O'Sullivan walks to new world 5,000m record

GILLIAN O'SULLIVAN took Irish race walking to a new level at the national championships on Saturday when she cruised to a new world 5,000m record in 20 mins 02.60 secs, knocking a full 10 seconds off the old mark set by Kerry Saxby-Junna of Australia in Hobart six years ago.

In another record-breaking spree, Robert Heffernan (Togher) rewrote the national 10,000m record which he set last year when he retained his title in 38 mins 47.66 secs. Last year he set the record at 38:58.53.

Despite his spectacular performance, he was content to stay in the shadow of his training partner’s world record and share in the celebrations.