OLYMPIC GAMES: IT FILLED up from early evening as if to prove itself the most spectacular Olympic setting of all time. It straightaway witnessed some astonishing performances. And for Róisín McGettigan it was just like being back at the Community Games.
On that note, the track-and-field show finally got under way in Beijing's Bird's Nest yesterday. If the ease with which McGettigan qualified for the final of the 3,000-metre steeplechase is anything to go by, the feared heat and humidity may not be such a factor for the Irish after all.
In reality, of course, things are only warming up. McGettigan still set her first Olympics alight with real spark in progressing to her final, set for tomorrow afternoon (2.30pm Irish time). In the end she just lost out to the Russian Tatyana Petrova, and it was as classy and composed a performance as you could wish for.
Her time of 9:28.92 was a season's best and just short of her Irish record. The two other heats were notably quicker, so no one is getting carried away. What the 27-year-old Wicklow runner has in her favour is a relaxed approach and obvious desire to make the most of her Olympic final.
"It was a beautiful night for racing," said McGettigan, the only apparent side-effect of her exertion being a bit of a dry mouth. "It's spectacular out there, but not as overwhelming as it looks on TV.
"At this point, it just feels like another championship. I've been saying to people already that for me it's just like being in Mosney all over the again - only for grown-ups. It's the same buzz, going around in the uniform, wearing the ID, going into the food hall. It just feels like 10 years later I'm still at Mosney."
World record-holder Gulnara Galkina-Samitova won the first heat in 9:15.17, and that sort of pace proved a little too hot for Fionnuala Britton. She still ran well to finish 10th in 9:43.57, her best this year, in what has suddenly become an extremely competitive event, but unlike at last year's World Championships, Ireland will have only one finalist.
With the Kenyan Eunice Jepkorir winning the third heat in 9:21.31, McGettigan can expect a more fiery tempo in tomorrow's final. In the end, she was only ranked 13th of the 15 qualifiers. No one is talking about a medal, but we asked her about one anyway.
"Well, I don't know. I'm just going to really concentrate on my own race. But I felt very comfortable, great. Hopefully there's a few more seconds there, and hopefully they'll come on Sunday night.
"It just feels like I was ready, that I've really brought my form into these championships. This event is coming easier to me know, and I'm enjoying it. I wanted to stay in the top four at all times, to qualify, whatever that took.
"There was no point trying to play it safe. I wanted to make that final, and knew I had to get out there. Even at the finish, I just wanted to be sure. That's why I went for it, and the Russian just sneaked up on my inside."
Alistair Cragg still has ambitions of making the final of his main event, the 5,000 metres, but they way he looked in yesterday's heats of the 1,500 metres - which he used as tune-up - suggests he has a major challenge on his hands. Cragg was effectively looking to sharpen his speed, but there's not much speed there to begin with. He was well placed at the bell only to lose considerable ground over the last lap, ending up eighth in 3:44.90.
Kenya's Asbel Kiprop won in 3:41.28, although a better indication of what to expect in the next rounds came from the former world champion Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, the Moroccan native with the notably inconsistent record, who won the fourth heat in an incredible 3:32.89 - just outside the Olympic record.
As for Cragg, he had mixed feeling about his own effort.
"I was trying to stay relaxed approaching the bell, but instead I think I fell asleep for 10 metres or so. Next thing I looked up, down the back stretch, and knew it was over. I still got what I wanted out of it. I'm just disappointed on how I got it. I felt a semi-final place was on. The training has been perfect. But there's a difference when you get into the race, and worry about the pace. I'll put that to bed now.
"It was always a dream to run the 1,500 metres at the Olympics. I wish I'd run a little quicker. But you know, I am a 5k runner. That won't take much recovery. So just forward to tackling the 5k now."
Cragg then joked his career was on the line in the 5,000-metre heats on Wednesday, though he wasn't entirely messing.
There were reports he later complained of a tight hamstring, and given his training has been interrupted with an Achilles injury, his confidence must be coming under some strain. "Yeah, if I don't make it, I'll be looking for a new contract," he remarked.
"My career is pretty much on the hinges there."
