Holmes pulls out of Mardyke meet

KELLY HOLMES has pulled out of Saturday’s BUPA Cork City Sports at the Mardyke because of the Achilles tendon problem that forced her out of the European Cup the weekend before last.

The double Olympic champion is currently training in Valencia and up to Monday she was confident of competing in the Cork showpiece.

But yesterday her American manager, Jeff Hunt, said she is still troubled by “a niggling Achilles tendon problem.”

“She is getting ready for August and the world championships and that is the most important thing for her right now,” he said.

Last year she came back off the early season setback to win both the 800m and 1,500m titles at the Olympic Games in Athens and following that sensational double she would obviously have been the star attraction at The Mardyke.

“Obviously we are disappointed,” said City Sports chairman Dick Hodgins. “Everything had been arranged, her flights were confirmed and she was due at Cork Airport at 7.40 tomorrow (Thursday).”

There is still going to be an exciting women’s 1,500m at The Mardyke where the awesome presence of the double Olympic champion was overshadowing the quality of the field.

“We already had a very strong line-up to oppose the Olympic champion,” said Mr Hodgins. “And, since her withdrawal, we have added to this by bringing in three very good athletes to supplement the field.”

The athletes in question are two Americans who featured in the American trials over the past week when only the winner of the 1,500m had achieved the qualifying standard for the world championships in Helsinki.

Now Sarah Schwald, who finished fourth, and Amy Mortimer are coming to Cork in pursuit of the qualifying standard (4:05.80) for the world championships. They will be joined by another newcomer, Courtney Babcock, the Canadian record holder who has run 4:01.99.

Roisin McGhettigan, who won a spectacular 3,000m at the women’s European Cup in Portugal, will revert to the 1,500m to spearhead the Irish challenge which also included Sinead Delahunty, Deirdre Byrne and Kelly Reid. Johanna Risku from Finland has run the B standard for Helsinki and wants to improve on that.

While the spotlight will firmly focused on the likes of the Olympic long jump champion, Dwight Phillips, 200m silver medallist, Bernard Williams, and the world championship silver medallist in the 400m, Tyree Washington, there a galaxy of Trans-Atlantic stars on the programme.

Bernard Williams is certain to thrill the fans before, during and after his event while his girlfriend, Anjanette Kirklane, from Pineville, Louisiana, will be favourite to win the 100m hurdles if she reproduces the form that saw her win the world title in 2001 when she also won the world indoor 60m hurdles title.

Donna Fraser who finished fourth in the Sydney Olympics was added to the women’s 200m field yesterday while Diane Allahgreen from Britain, an old sparring partner of Cork Olympian, Derval O’Rourke, was added to the field for the 100m hurdles.