Ó Lionaird backed to benefit from Daegu experience

CIARÁN Ó LIONAIRD has been like a breath of fresh air since he arrived at Ireland’s training camp in Daegu to put the finishing touches to his preparations for the World Championships, which get under way today.

After years of frustration it took the 23-year-old Leevale athlete just three minutes and 34 seconds to become an overnight success, having spent much of his collegiate career in the US running under the radar.

By the time he returned from Florida State University he had set pb’s for 10,000m, 5,000m and 1,500m and he quickly added the 3,000m to that list as a sub four minute mile in Santry.

But it was only when he posted a 3:34.46 for 1,500m at an obscure meeting in Belgium that the Corkman hit the headlines as it gave him his “A” standard for next year’s Olympic Games as well as the World Championships in one fell swoop.

And yesterday the Olympic team manager, Patsy McGonagle, insisted that no matter what happens in Daegu over the next week, Ó Lionaird will benefit more than anyone else from the experience of competing at the highest level.

“He has been like a breath of fresh air since he arrived here in Daegu from Tallahassee where he has been training with his college coach,” said McGonagle.

“He gets on remarkably well with the other members of the team and, on a professional basis, he knows exactly where he’s at, where he’s going and what it’s going to take to get there. If anyone is going to benefit from Daegu it is going to be him.”

All the team had assembled at the holding camp in Daegu by yesterday with the exception of world silver medallist, Olive Loughnane, who is putting the finishing touches to her preparations for the 20k walk in Seoul, just two hours away.

The Irish camp has been trying to come to terms with the death of Robert Heffernan’s mother on Tuesday. Since then, Robert and his wife, Marian, who is a member of the women’s 4 x 400m squad, have returned to Cork.

“It was a major blow to us all and our hearts and our sympathy are with the family at the moment,” said McGonagle. “Robert had just finished a training session when he got the news. We called a meeting an hour or two later and obviously that was a traumatic moment. It certainly put everything into perspective.”

Jason Smyth will not now be the first Irish athlete in action this morning as he won’t be involved in the preliminary round of the 100m and will go straight into Round 1 proper later in the day when some 12 athletes will be added to the line-up from the preliminary round.

“It means that fans back home will be able to watch him competing during the day,” McGonagle pointed out. “Our two steeplechasers, Stephanie Reilly and Fionnuala Britton will be in action in the heats of their event at around 2am Irish time.

Joanne Cuddihy will be in action in the first round of the women’s 400m which will get under way at about 12.04pm Irish time. The Kilkenny athlete also competes in the 4x400m relay next week.

Meanwhile, Sonia O’Sullivan failed to get elected to the Council of the IAAF as one of the six female members at the Congress which precedes the championships. The former world champion and Olympic silver medallist got 95 votes, which placed her eighth.