Derval trained through the pain for the world championships

DERVAL O’ROURKE did sprint training with Ciara Sheehy yesterday as she put the finishing touches to her preparations for the world championships and there was no one happier.

“I must admit two weeks ago I was thinking about pulling out,” she said. “But I talked it over with my coach, Jim Kilty, and we decided that since I had run the A standard I needed to go.”

Since then it has been a race against time but when she got back hurdling last week she knew she was on course for Paris and the biggest assignment of her career to date.