O’Rourke finishes third in Stockholm

DERVAL O’ROURKE is well on course for Gothenburg, as evidenced by her third place in a strong field at the DN Galen in Stockholm last night.

Again O’Rourke found herself in the B race, but the field that included Canadian champion Perdita Felicien and the former Nigerian and Commonwealth record holder, Glory Alozie, now representing Spain, would have done justice to any meet.

Unlike some of her previous races this season, Ireland’s world indoor 60m hurdles champion who set a new national record at 12.92 secs in Lausanne two weeks earlier, got off to a perfect start.

She led the field over the first couple of hurdles before Felicien came through to claim victory in 12.87 secs with Alozie second in 12.89, just ahead of O’Rourke, 12.94, who renewed her challenge on the run- in. Josephine Oniya from Nigeria was fourth in 12.99, with Jenny Kallur, whose twin sister, Susanna, finished fifth in the A race, further back.

Deloreen Ennis-London from Jamaica, silver medallist at the world championships last year, pulled up at halfway.

The A race was won by last year’s world champion, Michelle Perry, in 12.60 secs from Brigit Foster-Hylton of Jamaica, 12.72, and another American, Lolo Jones, 12.74. Susanna Kellur was further back in 12.79 secs.

At the end of it all O’Rourke was eighth overall with just two Europeans ahead of her, Kallur and Alozie.

O’Rourke, who equalled her old national record with a 12.96 run at the BUPA Cork City Sports and later broke it with a 12.92 in Lausanne, was having only her fourth race of the season when she won her fifth national senior title at Morton Stadium on Sunday.

Tonight she will line up for the 100m hurdles at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki.