O’Rourke ruled out of Belfast meet with foot injury

DERVAL O’ROURKE’S defence of her world indoor 60m hurdles title was in jeopardy last night after she withdrew from next weekend’s Woodies DIY Irish indoor athletic championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast with a foot injury.

It was at the Odyssey two years ago that she launched the great adventure that took her to the gold medal at the world indoor championships in Moscow and a European silver medal in Gothenburg the following summer.

And it was just hours after confirmation that her great rival, British indoor 60m record holder, Sarah Claxton, had joined the field for Sunday’s race that the shock news came.