Irish team for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Santry Park next month.

ALISTAIR CRAGG will get his place on the Irish senior men’s team for the SPAR European cross-country championships if he proves his fitness in tomorrow’s 5k road race in San Jose.

THE Irish teams for the next month’s Spar European Cross-Country Championships in Dublin are due to be announced today. But team manager, Anne Keenan-Buckley confirmed yesterday the senior men’s team will not be finalised until after Thursday.

USAIN BOLT created yet another piece of athletics history last night with a sensational victory in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Berlin.

Alistair Cragg was unable to relive past glories and secure a place in the Final of the 5,000m at the World Championships in Berlin tonight.

ALISTAIR CRAGG has been something of an enigma since first donning the Irish singlet.

ALISTAIR CRAGG last night delivered a lacklustre performance when finishing last in the 3,000 metres at the IAA Golden League Track and Field Meeting in Paris.

PAUL HESSION faces a star-studded field in the 200m (4pm Irish time) at the world athletics finals in Stuttgart tomorrow.

Ireland's Alistair Cragg failed to finish today’s Olympic 5,000m final in Beijing.

ALISTAIR CRAGG will have some exalted athletics company around him when he contests today’s Olympic 5000m final at the Bird’s Nest Stadium (1.10pm, Irish).

Irish athletes Alistair Cragg and Thomas Chamney have blasted the state of athletics in Ireland.

Alastair Cragg, who finished sixth in his 5000m heat at the Beijing Olympics, has qualified for the final after gaining a qualifying place as a quickest loser.

Alastair Cragg has finished sixth in his 5000m heat at the Beijing Olympics.

A SMILING Roisin McGettigan last night compared the Beijing Olympic experience to her Community Games career after securing a place in tomorrow’s 3000 metre steeplechase final (2.30pm, Irish)

Ireland's Alistair Cragg has bowed out of the 1,500m event at the Olympics after finishing well down the field in his heat today.

EILEEN O’KEEFFE has eased fears over her knee injury, throwing 5kg and 7kg hammers at the Irish training camp in Matsue, according to Irish team manager, Patsy McGonagle.

It has emerged that Alistair Cragg's withdrawal from the 3000m at Tuesday night's Grand Prix meeting in Monaco was not down to illness - the Irish middle distance star dropped out due to an Achilles injury.

ALISTAIR CRAGG is Ireland’s latest Olympic injury concern.

Alistair Cragg's final race before the Beijing Olympics did not go to plan last night as he was forced to pull out of the 3000m at the Monaco Grand Prix meeting.

THERE was further concern for Irish team manager, Patsy McGonagle, on the eve of the Olympic team’s departure for the pre-Olympic training camp in Matsue when middle distance runner, Alistair Cragg, pulled out of the 3,000m race at the Super Grand Prix in Monte Carlo last night.

PAUL HESSION ran another seasonal best for third place in the 200m while two more third places for David Gillick in the 400m and Alistair Cragg in the 3,000m at the Aviva Grand Prix in Crystal Palace underscored a weekend of highs and lows for Ireland’s Beijing-bound athletes.

Ireland's Alistair Cragg and David Gillick both put in solid displays at today's Aviva London Grand Prix, claiming third place finishes as they continued their build-up to Beijing.

ALISTAIR CRAGG joins the international stars at Cork City Sports at The Mardyke tomorrow week.

THE African dominance of global running was reinforced to stranglehold proportions at the world cross-country championships in Edinburgh yesterday where Ethiopians raced to all four individual gold medals and were deprived of gold in just two of the team races by their Kenyan neighbours who won both the senior and junior men’s contests.

There is a general consensus that the fastest athletes in the World Cross Country championships

Cathal Lombard beat Alistair Cragg (pictured) into second place to win the Irish Cross-Country title in Belfast today.