O'Sullivan in 800m at Morton Stadium

SONIA O'SULLIVAN will compete in the 800m on at the national track and field championships at Morton Stadium, Santry, tomorrow, but there will be no head-to-head with Ireland's current middle distance sensation, Geraldine Hendricken.

The Carlow woman who has had a string of new career best times over 800m and 1,500m to-date this season finally admitted last evening that she was very doubtful as a result of a pulled muscle sustained in training early in the week. On Saturday, she blazed to a spectacular win over a star-studded field in the women’s 1,500m at Cork City Sports. Then, on Sunday, she ran two races - 1,500m and 3,000m - for her club, St. Laurence O’Toole’s, in the Mazda Premier League.

“I have had a lot of racing,” she admitted yesterday. “There was always the danger something like this would happen but this is just bad timing.

“I am so disappointed. I had been looking forward to the race against Sonia and I was hoping for a really good time. I have been having physiotherapy on it since it happened and I will have more treatment later this evening but, right now, there is very little hope of be competing on Sunday. In fact I won’t be there at all. I just could not watch the race and not be able to compete.”

Her performance at the Grand Prix in Lausanne where she finished seventh in 4:04.22 catapulted her into third place on the all-time Irish list and well up into the top half of the world rankings for the year. She followed that run with a 4:06.59 run in Cork last Saturday when she finished more than two seconds ahead of a field that included Carrie Tollefson and Cheri Kenah of the US, Anna Ndege of Tanzania, Kristin Roset of Norway, Meryen Boucctta of Morocco and Helena Javornik of Slovenia.

“Right now the European Championships in Munich are my main concern and I don’t want to take any chances in the meantime. I just want to get this problem sorted out,” she said.

Sonia O’Sullivan still needs a qualifying standard for 5,000m for the European Championships but that should be a mere formality when she lines up in Hechtel next Saturday. She could hardly have been more impressive in Cork where she won the 3,000m in an Irish all-comers best time of 8:38.99.

“Since then I my training has gone very well. I have been doing a lot of long stuff - getting ready for the 10,000m - so I will run the 800m on Sunday. There are no heats so that suits me,” she said. Two years ago, en route to the Sydney Olympics, she had an 800m/1,500m double at the championships but she does not intend a repeat.

“Maybe the option is there but I have not considered it at all. I am entered in the 1,500m but right now I would say no.” she said. “I’m entered in the 1,500m right now I would say no.

She already holds two national senior 800m titles. She won her first in 1982 and the other came as part of her double two years ago. But she finished third in what was the most exciting 800m final ever back in 1991 when Aisling Molloy won in 2:02.08 from Bernie Kavanagh, 2:03.08 and Sonia O’Sullivan, 2:04.23.

In 1994 she added the 800m to her long list of national records with a 2:00.69 run, beating Caroline O’Shea’s 10 year old record set at the Los Angeles Olympics by one hundredth of a second. She will have to run a fast time again on Sunday if she is to reclaim the title. Maria Lynch (DSD) and Kelly McNiece (Lisburn) have run 2:04.5 this season while Aoife Byrne (DSD) will be hoping to rediscover the form that saw her win the title in 2:03.71 last year.

Karen Shinkins has put her injury worries behind her and will be the raging hot favourite for a sixth successive 400m title and, each year, she has posted a championship best performance to underscore her victory. Una English who knocked almost seven seconds off her best time for 3,000m in Cork last weekend is entered for both the 1,500m and 5,000m. She won the 1,500m title in what was then a championship best time of 4:14.21 six years ago.

Four-time 200m champion, Gary Ryan, showed some of his old form in Cork last weekend and will be a hot contender again today when the 200m gets under way. He set the championship best time at 10.45 secs when winning the 100m title three years ago.

Paul Brizzell, the national record holder for both sprints will be hoping to enhance his prospects for the European championships over the weekend as will his Ballymena/Antrim clubmate, John McAdorey, when he defends his 100m title. The 400m title could also head North if the new national record holder Paul McKee (Beechmount Harriers) realises his ambitions. Seamus Power (Kilmurry/Ibrickane) will renew rivalry with defending champion Peter Matthews (DSD) in the 10,000m today. Two years ago the Clareman won the title but last year a hernia problem hit his defence and kept him out of the world championships in Edmonton.