Sonia can win New York marathon’
The chief executive of the Irish Sports Council said yesterday that O’Sullivan is very capable of winning but warned the course was not easy.
The twice world cross-country champion competed in the New York Marathon twice and finished third in 1988, four years after winning a silver medal at the Los Angeles Olympics.
“There won’t be any world records in New York,” he said. “This course is nothing like Chicago. They are totally different courses so she will have to be realistic in terms of what times she will run.”
He admitted that there will be times when the runners will be carried along by the enthusiasm of the crowd.
“There will be huge crowds on the avenues. Coming up 1st Avenue it is incredible, the crowds that throng the streets. When you go up Harlem again and into the Park there are parts of the course where there is nobody at all. When you are down in Manhattan it is absolutely chock-a-block with people.
“The last six miles in Central Park are fairly hard. It is up and down. This race starts at 20 miles. I can laugh about it now but there were times when I did not think it was funny at all.”
Treacy said Sonia O’Sullivan is in super form and she proved that in the Great North Run.
“That was a fantastic time,” he said. “I often ran 67 minutes for the half marathon in my heyday and walked off the course feeling very happy with myself.
“It shows the type of form she is in right now and proves that she is very capable of winning the New York Marathon. I have known Sonia for many years and I have always admired her as super athlete. I would say that she is in the form of her life at the moment, She is surrounded by great people. I know Alan (Storey) and I would respect him as a great coach. Everything has gone so well for her she has to be happy. I think everyone is happy for her.”
He said victory in New York would crown what has been an amazing year for Irish sport. Sonia O’Sullivan has already made a major contribution to that with two silver medals at the European championships in Munich.
“There was one weekend when Sam Lynch won a gold medal at the world rowing championships in Seville and Dermott Lennon won a gold medal at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Armagh were winning the All-Ireland for the first time and we were cheering on Padraig Harrington against Tiger Woods in Mount Juliet. It was an amazing weekend,” he said.
The prospects of Sonia O’Sullivan winning the race, even her participation, is exciting fans in New York.
“An Irish victory in New York would be tremendous,” race director Allan Steinfeld, said. “People here know Sonia and if she were to win the race it would be like nothing we ever had before. We are always excited about having athletes break new barriers and that would be the case here.
“We are excited about it. Sonia is a competitive runner. She is not coming here looking for a time. She wants to win the race. That is most important.”
Mark Carroll is also stirring up a lot of interest and his victory in the New York Half Marathon the weekend before last underscored his challenge.
Eamonn Coghlan, one of the greatest ever Irish athletes, is also taking part this year. Another Irishman, Peter Maher, who finished 13th, sixth and fourth during his halcyon years, is also returning to the Big Apple. This time he, his wife Breda, and his son, Kevin, will compete to raise money for Irish Cancer Research. He represented Canada at the Olympics in 1998 and 1992 and at world championship level before returning to reside in Ireland.
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