Mageean, who’s season got off to a flier when she set a new Irish 1500m Indoor record at the World Athletics Indoor Grand Prix in Boston in January, will bid for another Irish record when she competes in the 3000m.

Having wiggled and waggled his way to winning a world championship, the country’s latest antidote to austerity blues arrived home last night to the kind of welcome only a hero deserves.

Derval O’Rourke’s participation in next month’s London Olympics is in doubt after she pulled out of yesterday’s defence of her 100m hurdles title at the Woodies DIY national championships in Morton Stadium.

WHEN the President of Athletics Ireland, Liam Hennessy, launched the bid to bring the SPAR European cross-country championships to Dublin in Italy in 2006, Mo Farah was a surprise winner of the senior men’s title.