Hopefuls get final run-out

ATHLETICS/News round-up: Two weeks before the opening ceremony in Athens, several Irish athletes are now primed for their final pre-Olympic outing, starting with this evening's London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace. Both Alistair Cragg and Cathal Lombard will test their legs over 5,000 metres, with Marie Davenport also lining up for the women's event.

Cragg is coming into form, winning the National 1,500-metre title in Santry last Sunday, but his previous 5,000 metres, his distance in Athens, didn't exactly go to plan and he will be looking to improve on his experience in Rome at the start of the month.

For Lombard, who is concentrating on the 10,000 metres in Athens following his Irish record of 27:33.53 at the start of the season, London is also being targeted as an important race.

He dropped out of his last race in Gateshead last month, complaining of tiredness and problems associated with altitude training before a knee problem forced him to miss the nationals at the weekend. Yet the knee injury was not serious and his training at altitude in San Moritz over the last number of weeks has gone extremely well.

Included in tonight's race is the great Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, along with four Kenyans who did not make their Olympic team, but Cragg should prove competitive this time out.

Davenport - who also runs the 10,000 metres in Athens - is out to improve on her best of 15:09.07 and go under the A-standard of 15:08.70 against opposition that is headed by Benita Johnson, the world cross-country champion from Australia.

Tomorrow evening James Nolan will seek a fast time in the 1,500 metres in Heusden, Belgium, while Mark Carroll will take in a 3,000 metres in Linz, Austria, on Monday.

Finally, this day week e Sonia O'Sullivan will run her final race before the Games over 3,000 metres at the Golden League meeting in Zurich where emerging high jump star Adrian O'Dwyer will also get valuable experience before Athens.