O'Sullivan lines up against Dominguez
Marta Dominguez never finished in front of Sonia O’Sullivan before and it is unlikely that she will ever do so again as the Cobh athlete was the first to admit after Saturday’s race that she had made a major tactical error when she wormed her way to the front with 200m to go.
She was still carrying the affects of Tuesday night’s record breaking run in the 10,000m in her legs which meant that she had little left in reserve for the final 70 metres as the Spaniard fought her way back into the picture and edged clear over the final five metres.
It is unlikely that Sonia will allow that type of situation to develop when she drops back to her favourite distance tonight but the fact that Szabo has opted out of the contest will mean that she will have to readjust her plans slightly.
There are no fewer than seven Kenyans and three Ethiopians in a field of 17 and, between them, they should ensure a fast pace. Of the Africans Berhane Adere could be the most dangerous although the Kenyan, Leah Malot, would be a force if she were to reproduce her form of two years ago.
In the end, however, the spotlight should be on the leading finishers in Saturday’s 5,000m final in Zurich, Dominguez and the Russians, Olga Yegorova, who beat Dominguez in the sprint for the world title last year, and Tatyana Tomashova who finished third in the 1,500m final on Sunday.
Tomashova could be something of a surprise packet here.
Last year she ran a career best for 3,000m at 8:25.56 when third behind Yegorova and Yelena Zadorozhnaya, who was third in the 5,000m in Munich, at the Golden Gala in Rome.
Like Szabo, Zadorozhnaya, has opted for the 1,500m this evening and they will be joined by Kelly Holmes, Suzy Favor-Hamilton from the US, Alesia Turova, the world record holder for the newly introduced 3,000m steeplechase, and Hasna Benhassi of Morocco.
Five athletes - Hichal El Guerrouj (Morocco), Felix Sanchez (Dominican Republic), Gail Devers (USA), Ana Guevara (Mexico) and Marion Jones (USA) remain in contention for the Golden League Jackpot.
Felix Sanchez, the world 400m hurdles champion, faces an enormous challenge when he lines up alongside the newly crowned European champion, Stephane Diagana, who has been improving in every race.
The 33-year-old ran 47.58 to destroy his rivals in Munich and he had not run that time since setting the European record at 47.37 secs in 1995
Another exciting contest is expected in the women's 800m where Maria Mutola, who came from way back to win the 400m in Helsinki earlier this week, will be going for a 10th consecutive win in Zurich.
Her amazing streak began in 1993 when as a 20-year-old, yet to become world and Olympic champion, won the 2,000m. Since then it has been a happy hunting ground for her but she faces an interesting contest tonight when the newly crowned European champion, Jolanda Ceplak (Slovakia), the darling of the Munich fans, will unleash a formidable challenge.
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