Sonia calls on Irish athletes to seize day
The Cobh juggernaut accounts for five of the 11 medals, three gold and two silver, Ireland have won in the history of the European championships and for her it was the springboard to further success.
“It’s the first rung on the ladder,” said O’Sullivan, whose first test was at the European championships over 3,000m in Split in 1990.
“I won my heat,” recalled O’Sullivan of her first Europeans. “I went into the final feeling really confident. To me it was important to win the heat — it was an achievement for me to do that.”
O’Sullivan faded to 11th in that final but it provided confidence and a catalyst to come back and improve for future championships.
“You have to get to a point where you can be confident in your ability that you can make the final and believe that you can,” said Ireland’s most medal-laden athlete. “Plenty of Irish athletes can make a final in Zurich.”
The European championships are at a level that Irish athletes can, and should, perform and for O’Sullivan it will provide them with a good barometer of where they rank.
“It’s a good level of competition and how they compare to other European athletes.”
Thomas Barr, ranked third in Europe on time, will get Irish interest underway at 10.07am in the heats of the 400m hurdles on the fabled Letzigrund track alongside Jason Harvey followed by Amy Foster and Phil Healy in the 100m heats at 10.40am.
Brian Gregan, Richard Morrissey (both 400m at 11.50am), Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles at 12.32pm), Declan Murray and Mark English (both 800m at 6.12pm) are also in action with Fionnuala Britton rounding off Irish interest in the final of the 10,000m (7.20pm) on day one.
The Irish athletes will have varying goals with Thomas Barr and Mark English having higher aspirations than some of the others competing but regardless of the goal, O’Sullivan feels it’s about coming back and improving on that the next time around.
“The goals will vary,” said O’Sullivan, “whether that’s making the final and then progressing on from there. Making the final is a huge achievement as long as you come back the next time and improve on that.”
O’Sullivan came back the next time and won gold over 3,000m in 1994 in Helsinki, the championships are now every two years, and for the new Irish brigade she feels it is about sticking to the basics.
“Keep things as simple as possible,” she stated. “The main thing is to get into the final. You have to have a clear plan as to how you are going to do that. I don’t think athletes should be thinking about conserving energy or taking it easy in a heat. For some of them to do that then there may not be a final. You have to run a heat as if it is a final.
“When you get in the final then you look at the start list and you look at the athletes in there and you go through it. You look at some of the athletes — cross people off that you don’t have to worry about. They might have a great race but that’s another story. You focus on the main contenders. Things don’t always go perfectly for everybody particularly in championships races.”
The Leaving Certificate results may be out tomorrow but today will mark a big test of where Irish athletes are at for the rest of the week — we await their results with great anticipation.
Five athletes to watch
Dafne Schippers (women’s 100m and 200m), Renauld Lavilennie (men’s pole vault), Mo Farah (men’s 5,000m and 10,000m), Blanka Vlasic (high jump) and Pierre Ambroise Bosse (men’s 800m) should be some of the stars on show in Zurich.
Make no mistake: today will set the tone for the rest of the week for Irish interest at these championships. A positive day one should provide impetus for the rest of the week.
Robert Heffernan will lead Ireland’s medal charge on what could be a fruitful Friday for Irish athletics. Heffernan goes into the 50km race walk at 8am as world champion and full of confidence. This could spark a medal haul where Thomas Barr (400m hurdles) and Mark English (800m) will expect to be in finals on the same day.
Ciarán Ó Lionáird, Paul Robinson and John Travers make a full quota for Ireland in the 1,500m and they will be up against a high quality field, with Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigsten starting as favourite. Ó Lionáird and Robinson have the ability to make the final and have an impact on proceedings.
Not much has been made of Fionnuala Britton’s decision to run the marathon. The air of secrecy around the last-minute selection has been the most startling, rather than the decision itself. John Treacy had made motions months in advance to run the Olympic marathon in 1984 and had shown form on the road. The teak-tough Wicklow woman will be looking to prove the doubters wrong.
If you’re following the action on twitter, four main ones to follow are: @Euro_Champs, @emenews, @Statman_Jon and @jumpingthegunie which will keep you up to date on all the latest stats, facts and action. You can also follow me on @FeidhlimKelly
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