AAI set July deadline

Athletics/European Championships qualifying: Irish athletes have until July 23rd to qualify for the European Championships in Gothenburg. That's the deadline being laid down by the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI), which shouldn't present any great difficulties considering the majority of athletes expected to compete in Gothenburg have already qualified.

The championships take place from August 7-13th at Gothenburg's famed Ullevi Stadium, built for the 1958 World Cup, and while the official deadline for entries is July 28th, the AAI are using their national championships on July 22-23rd as the final trial for selection, with the team set to be announced a day later.

So far 15 men and 19 women have qualified, including the world indoor champion over the 60 metres hurdles, Derval O'Rourke. Her 100 metres -hurdles outdoor best last year of 13 seconds is well inside the necessary 13.45, but O'Rourke's ambition in the coming weeks is to improve her Irish record of 12.96 set in 2004.

Her gold medal success in Moscow over two months ago was a welcome interruption to her outdoor preparations, although it has left the Cork athlete slightly behind schedule. O'Rourke is planning to make her first outdoor appearance at the Ostrava Grand Prix in the Czech Republic on May 30th, followed by the opening Golden League meeting in Oslo on June 2nd - but those races may yet be bypassed depending on how training goes over the next fortnight.

"Derval took a full 10 days off after Moscow," explains her coach Jim Kilty, "and that set her back. Most of the other athletes in her group are still the two weeks ahead of her because we didn't want to rush things. So right now we'll have to wait and see about those two races, although they haven't been ruled out. But things are going well for Derval. Her speed is definitely still the same and where it needs to be, but she has only done one full session over the hurdles, and that's where the drawback is at the moment."

A slight hip injury also held O'Rourke back a little, but it seems inevitable she will improve on her 12.96 in the months ahead, as her recent indoor best of 7.84 seconds, clocked when winning the gold medal in Moscow, equates to something in the 12.8 range or lower.

The one athlete who will almost certainly qualify is Alistair Cragg. Having missed all of last summer with a back injury Cragg has yet to record the 5,000-metre qualifying time of 13:42.0, which should prove a stroll considering his best is 13:12.74. Like O'Rourke, he is slowly rebuilding towards the outdoor season.

Qualification started last season, which means David Gillick (400 metres), James Nolan (1,500 metres), Mark Carroll (10,000 metres) and Sonia O'Sullivan (marathon) already have the necessary marks. The AAI are intent on sending as many athletes as possible, with three allowed per event, and the national champions gaining automatic selection. Among those to qualify this year are Martin Fagan and Keith Kelly, who qualified over 5,000 and 10,000 metres respectively at US collegiate meetings, while Joanne Cuddihy's new 400 metre best of 52.76 also sees her join the list.

The domestic outdoor season formally opens on Sunday with the AAI Games at the Ringsend track in Dublin.

Gothenburg: Irish qualifiers

MEN

100m: Jer O'Donoghue, Gary Ryan, Paul Hession.

200m: Hession, Paul Brizzel.

400m: David Gillick, Rob Daly, Tomás Coman, Paul McKee, David McCarthy 1,500m: James Nolan

5,000m: Martin Fagan

10,000m: Mark Carroll, Keith Kelly

110m hurdles: Peter Coghlan

Long Jump: Ciarán McDonagh

4x400 metre relay.

WOMEN

100m: Anna Boyle, Derval O'Rouke, Emily Maher, Ailis McSweeney

200m: Ciara Sheehy, Maher

400m: Karen Shinkins, Joanne Cuddihy

1,500m: Sinéad Delahunty-Evans, Jolene Byrne, Maria McCambridge

5,000m: Marie Davenport, Mary Cullen

10,000m: Byrne, Cullen, Davenport

Marathon: Sonia O'Sullivan, Davenport

3,000m steeplechase: Roisín McGettigan

100m hurdles: O'Rourke

400m hurdles: Michelle Carey

High jump: Deirdre Ryan

Triple jump: Taneisha Scanlon

Hammer: Eileen O'Keeffe

20km walk: Olive Loughnane

4x100 metre relay.