O’Sullivan asserted her dominance with every stride
Sonia O’Sullivan, as expected, won the women’s race in 32:24 with Catherina McKiernan 40 seconds back and the talented young English girl, Charlotte Dale, third in 33:23, ahead of Australia’s Benita Johnson who had won the bronze medal at the world half marathon championships in Vilamoura the previous day.
In the men’s race, John Mayock took second place ahead of Seamus Power who led Ireland to the team title with Peter Matthews, Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan completing the scoring in the mixed line-up.
The country’s leading female racers commanded most of the attention, although the result of that race was never in doubt after the first kilometre. They were locked together for that opening phase covered in 3:07 but thereafter the Olympic silver medallist pulled clear to assert her dominance on the race with every stride.
However the race differed dramatically from the Dublin women’s mini marathon early in June when more that a minute separated the pair. In fact Catherina McKiernan’s time yesterday would have won the mini-marathon which was decided over a much easier course.
Sonia O’Sullivan set the pace with series of even kilometres and it appeared as if she would run well under 32 minutes up to half way.
“I ran the first kilometre in exactly 3:07,” she said. “I figured I could run 31:15 today and the first 4k was at that pace. I was running to a schedule. I wanted to start off reasonably fast and maintain the pace for as long as I could.” But the second half was dominated by the hills and the bitterly cold headwind.
The diminutive English girl, Charlotte Dale, this year’s European junior cross-country champion, ended up winning an enthralling battle for third place with the new world half marathon bronze medallist, Benita Johnson, who had made a dash back from Portugal to get to the line.
Lucilla Andreucci (Italy) finished fifth ahead of the evergreen Tullamore housewife, Pauline Curley, who has to be one of the most underrated athletes in the country, with Collette Fagan (Scotland) next.
When Craig Mottram powered clear of the field in the men’s race it was clear that here, too, there was just going to be one winner.
The big Australian, national record holder at both 3,000m and 5,000m and an athlete of immense potential, knocked almost two and a half minutes off the course record set by Eamonn Coghlan at 31:04 the year before he set the world masters record for the mile.
“I thought I could with the pace but I found it too hard today,” Seamus Power who won the race in Loughrea last year admitted. “But I am right in the middle of a heavy spell of training and my legs felt heavy.
“Craig is a world class athlete and I think it would have taken a ferocious performance to beat him. But it was a stacked field and I had a lot of good athletes behind me so I have to be happy.”
He finished third in 29:27 which was 20 seconds behind Mayock who admitted that he always knew it was going to be a race with the Irish for the minor placings.
“I knew the Australian guy would be the favourite so I knew I would be fighting with the Irish guys for second and third and they gave me a good run,” he said. “But I expected that. They always do that.”
Just back from finishing second in a road mile in Washington, he runs another road mile in Spain next weekend before going into hospital for surgery on a hernia a legacy from the Grand Prix in Reiti last year when he was pushed by one of the Kenyans.
And his future is in doubt at the moment as he contemplates a career on the fringe of athletics. “I don’t know whether or not I am going to retire from athletics,” he said.
“I have had a fantastic career but I have to look to the future. I have a family now. But I would like to put something back into sport so I am looking for something in that area.”
Meanwhile Gillian O’Sullivan, Ireland’s silver medallist at the World Championship was the star attraction. She walked the course in 46 minutes 47 seconds which would have placed her 207th of more than 2000 entries.
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