LASSE VIREN’S long-striding style was a familiar feature of seventies distance running. Brendan Mooney met the flying Finn in Helsinki as the city prepares to host the World Athletics Championships.

ANTANETTE KIRKLAND, partner of sprint sensation Bernard Williams, will join the line-up for the 100m hurdles at the BUPA Cork City Sports at The Mardyke on Saturday week.

THEY may have reclaimed their position in the top division but British athletics suffered a stunning blow at the European Cup match in Leiria, Portugal, yesterday, when Paula Radcliffe trailed in a remote second to Volha Krautsova from Belarus in the women’s 5,000m - a performance that must throw her plans for the world championships into turmoil.

Ivan Heshko won a thrilling BUPA Great North Mile in Newcastle, England, this afternoon.

HICHAM El Guerrouj of Morocco ended eight years of agony in Athens last night as he won the Olympic Games men’s 1500 metres gold medal.

AFTER the euphoria that surrounded Gillian O’Sullivan’s silver medal performance on Sunday morning, it was all gloom for the three Irish athletes in action at the World Championships in Paris last evening.

KAREN SHINKINS, whose season turned around in recent weeks, took another major step back to form yesterday when she made it through to this evening’s semi-finals of the women’s 400.

IT may be his first major assignment, but Cathal Lombard is approaching tomorrow’s 10,000m final at the world championships in Paris with a level of professionalism that has left nothing to chance.