Steeplechase delight for Beijing bound McGettigan

ROISÍN McGETTIGAN earned a deserved and timely boost in advance of the Olympic Games when she won the women’s steeplechase at the first session of the VIVA British Grand Prix at Crystal Palace last night.

The 27-year-old Wicklow athlete to produced a devastating last lap to sprint away from the young Romanian,

Ancuta Bobacel, and win in a time of 9:33.36.

In the absence of pacemakers this was always going to be a tactical affair and McGettigan proved the master tactician. She had another Irish athlete, Una English, alongside for company as she tracked the early leaders, Helen Clitheroe of Great Britain, and Bobacel.

But English drifted back through the field as Clitheroe faded and McGettigan ran almost shoulder to shoulder with the Romanian.

It remained like that until McGettigan jumped clear on their final visit to the water jump to win by more than four seconds. Fionnuala Britton, who is also Beijing-bound, finished in eighth place in 9:45.82 with Una English 11th in 10:09.63.

‘‘It was not my fastest time of the season but I am saving that for Beijing,’’ said McGettigan who set the last of her eight national records at 9:28.29 in Huesden-Zolder a year ago.

‘‘But I felt very comfortable at that pace and I am pleased with that. It was very important to me to get the win.’’

Deirdre Byrne failed in her bid for an Olympic standard in what was a slow, tactical 1,500m. After laps of 62 and 64 secs, Lisa Dobrisky (Great Britain) outsprinted Erin Donohue (USA) to win in 4:08.97 with Deirdre Byrne ninth in 4:11.25.

There will be four more members of the Irish Olympic team in action at the meeting today. High flying sprinter, Paul Hession, will line up in a field of Olympic final proportion for the men’s 200m (3pm).

He joins the new world record holder for the 100m, Usain Bolt, who was a silver medallist at 200m in the world championships last year, and Wallace Spearmon who was the silver medallist in 2005 in Helsinki.

David Gillick could break the new Irish record (45.12 secs) which he set this season when he goes in the 400m (5.15 pm) in a field that includes his training partner at Loughborough, Martyn Rooney, Andretti Bain (Bahamas) and three Americans, David Neville, Calvin Smith and Darold Williamson.

Alistair Cragg will again take on the Africans in the 3,000m (4.35pm) hoping to build on his 7:38 run in Paris last week.

But it will be a very important day for Derval O’Rourke who also faces a very strong field in the 100m hurdles (4.10pm).

Included will be the world leader and Olympic favourite, LoLo Jones, who is one of four Americans in the field along with Candice Davis, Dawn Harper and Joanna Hayes with her old sparring partner, Sarah Claxton, providing a familiar face.

And there was further good news for the Cork woman.

She has been granted a lane in Monaco next week as well and that should help her no end as her build up to the Olympic Games gathers momentum.

Marathon runner Martin Fagan returns to the road for a 10k race in Wales this weekend.