ATHLETICS: Hard luck had frequently stood in the way of even a little success but when all was said and done in Budapest precious few of the Irish athletes had seen their World Indoor championships go to plan.

Yet clearly some did have one of their better experiences. Only two Irish middle distance specialists had made it to the Hungarian capital, and of them, Maria McCambridge, ran tough in yesterday's 3,000 metres final in what turned out from her point of view to be a horribly tactical affair.

After crawling around the opening laps, the field finally split with three laps to go, and McCambridge moved briefly into sixth.

Yet that extra gear that could have brought her into a medal position was missing, and she came in ninth. Ethiopia's Meseret Defar had upset her team-mate Berhane Adere to take gold in 9:11.22, with McCambridge clocking 9:14.74.

"It's just a pity it was so slow," she said, knowing that this run had at least brought her back in contention for a sports grant. "I mean that was a pure burn up. I felt quite good again and I was looking for top six. But I was going all out once the sprinting started."

The other distance specialist, James Nolan, went home both heartbroken and exhausted. Something had gone badly wrong in Nolan's preparations for the 1,500 metres because he was a pale shadow of his best when trailing in ninth in Saturday's heats, some 10 seconds outside his best, in 3:47.27. His only explanation was that he'd over-trained while in South Africa for the past three months.

Yet on Saturday the sole Irish field event entry Adrian O'Dwyer had come within the skin on his heel of delivering the performance of a lifetime. Just turned 20 and without any real technical training reaching the high jump final was an achievement in itself, but then he goes out on Saturday evening and mixes it with the big boys and so nearly wins a medal.

First coasting over the opening height of 2.20 metres, then clearing 2.25 on the third attempt, O'Dwyer was soon left with one last effort at 2.29. The bar hovered, hopped, hung, and then fell. As it turned out, a clearance there would have given him the bronze medal.

"Wow, I was so close to getting a medal it was scary," he said. "I looked at it again on the screen and I couldn't believe it.

I'm going to have nightmares about it. I just came down a little too soon. But look, who could have known that 2.25 was going to get a medal."

Dressed like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean complete with all the jewellery, he had won over the crowd, all charmed by his boyish spirit to such a technical event. He ended up in eighth place behind Sweden's three-time champion Stefan Holm, who cleared 2.35, and that qualifies him for his first sports grant. Yet he's still looking for an indoor facility in the country where he can actually practice.

Towards the end of yesterday's finals Kenya's Paul Korir had to run his eyes out to win a tactical 1,500-metre final ahead of Ivan Heshko of the Ukraine, with just .03 of a second separating silver from gold. Korir's clocked 3:52.31, with Britain's Michael East initially taking third before being disqualified for impeding the other, Kenyan Laban Rotich.

On Saturday another Kenyan Bernard Lagat received a slightly little cooler reception when winning the 3,000 metre gold in 7:56.34.

Earlier Maria Mutola had practically bulldozed her way past Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia in the women's 800 metres. It was the sixth title for the 31-year-old from Mozambique, her time being 1:58.50.

Among the other more eminent champions crowned at the weekend was Sweden's Christian Olsson, who produced a world record of 17.83 metres to win the triple jump. Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva went a little better, twice extending the women's triple jump world record to 15.36 metres, and yesterday adding the long jump with a smooth leap of 6.98.

Another world record fell in the women's pole vault when Yelena Isinbayeva, also of Russia, cleared 4.86 metres. And the Russian 400 metre women later produced a world relay record of 3:28.88, a race the Irish women's team had failed.

In fact the final report of the Irish sprinters in action at the weekend can be read like a new version of Hard Times.

Paul Brizzel was unable to take his place in the 200-metre semi-final because of an Achilles tendon injury, sustained when taking second in heat two early on Saturday morning in 21.12.

Worse luck fell to David McCarthy, who had made the 400-metre final in Birmingham a year ago. But when lying fifth on the break after the first lap of his semi-final, and poised to make his move, the Australian Casey Vincent shot across in front of him, and effectively destroyed his race plan. He ended up fifth in 47.34 - a result that would later be wiped from memory by his relay bronze medal.

Prior to that Paul Hession had run 21.12 for third place in the opening heat of the 200 metres, and missed out on the semi-final by one place. But Ciara Sheehy fell well short of qualification in the women's 200 metres - not helped by a shaky start - when taking third in her heat in 23.86.

HOW THEY FARED

Gary Ryan - 60m heat, sixth, 6.83 (failed to qualify).

Paul Brizzel - 200m heat, second 21.12 (automatic progression); Semi-final, did not start with injury.

Paul Hession - 200m heat, third 21.12 (failed to qualify).

David McCarthy - 400m heat, fourth, 46.94 (progressed as fastest loser); Semi-final, fifth 47.34 (failed to qualify).

Rob Daly - 400m heat, third, 47.42, (failed to qualify).

James Nolan - 1,500m heat, ninth, 3:47.27 (failed to qualify).

Adrian O'Dwyer - High jump qualification, ninth, 2.27m (automatic progression); Final, eighth, 2.25 metres.

Men's 4x400m relay (Rob Daly, Gary Ryan, Dave Gillick, David McCarthy) - fourth heat one, 3:08.83 national record, (progressed as fastest losers); Final, third, 3:10.44.

Ciara Sheehy - 200m heat, third heat one 23.86 (failed to quailify).

Karen Shinkins - 400m heat, sixth 54.37 (failed to qualify).

Joanne Cuddihy - 400m heat, sixth, 54.02 (failed to qualify).

Maria McCambridge - 3,000m heat, third 8:57.39 (automatic progression); Final, ninth, 9:14.72.

Women's 4x400m relay (Karen Shinkins, Ciara Sheehy, Michelle Carey, Joanne Cuddihy) - fifth heat one, 3:34.61 (failed to qualify).