Ciarán Ó Lionáird will face a defining moment in his career when he lines up for the first round heats of the men’s 1500m at the Olympic Stadium tonight (8.25pm).

A blanket finish to last night’s Morton Mile in Santry saw 10 runners break four minutes as American runner Will Leer led the field home in 3:56.39 from David Torrence, (USA) in 3:56.40 and Ryan Gregson, (Australia) in 3:56.45. Ireland’s Ciarán Ó Lionaird, (Leevale A.C), finished sixth in 3:56.02.

The most dramatic Morton mile took place in front a large crowd at Santry Stadium, which included An Toaiseach Enda Kenny, just 2 days prior to the opening of the Olympic Games.

Ireland’s Olympic Team manager said last night the women’s 4x400m relay team will put the controversy that embroiled the squad behind them and move forward towards their goal — a place in the Olympic final.

The Morton Pre Games meeting takes place tomorrow in Santry Stadium, just two days before the beginning of the London Olympics.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird got his Olympic campaign back on track at Cork City Sports last night when he finished fifth of five athletes to go under four minutes in the featured Cork Airport Men’s Mile, which was won by Ryan Gregson (Australia) with a perfectly executed 3:57.98.

By Alan Smith

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will be the star attraction for Cork in tonight’s 61st annual Cork City Sports with the Macroom native a strong contender in the iconic mile distance, writes Conor George of the Evening Echo.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will turn to his home track and the support of the home crowd at the CIT Stadium in Bishopstown this evening (6.30pm) to launch the final phase of his Olympic build-up in the featured Cork City Sports Cork Airport Mile.

Cork City Sports chairman Tony O’Connell yesterday described the entry list for next month’s event as “shaping up to be the best” in the event’s history.