The 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships got off to a disappointing start for Ireland this morning as Wicklow's Roisin McGettigan failed to qualify from the 3000 metres Steeplechase heats.

IRISH team manager, Patsy McGonagle, is hoping Robert Heffernan can provide another inspirational performance in the 20k walk at the World Championships in Berlin today.

THOMAS CHAMNEY is named on the Irish team in both the 800m and 1,500m for the world athletics championships in Berlin, ruling out arch rival David Campbell, who had been hoping for the 800m berth.

Paul Hession, the big draw on the second and final day of the Woodie's DIY Senior Track and Field Championships in Santry, was forced to withdraw from the 100 metres today due to illness.

MIDDLE distance fans could be in for a double treat at the Woodies DIY national track and field championships at Santry’s Morton Stadium tomorrow with the possibility of a head to head between Thomas Chamney and David Campbell in both the 800m and the 1,500m finals.

DAVID GILLICK went to within one hundredth of a second of the biggest win of his career when he chased Chris Brown from the Bahamas across the line in the 400m at last night’s Golden League meeting in Rome.

DAVID GILLICK, fresh from his record breaking run in Madrid last Saturday night, will feel at home among some of the greats of 400m running when he lines up at the Golden Gala in Rome tonight.

PAUL HESSION has made no secret of the fact that he will be going for a fast time at The Mardyke this evening when he will assume star billing for the men’s 200m at Cork City Sports.

ALAN O’BRIEN (Crusaders) was relatively unknown when he won the IMC 800m at Cork City Sports last year.

SPRINTERS Paul Hession (Athenry AC) and Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC) will captain the Irish team to compete in the European Team championships in Slovakia this weekend.

Ireland's Roisin McGettigan just missed out on a medal in the 1500 final at the Europan Indoors in Turin.

Team Ireland is facing another busy day at the European Indoor Championships in Turin today after Derval O'Rourke's bronze-medal performance in the 60m hurdles yesterday.

DAVID GILLICK’S hopes of making history by winning a third successive 400 metres title at the European Indoor Championships collapsed in his semi-final yesterday.

David McCarthy qualified for the semi-final of the 800m as he finished as a fastest runner-up in his heat in a time of 1.49.59 at the European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy.

Ireland’s top athletes will begin their quest for medals early tomorrow morning when the European Indoor Track and Field Championships begin at the Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy.

Athletics Ireland has announced that double gold medallist David Gillick will defend his 400m European Indoor title in Italy next month.

Athletics Ireland has announced a 12-strong team to compete at the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Turin, Italy next month.

ROISÍN McGETTIGAN, who broke one of Sonia O’Sullivan’s old records when she finished fourth in the Reebok Women’s Mile at the Boston indoor meeting on Saturday, has been included in the Irish team for next month’s European Indoor Championships in Turin.

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

KENNY EGAN was boxing clever as always at the Irish Olympic team’s homecoming.

FROM some of the early reports from Beijing it was beginning to look like we were going to have to be content that nobody drowned in the pool or got lost on the running track, but then the boxers came to the rescue. Sure we’re famous the world over for fighting.

THOMAS CHAMNEY yesterday demanded a change of mindset in Irish athletics if the under-fire sport is to regain credibility.

RÓISIN McGETTIGAN promised a lot going into last night’s final of the women’s 3,000m steeplechase after her fine run in Friday’s heats but she finished last in a sensational race which saw Guinara Galkina-Samitova (Russia) take the gold medal in a new world record time of 8:58.81.

Ireland's Roisin McGettigan finished in last place with a time of 9:55.89 in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final in Beijing this afternoon.

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 may have suffered boxing disappointment today at the Olympics, but the steeplechase semi-finals have gone spectacularly.

Several Irish athletes are in action in a range of events at the Beijing Olympics today.

RACE walking legend Robert Korzeniowski arrives in Beijing today to help Robert Heffernan put the finishing touches to his preparations for tomorrow morning’s (2am Irish time) 20km walk.

JOANNE CUDDIHY has been given the all-clear to compete in the women’s 400m at the Olympic Games and gets her campaign underway on Saturday morning (5.10am Irish time).

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.

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.

ROISÍN McGETTIGAN earned a deserved and timely boost in advance of the Olympic Games when she won the women’s steeplechase at the first session of the VIVA British Grand Prix at Crystal Palace last night.

Beijing-bound Roisin McGettigan claimed a notable victory in the 3,000 metres steeplechase at tonight's Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.

EILEEN O’KEEFFE has withdrawn from the featured hammer throw at tonight’s Brother Ireland Morton Memorial Meeting at Morton Stadium, citing a knee injury.

THOMAS CHAMNEY went to within 0.66 seconds of the Olympic ‘A’ standard for 800m in Lignano, Italy, at the weekend, when he finished fourth in a quality race in 1:44.66, and now the Clonmel man will take his quest for a place in Beijing to Lucerne tomorrow night.

The Irish team for next month's Olympic Games in Beijing has been officially unveiled in Dublin today.

MARK CARROLL has been appointed the US Athlete Manager for Athletics Ireland.

Irish 10,000 metre runner Mark Carroll has been named as Athletics Ireland's new US Athlete Manager.

JAMES NOLAN and Roisín McGettigan got their Olympic years off to flying starts at the weekend’s Reebok Boston Indoor Games with encouraging runs in their respective mile races.

CRAIG MURPHY (Togher) finished third in the junior race in Hannut yesterday when he led with 400m to go, only to be out-sprinted by Jeroen D’Houdt from Belgium, who won by just seven seconds.

MARTIN FAGAN and Mary Cullen are named in the Irish senior teams for the European cross-country championships in Toro, near Madrid, on Sunday week.

The inaugural National Athletics Awards 2007 were launched today by Athletics Ireland.

AFTER a well-earned break followed by some refreshing track sessions, Paul Hession is ready to take on the world’s top 200m runners at the Golden League Meeting in Brussels next Friday night.

JOANNE CUDDIHY took Irish women’s 400m running to a new level at the world championships in Osaka yesterday when she set the national record at a world class 50.73 secs and only narrowly missed out on a place in the final.