O’Rourke changes tack with major leap up to 200m

DERVAL O’ROURKE enters uncharted waters next month when she makes a dramatic move up to 200m to get her competitive season underway.

The former world indoor champion at 60m hurdles and European silver medallist at 100m hurdles, emerged from the doldrums last season to finish fourth – top European – in the 100m hurdles at the world championships in Berlin.

Since then her aim has been the European championships in Barcelona next July and she feels that a new focus will get her back in a competitive mood after the disappointment of missing this year’s world indoor championships through injury.

She was in the shape of her life coming up to the world indoor championships but on the eve of departure for Doha she picked up a hamstring injury that threw all her plans up in the air.

Cork doctor Eanna Falvey who represented Ireland at the world boxing championships in Belfast in 2001, had her back running in 10 days.

“It was only a grade 1 strain – not even a tear – it was solved in 10 days,” she said.

“But it was too late for the world championships.

“I went to Miami for a little holiday instead which is really unusual for me in March and I watched LoLo (Jones) win the 60m hurdles on YouTube.

“As soon as I came home I just started training again and we started planning for outdoors.”

Part of those plans was the move up to 200m to build strength.”

“I was dreading the sessions because Terry writes all the training programmes and she set time targets for every session.

I looked at some of them and I thought they were unrealistic – they’re too fast, I am not going to be able to hang on I am not going to be able to do them. But every single time target I have never been slower so I am quite happy with it.

She was home in Cork at the weekend for the squad session for the national relay teams organised by John Sheehan, one of her old Leevale coaches, and yesterday she joined her training partner, Ailis McSweeney, Niamh Whelan and Kelly Proper to race against the men in the 4x100m relay at the Leevale Open Sports held in glorious sunshine at the CIT track and they got their European campaign under way with a 44.96 sec performance. The men’s team did 41.73 while Leevale set a new club record at 42.23.

Leevale junior, Patrick Maher, produced the outstanding performance of the meeting when he set a new Irish junior record at 52.14 secs to win the senior men’s 400m hurdles.

Apart from breaking a record that has withstood the test of time he also qualified for this year’s world junior championships in Canada.

There was drama at the start of the men’s 100m final when schools champion, Seye Ogunlewe (Celbridge), who won his heat in 10.82 secs false-started and was disqualified.

Victory went to experienced international, Daragh Graham (Sli Chualann), in 10.90 secs from Stephen Colvert (UCD), 10.99, and Dean Adams (Ballymena) 11.01.

Niamh Whelan (Ferrybank), also reversed the heat results in the final of the women’s 100m which she won 12.09 secs from national champion, Ailis McSweeney (Leevale), 12.12, and Kelly Proper (Ferrybank) 12.27.