O’Rourke makes waves in 100m

THE battle of the women sprinters took on a new dimension at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships in Morton Stadium yesterday when hurdler Derval O’Rourke entered the fray and almost pulled off what would have been a sensational double.

It all began on Saturday when Emily Maher (KCH), once the darling of sprint fans, rolled back the years to claim the 200m title, out-sprinting defending champion Ciara Sheehy with her fastest time in five years, 23.39 secs, with Leevale’s Ailish McSweeney third.

That performance left an air of expectation surrounding yesterday’s 100m but nobody had reckoned on the impact O’Rourke was going to have on proceedings.