Carroll appeals to OCI to extend Olympics qualification deadline

MARK CARROLL yesterday appealed to the Olympic Council of Ireland to extend the June 30 date for Olympics qualification and give those behind schedule through no fault of their own a chance to make the team for Athens.

He feels that Irish athletes should at least have the same chance as athletes from other countries to make the Olympics.

The Cork man, national record holder at 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m has qualified for the marathon but has made it clear to Athletics Ireland he has no intention of contesting the event in Athens.

"I am relatively new to the marathon and respect the distance. I would be fearful in Athens, taking the heat and humidity into account. People go to Greece in August on vacation they don't go to run a marathon," he said.

He has come off almost 12 months of injury and is still racing against time to attain full fitness ahead of his next big target, the London Marathon.

"I am only one of a number of athletes who had injury problems. Robert Heffernan has been injured and Gareth Turnbull is undergoing treatment out here for a slight injury. That's enough pressure on us without having the enormous pressure of a June 30 deadline to worry about.

"If I go to Athens it will be at 10,000m. I feel I have a chance at that distance - a tactical 10,000m and the medals would be up for grabs.

"Unfortunately there are very few opportunities to find a suitable race to get that qualifying standard. I would like to maybe get a race before London but I am not sure if that is going to be possible. It looks like it will have to be after London. I would hope to take a short break and then have a shot at it but I am afraid it would have to be Europe and, as I said, the opportunities are very limited," he said.

"I would say to the Olympic Council of Ireland you need to sit down and take a careful look at the deadline. I see no sense in a June 30 deadline which is a month ahead of the international deadline. Give the athletes a fair chance of making the team. There are a lot of people behind schedule through no fault of their own."

A persistent hip injury that caused him to pull out of last year's Boston marathon kept him sidelined for all of last year when a recurrence forced him to abandon hopes of a return to the New York City Marathon.

He appears to have put it behind him now and has just finished an eight week block of solid training. He travels to Florida at the weekend when he will be joined by 1,500m runner, Gareth Turnbull. His Leevale club mate, Cathal Lombard, who has a qualifying standard at 5,000m and is currently training in South Africa is due to join them.

Mark Carroll will head a huge Irish entry for the London Marathon in April when he will be joined by such notables as cross-country legend, Seamus Power, who will also be having a second shot at the event, his training partner, Peter Matthews, the reigning national inter-club cross-country champion, Martin McCarthy, also from Leevale, who ran in Berlin in September and Gary Crossan.

Catherina McKiernan won the Raheny Five Mile Road race in 26:52 on Sunday to highlight her return to form.

Missing from the line-up was Rosemary Ryan, the inter-counties cross-country champion.

Miss Ryan was disappointed with her performance in Seville on Sunday week when she finished 18th but is all set to build on her 13th place in the Europeans.