Mark Carroll confirmed his recent good form last night in the Ivo Van Damme Memorial IAAF
Golden League meeting in Brussels when he smashed the Irish record for 3,000 metres with a time of seven minutes 33.84 seconds, just under four seconds inside the previous mark of Eamonn Coghlan set almost 18 years ago.
The race was won by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie who not only kept himself in the running for the Golden League jackpot but also ended up recording the second fastest time in history with his 7:25.09, even if that was well outside the world record of 7:20.67.
Carroll has thus built on his bronze medal run in the European Championships in Budapest and has also indicated that the 5,000 metres record of 13:02 by Frank O'Mara, set over 10 years ago, is well within his capabilities. That target will be on his mind going into the Berlin Grand Prix on Tuesday.
Susan Smith had some consolation for her disappointing run at the Europeans when she ran 55.1 seconds for the 400 metres hurdles, her third fastest time of the season and less than a second outside her own national record set earlier this month. The race was won by world champion Nezha Bidouane of Morocco in 53.43 seconds.
Sonia O'Sullivan had to be content with fourth position over the 1,500 metres behind Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova who stormed to victory in 3:58.95. O'Sullivan still managed to clock 4:01.08, just marginally outside her fastest of the year while Sinead Delahunty clocked a lifetime best of 4:04.22 in finishing in 10th position.
James McElroy finished sixth in the 800 metres in a time of one minute 45.83 seconds. The race was won by Japhet Kimutai of Kenya in 1:44.80. The 25-year-old Gebrselassie, the 5,000 and 10,000 metres world record holder, put up the performance of the night despite his pacemakers setting too fast a pace. He was five seconds outside of Daniel Komen's world record set in Rieti two years ago. "I'd liked to have got closer to the record but it was too cold," Gebrselassie said.
America's world 100 metres champion Marion Jones put any doubts about her current dominance aside and stayed on course, along with Gebrselassie, for a $1 million bonus as she stopped Europe's newly-crowned champion Christine Arron in her tracks.
Jones won the 100 metres in 10.80 seconds to beat Frenchwoman Arron into second (10.95) with Sevatheda Fynes of the Bahamas third (11.09).
The two other athletes still in with a chance of sharing the $1 million bonus for winning all six Golden League races plus the Grand Prix final stayed in the hunt.
American Bryan Bronson won his 400 metres hurdles race while Moroccan world record holder Hicham El-Guerrouj took the 1,500 metres.
Meanwhile the world's top athletes last night demanded that the IAAF move the Grand Prix final next Saturday from Moscow as they fear for their safety following the instability caused by Russia's financial crisis.
The IAAF must now decide whether to take the unprecedented step of moving its showpiece event at the last minute.
