O’Rourke makes her mark with new Irish record

DERVAL O’ROURKE reaped the rewards of professional preparation when she ran 8.18 secs to win the 60m hurdles at the international meet in Cardiff on Sunday.

It was a new Irish record - well inside her old mark of 8.22 - and inside the qualifying standard - 8.20 - for the world indoor championships in Birmingham in a month’s time.

It was an awesome performance on a track that is not renowned for speed and it left everyone gasping, including the mother of Latvia’s world ranked male high hurdler, Stanislavs Olijars, who coaches the runner-up.