O’Rourke title defence in doubt after poor display

DERVAL O’ROURKE’S defence of her 60m hurdles title at the world championships in Valencia next month was in doubt last night after a disappointing performance at the indoor meeting in Leipzig where she finished third in a time of 8.20secs.

The time was outside of her 8.08secs seasonal debut in Athens on Wednesday night — a time which had given her plenty of hope for the season.

“It just did not go well for her today,” coach Sean Cahill said. “Her injured foot is not right yet and she needs to be careful with it.”