Sonia must bridge the gap

SONIA O’SULLIVAN may have to join the exclusive club of women who have run under two hours and 20 minutes if she is to win the New York City Marathon tomorrow.

The ambitious prediction came from one of the world's top distance coaches, Dr Gabriele Rosa, the Italian who guides the career of defending New York champion Margaret Okayo.

With O'Sullivan eager to cover the first half of the race in 71 minutes, Dr Rosa is adamant Okayo who specialises in running the second phase at a much faster pace will cover that stretch in under 69 minutes.

Predictably the response that anyone can better 2:20 on what is deemed to be the toughest 26.2 mile course in the world has been dismissed, even by Allan Steinfeld, the race director in the Big Apple.

Steinfeld said: "We would love it if Sonia or anyone else could run under 2:20. But this is a difficult course. As good as the women are, I would expect the winning time to be in the region of 2:21 2:22."

However Dr Rosa insists his 26-year- old protege Okayo has arrived for the race in the best shape of her life and will run far faster than the course record 2:24:21 she set 12 months ago.

Proving her credentials, Okayo reduced her personal best to 2:20:53 when decisively defeating Catherine Ndebera in Boston by almost half a minute.

Sonia said yesterday that she feels quite at home in New York and the reason she fled to the familiar surroundings of Villanova to complete her preparations was to avoid all the excitement that her presence in tomorrow's star studded field has generated.

"You get involved and that would burn up a lot of energy," she insisted. "I needed to conserve all that energy for the race."

Last June she chose New York for the serious marathon debut that everyone was awaiting. She did not win the women's mini marathon in Central Park but the reception she got was overwhelming and she decided it was time to fulfil her lifetime ambition.

She intends to capitalise on the immense amount of goodwill and support she has enjoyed here when she lines up for what is another landmark in what has been a long and illustrious career.

Throughout her career she has prided herself in history making achievements, being the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at the European championships and the last woman to win the 3,000m title at that level as it was then dropped from the programme.

She went on to become the first woman to win the 5,000m title at the world championships in Gothenburg and it will be difficult to repeat her double at the world cross country championships in Marrakesh or, indeed, her double at the European championships in Budapest the same year.

Victory in New York, where even the promoters unashamedly crave an Irish winner, would be equally sensational.

Sonia O'Sullivan, oozing confidence and with an assurance that she has not displayed in years, is ready to deliver.

"I'm not afraid to win. I am ready to win," she insisted but was quick to point out that she has a lot of respect both for the race and for the competitors she must conquer if she is to claim Central Park for herself tomorrow (3.13pm Irish time).

And the field is loaded. Lornah Kiplagat will go to the line as favourite after her recent record breaking performances. Set a Kenyan record in the Mini 10k in June and broke Sonia O'Sullivan's world record for 10 miles (51 mins) two weeks after it was set. Married to Peter Langerhorst, she has applied for Dutch citizenship and hopes to represent Holland in the 2004 Olympics.

The defending champion, Okaya, became only the second woman ever to win both the New York and Boston Marathons in the one year in 2001 when she produced sizzling performances to set new course records in both cities. Susan Chepkemei, another Kenyan, won a furious battle in Central Park with Svetlana Zakharova of Russia to secure a Kenyan 1 2 last year by just one second. She, too, is based in Holland where she is coached by her boyfriend, David van Reen, a former professional soccer player.

The teak tough Yugoslav, Olivera Jevtic, is making her marathon debut while Ludmila Petrova of Russia, winner two years ago, is returning is search of a repeat.

The Marathon is unique in that the runners will cross five bridges spectacular but energy consuming.

O'Sullivan, well aware of the obstacles in her path, has made very few predictions here other than the fact that she is prepared to go out in 71 minutes.

But O'Sullivan is not going to be drawn into dog fight and insisted that she is prepared to wait and see how the race develops.