City prepares for new queen of the track
“I would position myself so that I might get Sonia O’Sullivan — I was always in awe of her — but I never did,” she recalled yesterday.
The reigning world indoor 60m hurdles champion was back on her home patch to launch this year’s edition of the BUPA Cork City Sports, with Sonia O’Sullivan sitting nearby at the top table.
The meeting, Ireland’s premier athletics meeting and sixth in European ranking lists, takes place on July 1.
Also present for the launch was reigning European indoor 400m champion, David Gillick, who missed the unique Mardyke reception afforded to champions when he was forced out of last year’s meeting with an injury that ruined his outdoor season.
This year’s array of talent will feature European, World and Commonwealth Games champions but nobody was in doubt about the star attraction.
For years, the O’Rourke family have been synonymous with BUPA Cork City Sports — Derval’s father, Terry, as an active member of the organising committee and Derval herself from basket girl to athlete.
Since her debut as an 18 year old, Derval has competed six times at the meet but she has never won there due to the fact she was always competing against some of the world’s best.
“Last year I ran 12.99 secs and I only finished fifth,” she said. “But I hope to change all that this year. Hopefully everything will go well between now and then.”
She was referring to a troublesome pubic bone injury which curtailed her pre-season preparations. Recently she followed the path beaten by a galaxy of superstars to Gerard Hartmann’s world famous sports injury clinic in Limerick and, as a result, has been able to get in serious track work over the past week.
“In the past, people would ignore something like this if it happened to me but when I pulled out of the meet in Ostrava, everyone was worried,” she said. “Normally I would never have started my season that early anyway.”
Whether or not she competes in the European Cup in two weeks time remains to be seen but she knows that she can’t afford to take chances.
“The European championships in Gothenburg are the priority right now and I don’t want to do anything that would jeopardise my chances there,” she said.
“I am looking forward to the Europeans. Championships have always been good to me. I always run personal bests there.”
BUPA Cork City Sports could be her first big meet of the season and she does not quite know what to expect.
“To be honest there has always been a degree of pressure on me when I competed at Cork City Sports,” she said. “You are competing before your home crowd and you know they want you to do well.
“Having said that, the atmosphere is totally different to any other meet because you know the starter, the person who tells you to take off your tracksuit and the judges at the finish.
“Really now what I am hoping for is good weather for the fans and a big crowd. Then the rest is up to us.”
The field for the 100m hurdles will also include Mata Machedo (Brazil), Nadine Faustin (Haiti) and Lucia Martincova (Czech Republic).
“Two of those have already run under 13 seconds this year so it is going to be pretty fast,” O’Rourke said.
Sonia O’Sullivan, the star attraction for so many years, will not be competing at the Mardyke this year. An injury early in the year stalled her preparations for the track season but she has not abandoned a track race at a later stage. She, too, was in Cork to lend her support to the event.
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